data types for social networking

so i suppose its very geeky of me as a data type to have the temerity to think anyone would want to socially network with me, but I think we can take an
unsigned hint
that its probably rude to say to people outright, things like
you short
and in a party situation, I suspect that it is terribly 1970s to talk about
being a float or just a double, or, gawd forbid, a union:-)

K&R - 70s just say no!!!

paris netro de plus en plus

networking in paris is as networked as networking in cambridge - so there's a
website for talks just like the talks in cambridge setup, and it includes interesting stuff I've been to including a very nice session at the Academie des Sciences on how new mathematics and computing are underpinning various other areas of technology and sciences...more later:)

so today for the 2nd time, I went to the Acadeie des scinces, last week was about informatics in science in france, and this week was for the Royal Society/Academie/Microsoft prize (to Gerorgio Parisi for work on supercomputers to do spin state complex optimisation w/ constraints stuff - most excellent)

but there was an engineered debate afterwards about "is computing just a tool ,or a science", and "is a computational proof acceptable"; and "where is the future of computing in science, in Europe"???

So all these questions can be asked just about science itself (is physics just a tool
or math (or math just a tool for physics) or chemistry just a tool for physics etc
and "is a proof by a human with a pencil and paper an acceptable proof"; and "what is the state of cosmology in europe, today"???

philosophy, or what....? but i suppose its entertainment before lunch:)

paris netro

so now I am spending 6 months at
lip6
which is the laboratory for informatics of the university of Paris 6, Pierre et Marie Curie..., alternating days (roughly) with Thomson Paris Research Lab = research - much the same as in Cambridge... ... ...so far

Aside from the usual Parisian sights (can see Eiffel Tower from 1 lab) and smells (the metro, croissant/coffee etc), there's this col new free bike system in the city - this seems very popular (its similar to the system in German railway stations using technology to make the security/incentives for sensible use work out right! Downside - lots of people riding around with NO clue about safety. Upside: 30 min journey (which just about gets you anywhere in the center of Paris) can be very handy (though we'll see how it competes with the also excellent metro as it gets colder this winter).