Wild Nights

One of the things that I never really expected coming out here was how much it would be in a living-the-life style. Let me see if I can give you an example of what I mean. A couple weeks ago, one of the co-presidents of the company was leaving the company to focus on other things in his life, so we had a huge farewell party for him. The entire company was invited out to a Cuban-themed bar called Floridita which the company had booked entirely. In addition to the canapés that were distributed to us throughout the evening, the event was open-bar to a dazzling array of some pretty fancy cocktails. It was a pretty fun night, filled with many mojitos. We found our way home via taxi cab at 4 in the morning, and slept in for a little while, but not for too long ...

The very next night, we were invited to the other company president's house for a bit of a smaller party. I'm not entirely sure why I got an invite actually, but I was happy to go. There we were treated to some appetizers prepared by the company's chef, Allan, as well as a fridge full of beer and other drinks. The appetizers were something else ... they were visually stunning, and amazingly tasty. The highlight though was the mini-burgers. These were the most incredible things I have tasted in quite some time. They were freshly prepared burgers with freshly ground beef -- which meant they could be cooked rare, which they were. These were the juiciest, tastiest burgers I think I've ever had.

After a relatively quiet week or so, the server team went out for a dinner last night. We started at a Tapas restaurant where we proceeded to order one of everything off of the extensive menu. Loads of tasty food were delivered to our table which we enjoyed immensely with a couple of bottles of wine. After the meal we proceeded over to a bar where we met up with some coworkers and proceeded to have even more drinks.

This has all been fun, but I understand the company Christmas party is supposed to be something else. We just got the news of what will be going on there, and it looks sweet! The entire company (some 300+ employees) and their spouses will be taking over an Irish town for a night. Since the company is so large, we'll be scattered across the town's several hotels, and be shuttled in to the main event where we have a black-tie affair with fine food, drink, and prizes. It sounds like an amazing time.

I knew that the company was generous, and concentrated on making the employees enjoy their time, but I never quite expected the treatment we're getting. Frankly, we're getting really spoiled -- and it's pretty incredible.

Morgan

Changes in Blogland

We've had a few people complain to us that the blog design we started with, while pretty, was a little hard to read. So I finally got a chance to respond, and install a new theme. I'm a big fan of this design already, so I hope you like it too! While I was at it, I've been updating plugins and making minor tweaks to the sidebar. Gone now is the welcome page -- you're here to read the blog, so that's the first thing you get! The right bar now has the welcome message in a shorter form. I added the photos widget on the right as a quick way to see if there are any photos you haven't seen, and the link above them takes you to the gallery. The gallery is also fits in with the design in a less awkward fashion.

Comments are, of course, welcome. Let us know what you like and don't like about the new theme!

Morgan

The Best Time to Move

Morgan and I have always had it comparatively easy, and this move is no exception. It turns out that Irish summers are lovely – it’s been rainy and cool and cloudy and sunny without going much above a comfortable “room” temperature. All this temperate goodness while the folks at home have been cooking in those bouts of +30-35C we’ve been getting in sunny Alberta these last few years.

The winters here are supposed to be windy and rainy and generally grey and miserable so I’ve heard, which means that the middle of summer is probably the best time to begin/end a year lease (the norm here nowadays) so you can move your stuff in comfort if you so choose. It’s certainly the best time to move stuff in Canada anyway.

Once we took up tenancy in our rented suite, we had to figure out how to turn the thermostat high enough to heat up our boiler and get hot water (we actually thought there had been an oversight at the gas company for a little while before our neighbours told us the secret), and we were without the convenience of readily heated water for a day or two. Nothing that can’t be satisfactorily overcome with an electric kettle of course, but say it were the power instead of the gas, or both. (And don’t even talk to me about the crash course.) I am much better equipped to deal with that sort of thing in the summer, when natural heat and light abound (though here in Ireland they only abound so much) and I’m in a happier state because of it.

Not only in the smaller details has the timing been right but on a bigger scale as well. Both Morgan and I were able to get up and move very easily: we have no children, our parents are in good health, our siblings are doing well. In fact, Morgan’s sister was able to move into Morgan’s apartment and their parents were willing to store stuff for us, making moving even easier. Morgan had finished his contract with the U of A and managed to stay until the Second Man v. Machine match, which was certainly a defining moment in the history of the U of A CPRG (Computer Poker Research Group), and a high note on which to leave… at least officially. For my part I feel I could have contributed long term at the U of A (my team was the Canola Research Group), but I think it was good to leave while I was more replaceable. `Cause really, who can argue with seeing the world while one has the life and health to do it!

The last reason (okay, next-to-last) this transition has been so smooth is that scores of folks have done this before us. Many through the ages have traveled and settled in leaner circumstances than this, and of course there are the friendly, accessible ones who very recently made the exact same trip. There is one couple in our building, newlywed like us, another couple down the road, who’ve been so encouraging, and, in particular, Darse and Alexandra have been there for us every step of the way. We probably wouldn’t be here now if not for them.

And the last reason (I promise) is that we’ve got each other. We may disagree and do a little squabbling and squawking, but in the end it’s nice to have a partner with whom to share and recall the experiences. It’s nice to have Morgan to point things out to and share the stories of the day with and have him show me stuff and help me… and cuddle me when the day is done.

Diane

Hangin' With Howard Lederer

One thing Diane didn't mention about the games party last Saturday that one of the guests was none other than Howard Lederer. Howard is one of the Full Tilt poker pros. His poker nickname is "the Professor of poker", in part because of his thoughtful approach to the game. He's appeared on television not only as a poker player, but also as a poker analyst on a couple of different shows. My research position at the UofA, and now my job here has put me into a position to meet some pretty big name poker players. With the CPRG, I met Phil Laak, Ali Eslami, Matt Hawrilenko, Bryce Paradis, Ed Miller, and a few others. Now working at Pocket Kings, I've met Howard Lederer, and I understand that several of the Full Tilt pros stop by the office every so often.

Anyways, on Wednesday night, Diane and I headed out to company trivia night at a local pub. People who know me know that I'm not a trivia person, but I wanted to go hang out with fellow company people so that I could get to know people a little more. So we went and had some food and some drinks. Before the trivia started, Howard joined the group. He presented us with several logic problems that were quite interesting and that stumped several of us for quite awhile. Here they are if you'd like to take a crack at them.

• One hundred people are allowed to come up with a strategy before this scenario. They are then assembled in a line, and each person is given either a red or a blue hat. The person at the back of the line can see all the coloured hats in front of him, but cannot see his own hat. The second last person in the line can see the 98 hats in front of him, but not his own hat nor the hat of the person behind him. Each person, starting with the person at the back of the line, can only say "red" or "blue". If they get the colour of their hat wrong, they will be killed off. If they get it right, they'll survive. Come up with a strategy that will maximize the guaranteed number of survivors.
• One hundred people are let into a room one at a time, and they are given a hat with a random number on it in the range 1-100. People could potentially get assigned the same number. The players are allowed to walk around the room looking at all the numbers everyone has on their hats, but cannot see the number on their own hat. When everyone is ready, they must simultaneously call out a number. Come up with a strategy for the players such that at least one person is guaranteed to correctly guess the number on their hat.
• One hundred prisoners are held in a room. One at a time, they are randomly selected and brought into a second room where there are 100 boxes. Each box contains a number that is uniquely attached to one of the prisoners (each prisoner has a unique number, and it is contained in one of the boxes in the room). The person must now choose up to 50 of the boxes to open and check if their number is inside. If they find their number, they get to walk free. If not, they are executed. Come up with a strategy for the prisoners to maximize the likelihood that they ALL walk free.

I've always kind of been interested in these problems, but I've been really bad at them in the past. I've only come up with a solution to the first problem, and haven't managed to figure out and prove solutions to the other two, but I think I shall ponder them for awhile. I'm quite enjoying the mental exercise so far, and I felt pretty proud of myself when I finally solved the first problem this morning.

Can you solve them?

Morgan

Summer Days in Dublin

This past weekend was pretty fun, and now I’m fairly well set up as far as my new household (I have a household!), I can’t pretend I have much excuse for not blogging occasionally. It was a pleasant weekend all through. We started off on Friday having some supper with our neighbours from upstairs. It was nice to get the skinny on their favourite places to eat and share stories from home and about our experiences in Ireland so far. I’m really glad to have these folks around. So far, they’ve helped us figure out how to work the boiler and the washer/dryer, and provided pleasant company too!

Saturday was a games party at Darse & Xan’s. It was a lot of good old fashioned fun, with all kinds of tasty snacks besides. There was Ra, Medici, Carcasonne, Blokus, and RoboRally (I love to be the “TrundleBot” - I’m so gleeful it exists!), culminating in Taboo and Apples to Apples that were good for the whole group to play together. Oh yes, and we got to see for ourselves that Darts and Xan aren’t kidding about the size of their spiders.

Sunday was glorious – the weather was lovely and warm, and it held the whole day. Morgan and I took ourselves over to Dun Loaghaire harbour. My intention was to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Festival of World Cultures whilst finding the farmers’ market, but neither Morgan nor I anticipated how many folks would be taking advantage of a sunny summer day. Everyone and his dog was out, riding the midway attractions or buying things from stalls or watching the many musical acts on the outdoor stages (or watching the ticketed shows – it sounds as though there was a pretty decent line-up in general). To me, it most closely resembled the Children’s Festival, which graces my hometown of St. Albert every spring.

We found the People’s Park and the farmer’s market and something to munch as we trundled though the crowds. (I told you I love to trundle!) We moseyed (dare I say it) down to the shore taking pictures and kept going down the east pier, the weather inviting us to linger there awhile. There was someone making a perspective painting – if you stood at a particular point of the decorated sidewalk it seemed as though you were standing in a glacial crevasse.

Not only was it perfect weather for festivals and street paintings, it was also a very good day for a hundred sea-bathing junkies to participate in the Annual Harbour Swim. It looked a little chilly with everyone in normal bathing suits, but I must admit I was impressed. I mean, not that bog snorkeling isn’t cool too.

Diane