October Update

So maybe monthly is more realistic an update tempo

I apologize for the enormous gap between posts, but things have been busy. As such, this will just be a quick update on all the various things I’ve been up to in the past month.

Since my last post, things have been pretty crazy. My daughter has had two-plus weeks of various cold ailments and is now suffering through an adenovirus. I’ve also been sick and, in my non-work time, I have been preparing for a Future of War conference I was lucky enough to be able to attend last week. I had submitted a paper topic last winter and amazingly was accepted. It was the first academic conference I’ve attended in a very long time (since college, I think). Chatham House rules limit my ability to cite people specifically but I was impressed by the attendees and found I really learned a lot.

The conference was also my first time visiting Amsterdam and it was fantastic. I was really busy each night making adjustments to my presentation to accommodate some of the insights coming out of other panels, but my wife and I were still able to get out and about each night. It’s a beautiful, incredibly walkable city with tons to do. Plus all the bikes. My word, so many bikes. I’m not complaining - as someone who was on the Public Works committee back when I was in the New Hampshire state house I have a longstanding appreciation for good city transportation infrastructure and Amsterdam seems to have that in spades.

There are also all the canals. Part of what makes Amsterdam so beautiful, at least for me, is how its a city of water. Canals and houseboats are everywhere and it just makes the cityscape utterly unique (I’ve admittedly never been to Venice).

We also spent a couple of nights in London, which remains my favorite city. Nothing too interesting, just Jen doing some shopping, some wandering around various parts of the old city looking at history and some fantastic food. While we didn’t make our normal stop at Flat Iron, we did have a dinner at Dishoom that was utterly fantastic.

We’ve also been hammered by the annual ‘back to school’ sickness routine. Elise (and by association Jen and I) have first had a nasty cold and then an adenovirus that started while Jen and I were in the Netherlands. She had a low fever on and off for nine days and managed to get both of my parents, Jen and I sick. It’s a really nasty bug I’d never heard of before - leaves you with a hacking cough for weeks after. Strongly do not recommend.

Anyways, I’m really hoping that this month I’ll be able to get back on track with more writing. Up next, a look at where things are in the US DoD budget.