Midyear updates

As I think about the upcoming end-of-semester rituals ("mid-year" collaborative pathfinder wikis for third years, final exam for the Masters students, etc.), it only seems right to fill in a few blanks in terms of this blog.

Most of December I was either sick, travelling, or entertaining visitors. Here's Eric pictured with my students after his stellar presentation on OCLC.

Also:

Jallal kindly explained to me that, for the question of how best to care for one's baguette overnight, the answer is simple. Either go to the boulangerie in the morning or freeze the bread overnight. I've tried the bread-freezing trick, and I must say, it works like a charm.

Although there is plenty of concern over the situation in the Middle East, classes have not been interrupted at ESI.

The 2 kilo ball of Edam cheese that I bought when visiting Tangers is almost finished. I gave some to Nadia about a month ago, but ended up eating most of it myself. I really don't care to look at Edam again for a very long time.

Although the subtile spices in Moroccan cooking are good, they're aren't hot (not so much cayenne). I like spicy foods, and finally discovered harissa. Here's a stand selling some in the market at Fès. There's a jarred version at the supermarkets made with cayenne and lemon. It's heavenly.

December was much less cold and rainy than November, but now the cold and rain are back. At least I now have a second space heater.