Archive for Austria
death on the Großglockner
Posted in Mountains, pictures, Travel with tags alpine climbing, Austria, death zone, Frühstücksplatzl, Großglockner, guided climb, Klagenfurt, Peter Habeler, Reinhold Messner, Studlgrat, winter climb on June 24, 2025 by xi'an
…no el xe un pèse!!!
Posted in Kids, pictures, Travel with tags Austria, Austro-Hungary, Carlo Goldoni, Der Nord Wal, Friuli-Venezia, Gallo-Italic languages, German, Giacomo Casanova, Indo-European languages, Italy, Latin, maps, Old Norse, Republic of Venice, Romance language, tee-shirt, TNF, Venetan, Veneto, Venezia, whales on May 19, 2025 by xi'an
And here is the Venetan version of the nuova fanèla (tee-shirt), as suggested by my friend, co-author, and former PhD student Roberto Casarin, who hosted a fantastic ISBA last summer (and kindly looked after me while in ospedale!). Meaning this is not a fish! (If possibly a whale?!) For a better design Antoine and I had to give up the accent in pèse, much to my dismay. (End of the TNF series!)
…Der Nord Wal, but…
Posted in Books, Kids, pictures, Travel with tags Austria, Austro-Hungary, Der Nord Wal, French Revolution, German, Italy, maps, Napoléon Bonaparte, Napoleonic wars, narwhal, Old Norse, Republic of Venice, tee-shirt, TNF, Treaty of Campo Formio, Venetian, Venezia, whales, Yosemite on May 18, 2025 by xi'an
This new version in TNF memes came to life during my stay in Venezia last summer, as the fish or whale analogy struck me (after so many visits!). The German wording of the North whale afforded a proximity to the original brand without sharing a single word with said brand (and no connection with either the North Wall in Yosemite or the narwhal species, whose etymology link to the Old Norse for corpse-skinned whale). Antoine Luciano improved my early sketch of a three-part simplified map into the above (cutting out Santa Croce and inflating Giudecca) et voilà !
However, using a German motto for the map of Venezia may sound offensive to Venetian ears, reminding them of the 50 years of Austrian occupation—with both Napoléon Bonaparte and Napoléon III involved in the matter—, I consulted locals for another version and…
Sparse Bayesian factor analysis when the number of factors Is unknown [ISBA webinar]
Posted in Books, Statistics, University life with tags Austria, Bayesian Analysis, discussion paper, factor analysis, International Society for Bayesian Analysis, shrinkage estimation, Sylvia Frühwirth-Schnatter, unknown number of components, Vienna, webinar, WU Wien on February 10, 2025 by xi'an
Thou shall not blink!
Posted in Kids, pictures, Running, Travel with tags Austria, back light, car accident, cycling regulation, Emmanuel Macron, fine, front light, Germany, red light, road code, the Netherlands, urban cycling, winter on January 11, 2025 by xi'an
One of the last decisions of the short-lived Barnier Government (following the catastrophic decision of Emmanuel Macron calling last June for mid-term elections and resulting in a three body problem!) was to… prohibit the use of flashing lights on bicycles!!! This was clearly (!) a most essential move in a country with no budget for 2025 and a more than likely instability for at least half of 2025. Also in a country where bicycle helmets are not compulsory. (But rejoining Austria, Germany and Holland in that respect.)
The reason advanced for that prohibition is that it made us (cyclists) over-confident on being seen by others (cars) and thus more prone to being run over. This rationale (?!) does not make much sense. Whether a bike light is flashing or steady does not make a difference at night when there are (brighter) lights in the background, e.g. from incoming cars. And during daytime, when lights are not compulsory, the flashing is more likely to attract attention than a permanent light, which is why emergency vehicles are using them, I presume! Last week, I had a scary instant when the oblivious driver of a parked car opened its door as I was passing by, fortunately far enough from the car to avoid being hit, but I do not think this driver would have seen me any better without the flash, given the flow of cars behind me. While it is much more likely I soon get a fine for going through a red light than for keepin’ the blinin’, this remains a possibility in the coming Winter months.
