I got invited at the last minute to a conference. Actually I got invited past the last minute: after somebody didn't show up for the start of the conference on Monday I got an afternoon email asking me if I wanted to come, so I booked a flight for 7.30 on Tuesday morning. I have never before come close to travelling so far at such short notice ( Read more... )

On our way back from a lovely meal at a pub out of town, strolling through the frosty night, we enjoyed the little crunches of the grass under our boots ( Read more... )

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/scatha/Norway#

Enjoy/ignore/criticise as you like! Comments on the photos very welcome.

A small number of photographs, some of which long-overdue. Comments welcome!

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/scatha/AfterTheNightPuntToIslip#

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/scatha/HellsgarthSeptember2008#

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/scatha/BoscastleMarch2009#

On our second day on the water, after a morning of activities around our mooring, we set off to travel several miles East, towards Canada. We had a short stop mid-lake for a swim (the slide which can be seen in some of the photos was a lot of fun). Then we set off again, this time with two people kayaking alongside (the houseboat had a top speed of ( Read more... )

Earlier this evening,
( Read more... )

It seems that the last time one could attend the May Day festivities and go beating the bounds on the same morning was in 1913, and the next time will be 2160.

It thus appears to be slightly less common (if more erratic) than the Mallard Ceremony.

I've actually taken several photos over the vacation, in a few batches, so here is a post providing links to the best and briefly detailing the background. (Feel free to add comments to any of the photos)

In mid-March, I spent a long weekend in Switzerland skiing with my family. We stayed in an old converted chalet, which was lovely. The weather was ( Read more... )

I went to a small ceremony for the first wedding anniversary of my favourite Australians this afternoon.

It was lovely, and I've put a few photos online at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/scatha/TobyAndDetteSWeddingEncore

For a group G, does anyone know what b_1(G) might be?

It's used in the definition vb_1(G) := sup{b_1(H) : H is a finite index subgroup of G} ... I suppose the 'v' stands for 'virtual' or 'virtually'.

Context is geometric group theory. From the surroundings it looks like b_1 is in some way the measure of the size or growth rate of the group.

Any