Trip across California - the academic part

view from the hotel room in san diego,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

The second part of my trip across California is all about academic stuff. I had the honour to be a guest at UC Irvine last week. In that week I was worked in the Lab for Ubiquitous Computing and Interaction, gave a presentation there, and met great and very supportive people working on similar research.

This week I am at a conference for computer-supported cooperative work, one of the top conferences in my area of research. Yesterday, I took part in a workshop for doctoral students, and Tuesday will be my first talk at such a big conference - please keep your fingers crossed for me. The photo shows the view from my hotel room - the environment is just gorgeous. I went to the zoo today, but now I'm working on my slides again, although I know that I will never feel perfectly prepared.

Travel & Work in Cali

my temporary workspace in the hostel,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

I'm travelling across California to conduct interviews for my PhD studies. That requires that I carry a lot of equipment with me all the time and that I'm permanently looking for quiet places to work. In San Francisco I visited the Main Library and shared my desk with a lot of homeless people. I arrived in Los Angeles yesterday, and luckily the hostel has its own library, which makes it a bit easier for me.

Although I had thought I wouldn't enjoy travelling that much because I'm mainly here for my studies, it's still quite exciting to visit new places every few days. Despite my preconceptions I've enjoyed LA so far, especially since I survived my first trip on the highways here. To be fair, I've got to give kudos to my "friend" the navigation system, that has led me safely to all places so far.

PS: A big THANKS to all who support my trip here - the people who spend time to talk with me for the interviews, Kris for showing me around in San Fran, my host at UC Irvine, the CSCW doctoral colloquium organisers, and the University of Melbourne, especially the Department of Information Systems, as well as my parents for support with the travel funding.

Trip across California

Golden Gate Bridge,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

I'm travelling through California for a few weeks to conduct interviews for my PhD research in San Francisco and Los Angeles. I will then spend a week in OC (Orange County) as a guest at the University of California, Irvine before I go to San Diego for a conference. This will be my first presentation at a major conference - keep your fingers crossed for me.
Along the way I've got of course to do some sightseeing, like yesterday's walk through San Francisco to stay awake after the long flight. Now I'm off to the library to do some work.

We won again...

The Tiger,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

... at least the bronze medal. This time it was the Australian University Games volleyball competition, which took place in Melbourne this year. I took a week off uni to play volleyball with (from left to right) O'Keefe, McKenzie, Jimmie, (myself), Luke, Gerard, Dan, Joe and Reece won the bronze medal game in a close and 5-set game - what an improvement compared to being 2nd last the year before ;-)

We won...

Melbourne University Renegades, Men's Honour's Team,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

... the finals of the Victorian championships in the men's honours division!!!!!

Back in volleyball action

back in action,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

My ankle injury prevented me from playing volleyball for almost 2 months, but now I'm slowly making my way back. Last Saturday I played in a game again, well, I tried to :) I didn't jump very high, I wasn't fast, but it was a good start with a few points by me (although most of them were serves :) We won the game in 3 sets and my team (Melbourne Renegades) is on top of the ladder. Please keep your fingers crossed that we win the title this year!

Back from holidays

sunshine :),
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

My danish friend Kasper and I spent a few wonderful days in the tropical area in North Queensland, Australia. We started off in Cairns and visited the Great Barrier Reef, headed up to the rainforest in Cape Tribulation and then spent a few days on a sailing cruise through the Whitsunday Islands. It was just gorgeous!

Houses & stuff in Melbourne

Storey Hall at RMIT on Swanston St.,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

I put some pictures of interesting houses and other buildings in Melbourne on flickr, like RMIT's futuresque Storey Hall on Swanston St. (picture on the right, with the Melbourne-typical tram in front).
The pictures stem from Geraldine's visit in Melbourne a few weeks ago. Having had an architect as a guest I discovered some facets of the city that I previously hadn't paid attention to.

Austrian culinary delights in Melbourne

wiener schnitzel,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

This weekend I was again pleased to have a guest visiting me in Melbourne. Geri, who I know from Salzburg and who has meanwhile settled in Brisbane, came down to the South for a long weekend. Besides the obvious highlights in and around the city, we enjoyed a few encounters with Austrian "culture" in Melbourne:
After enjoying a delicous "gugelhupf" and a "creme schnitte" in a pastry shop in St. Kilda, we went to the Hofbräuhaus for dinner. I know it's German, well Bavarian, but I would argue that it is close to what you'd expect from an Austrian place. Not only did we enjoy Wiener Schnitzel, Kasnocken, Radler & Weissbier. We were also surprised by a glimpse of Alpine culture in the form of jodelling, schuhplattln, vogerltanz and a special performance of the Edelweiss song from the Sound of Music. I'd be the first to leave the venue if just one of these things would happen to me back in Austria, but here on the other side of the world I quite enjoyed the performances. All of which were a bit over the top but very enjoyable for us as well as the Aussie audience.
Similarly I enjoy watching Inspektor Rex here in down under, which is on the TV on Thu nights. I wasn't the slightest bit interested in that dog since I was a kid, but here in Australia it is something I do not only enjoy but also take pride of. Strange, how distance and a bit of nostalgia let you embrace the stereotypical "crap" presented in these instances. I love down under, but a glimpse of home from time to time is just great!

Indoor volleyball is on again...

... and we started with 2 wins into the new season! I'm playing with the men's Honours Team of the Melbourne University Renegades in the top volleyball league of the state Victoria. After the ups and downs last year I hope stay in the best team for this year and contribute to a good season. The start was promising, let's hope we/I can keep up the good shape.

FYI: the results are online on http://www.volleyballvictoria.com.au/vvl2008/results/

Camping during Easter

Bushwalking around Lake Eildon,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

Finally I uploaded a few pictures from the camping trip over Easter to my flickr account. Shawn, Emy, Tom, Juri ... took me to Lake Eildon, which is a few hours north of Melbourne. We did the obligatory bush walks (even one at night, though the bloody possums were hiding away ;-) We then spent 2 days at the Nagambie River, where we went canoing and kayaking to wineries. In summary 4 days with great people, wonderful weather, and surrounded by nature :)

Guest in Melbourne

St. Kilda Pier,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

It's been a while since the last blog entry. I moved to a new place and had a lot of work to do for my studies, so not much to post in here.

This week, Frank, a friend from Salzburg, has been visiting me in Melbourne. It's always strange to see a friend from Austria here in down under, but at the same time it's great I can show him my new home and chat about old times. He went to volleyball training with me and yesterday I showed him a few places in the city. I put some snapshots on flickr and hope I can attract a few more of you to come and visit me.

Some impressions...

budapest,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

from my holidays at home in Austria and in Hungary are on Flickr. It was cold, but it was great to come home after 10 months and to spend time with family and friends, and it felt like as if I had just left a week ago.

my new home

my new home,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

I moved to a new place in Brunswick East this weekend. It's is a little bit further away from uni and the city, but more affordable and definitely more sociable: Now I share a house with 2 volleyballers, Eric & Jared. The first evening (and also Australia Day) was celebrated with a BBQ! I like it here, and we've got space for visitors to stay if you come to down under :)