Mac Mason and Susanna Ricco are among our most intrepid friends. Mac, who has been previously featured on this blog as the other stoic roboticist, is an Alaska native who regularly climbs glaciers, fights off bears, and lets his friends shoot his high-powered handguns, (which may or may not be wise). Susanna was a college […]

[Ed. note – I want to express my sincere thanks to Anne Elster for her generous hospitality this summer. Thanks for letting us live in your house, drive your van, and eat your raspberries. We really appreciate it!] Dear Gavin, Today we are moving into our permanent Trondheim apartment, which regrettably means that we will […]

A couple of weeks ago, I promised you a report on the world of competitive rollerskiing. That world came to us last weekend in the form of the Toppidrettsveka Rollerski Championships, so I’m here to answer your most pressing questions on the subject. Is this an Allison sport or a Gavin sport? This is most […]

As both a lawyer and a public health professional, my perception is keenly tuned to pick up on health and safety risks. One constant tension in the public health realm is deciding what should be regulated, and what is just a normal hazard of living. In state government I had a front row seat to this […]

Gavin spent this week at the International Conference of Machine Learning in Sydney, Australia, so I took the opportunity to do something that I know he would not want to do: a three-day silent meditation retreat at a monastery on the island of Tautra, 90 minutes northeast of Trondheim. [googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d28409.310645271857!2d10.5770669256931!3d63.57485298497467!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x466d480769250f49%3A0x8da9b506e3159ea9!2sTautra!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sno!4v1502219624276&w=600&h=450] Tautra has been a haven […]

The title of this post contains three ø’s, which is an indication of just how Norwegian our last weekend was. We took a road trip to the charming village of Røros, two hours southeast of Trondheim. [googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d470545.4905163343!2d11.125248657742649!3d62.56837656070013!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x466c6c3d7bf32c5b%3A0x892bda66c4a6f3bb!2zUsO4cm9z!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sno!4v1501524204109&w=600&h=450] The Røros Copper Mine was founded in 1644 and operated continuously until its closure in 1977. Three […]

We have not yet received a decision about our Norwegian residency application. However, if the authorities reviewed our latest credit card purchases, they would find evidence of our complete and obvious commitment to the Nordic way of life. What have we purchased? Roller skis! Roller skis are to cross-country skis what rollerblades are to ice […]

Discomfort is a fundamental part of travel.  You’re going to be in situations where you’re the only one that doesn’t understand how things work or how to behave.  As a person who vacillates wildly between gregarious and self-conscious, this is a good exercise for me, as I’m forced to suck it up, engage my better […]