Awards Ceremony of the Strongest

October 13 2007. The Strongest Team meets for their first annual awards ceremony in the Cottingham Pub called Callgate.

Some people arrive with very smart dresses ,and we watch the football game between England and Stonia. Will has brought a big box with trophies and honorary mentions.

I am on the search for curiosities around the place too, and find this which I believe is a weighting scale...I am not sure how this can be used, but it will not be me who tries it!


OK, it is time for the formalities, and Will introduces the proceedings of the night.




We have a very nice time, relaxing, departing and drinking (but hold on, we manage to leave the place walking). I am very happy to have played for the Strongest in the last year, and have received awards of the Top Scorer of the Season and Goal of the Season. It has been a very good experience, and we have all learned to play better.

A tale of two cities: London, Hull

"Elementary my dear Watson", Sherlock Holmes would say. During my visit to London in September I decided to stop by Baker Street Underground Station, and visited the shop of the Sherlock Holmes museum. At the exit of the station you see the detective standing there, trying to tell his story about London.

Well, he did not help me much to guess what I could also be doing in London during my visit. Or perhaps for him the fun is only playing violin, smoking dope and solving difficult crimes. So I decided to go where my 'gut' feelings too me. And guess what...


Mu 'gut' (or rather stomach) feelings took me to Tito's, a Peruvian restaurant located near London Bridge station. Cecilia had suggested trying "seco de cordero" (something like roasted lamb shanks). It was fantastic. The combination with Cusqueña beer (only one, it was mid day!) proved excellent. The 'frijoles' (beans) were mashed, something that you do not see often. Simply delicious!

But, was Sherlock Holmes right? Are we doomed to only have certain kind of fun in one place? Was there any fun left in this story?


Well, the fun was not over yet, but he second part of this story is the story of Hull and what you can do here (again it is me willing to tell you that Hull is not as bad as people think). Cecilia and I went to Chiquito's (Tex Mex restaurant) - Hull Branch. I had discovered Mexican Paella (Pi-ella), a rare combination of the Spanish paella but this time with chili, more chili and salad. It was nice, the only thing was that Calamari was not there. I was a bit upset.


So what did I do to get this upsetting off my chest?

The Kingston Communications Stadium provides a nice background, and this time it was Hull against Chelsea. The blues had decided to pay us a visit at a match of the Carling Cup. It was a time to remember mostly for the Chelsea fans (4-0 Chelsea). However, Hull still rocks as a football team and new transfers (the former Nigerian international J.J.Okocha) have contributed to keep this team in the Coca Cola Championship (better known as the second division of English football).

The story was not over. More fun? On my way home, a nice encounter with my former systems thinking students...

Gloria and Darlan are still in the city, looking for further career prospects. In the mean time they are gaining experience in customer service and they are indeed very friendly as the picture testifies. They were taken by surprise when I decided to take this picture though. Poor Darlan (almost invisible in the picture); she wanted to hide but we managed to keep her in!

The story concludes with a question and a possible answer. Which city would you enjoy most? My answer is, it depends on you, make the best of where you and I live.

And if you are looking for other answers, I leave you with my good friend John Hopper who enjoys riding his bike around and training. He can answer any question you have on cyclism and financial management. He really enjoys this stuff!

A tourist guide to Hull: Eye, Tapas, Rugby, and a satisfied customer

Many people wonder about what to find in Hull.

Well, I can tell you that you can find a fantastic eye hospital. Cecilia had a terigium removed and although it was painful, she received the best attention I have ever seen in a hospital in the UK. She was given a bed to rest, looked after (I was looked after too) by nice nurses who continuously came to see how the post-surgery period was going. The day after the surgery we asked about how to reduce the pain, we were given an appointment to go and see a doctor who provided a prescription and better pain killers. The last weeks we have seen another doctor to check on the progress of the eye. All in time, appropriate for the situation.

Not only the Eye hospital can meet the 'eye' when you go to Hull. Down Princess Avenue, my friend Tim and I found a nice bar where they sell Spanish tapas. We enjoyed two rounds and although you cannot really compare with the original tapas, these ones did the job on a Saturday afternoon.

That same Saturday, while we sat in the bar, we saw some rugby fans getting ready for the rugby league match between Hull F.C and Huddersfield Tigers. We ended up going to the match and enjoyed it very much. For me it was a new experience to see a sport I have never played, and could appreciate why it is so exciting in this country. It is very dynamic at every minute, and you do not get bored. The experience gave me a lesson about how groups can manage to succeed by allowing each individual to do the best they can according to the circumstances. I might talk about that in a future seminar!

Well, the last bit was too academic was not it? Anyway the game is really exciting, there are a lot of families attending it and the atmosphere is friendly.

And last but not least, people living here end up saying "it is not too bad". Here is one of them, our dear friend Miguel, just before leaving Hull...Does not he look happy?

We wish you all the best Miguel, it has been 5 years and still counting, you have become a true friend, good luck with your trips to Swansea, NY and China. Take care and avoid any extreme in...many things.

Surviving Facebook:A brief story of holidays

Well, the facbook bug bit me but today I decided to post something special here... We have got some wonderful holidays despite the weather. Guess where this is...

Birmingham. We went to see our friend Jo. Fantastica time, lots of things to do. Eating at Nando's, eating Jerk Chicken in a AfroCaribbean carnival, sailing on a boat.


Also visited Warwick Castle and Stratford upon Avon.


My sister Clara Ximena spent some time in Cambridge, we met her a couple of times and stayed there for a few days. She enjoyed visiting places as well as other countries. She says Norway is fantastic!




For me it was fantastic having been to Duxford's Imperial War museum. Lots of spitfire and hurricane planes (these helped Britain defeat the Nazis in World War II). We even got to the inside of a concorde!

Back to normal life, organising teaching and learning activities for next semester. Weather is warm and a bit fresher than in August, still enjoyable not to wear heavy jumpers or coats.

My other half has had an eye surgery...but before that we hit Geneva for a day, fantastic is it not?

Summer in UK

This country and its people do not cease to amaze me.





Still celebrating old traditions, but also enjoying new ones.





My friend Danni and her boyfriend came to visit, we gave them a bit of salsa dancing taste, they are keen on taking us to a club in London next time (this summer!)














We are still in good shape no doubt. What do you think? We might be hitting a few more years, but the spirit lives in us.

We are the famous, the famous Yeovil!

Did not miss the chance to see the new Wembley stadium for the playoffs of the football tournament this year. My friend Tim Butcher is a strong supporter of Yeovil Town, they went to the final after beating Nottingham Forest. We were excited to see them now playin against Blackpool.

Weather was cold and driving down to Wembley from Hull takes about four (4) hours. We got a good seat, and also met Tim's father who travelled all the way from Dorset (where Yeovil is).
Stadium is fantastic. All covered, all seated. Once you get to your seat, you can feel everyone cheering and singing. I had not experienced that feeling before.

Yeovil team looked tired after a grilling match against Forest, so they could not overcome two goals and the strength from Blackpool. We lost, but now they won a Colombian fan! We will see what happens next season.

We are the famous, the famous Yeovil!

Scotland, land of whisky

Trip to Edinburgh. We took the opportunity to visit Scotland and landed in Edinburgh. The train journey takes about four hours from Hull. Cecilia got us a nice room in a hotel near Princess Avenue, just at the heart of the city. The neighbouring area invites you to walk around, admire the castle on the hill and visit the Royal Mile. Preparations are on the way for the Tatoo Festival (August).



In the Royal Mile we visited the Whisky Heritage Centre. Wonderful taste of different types of whisky. The taste varies according to the region. For instance, in the Islands (West of Scotland), they use oak casquets to store the whisky. This gives it a dry flavour. But when you try four(different varieties), you have to drink water in between, and always start for the smoother one (usually a single malt one, then go for the blended ones).


We also visited the Scottish Parliament which just opened. Very open space, with finishings in oak (some of which is from Scotland and some from Nordic countries). Rare architecture to give the impression of a big tree where branches (buildings) get together. The tree also resembles a river full of fish. The layout of the main room is set to allow a 'shared' conversation, rather than a debate. You can see Cecilia here trying to listen to the conversations below.


We always like to visit there, and from now on, I will try my best to taste more whisky!

Memoirs de la France

Je suis allé a la France le Juin derniere. C'etait une experience magnifique. Je suis allé a Rennes et Brest. A Rennes, je suis allé a l'Université Rennes 2.

J'ai voyagé de Amsterdam a Rennes par le train. Le TGV ai voyagé a toute vitesse. J'ai acheté un billet d premiere classe, vous pouvez voir des repas dejeuner.







Et a Rennes, J'ai partagé d'un colloque sur l'usages et la utilisation de las technologies de l'information á la region de Bretagne. Moi, j'ai montré mon travail sur le gouvernement electronique et un étude de cas a la Colombie.


Ici, je suis avec autres chercheurs de M@rsouin (Mole Armorican de la Recherche sur la Societé de l'Information et l'Usages d'Internet). Nicolas Jullien m'a invité a passer quelque jours la-bas.

Merci beaucoup Nicolas et Jocelyn !!

Meet the Strongest!

From left to right:

Smiggy (Paul Scholes): Skipper. Very fast on the right hand side of the pitch.

Barker (Ricardo Carvalho). Center and right back. Good at individual marking, was top scorer last season. Before you know it, he will be in front and asking for the ball to shoot.

John (Joe Cole). Middle fielder and multi-tasking player, he likes to corner his opponents. Good leader to organise the team when we are not losing.

Will (bit of Tony Adams, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand). The central nerve of defence. Good at anticipating and supporting attack. Unknown record of injuries.

Ray (Paul Robinson or Pat Jennings?). Very consistent goal keeper, good leadership and encouragement. Hull City FC fierce supporter (his nails have grown again after City's last match)

Me (Arjen Robben with Harry Potter's glasses). Getting fit so far, score good goals. Swear in Spanish when needed. Moody.

Not in the picture (they did not turn up for the match):

• Russell (David Seaman, Gattuso?). Forward and goal keeper. Prefers to play on the left hand side for short periods of time, but this has nothing to do with fitness.

• Nick (Harry Kewell). Mid fielder, nice passess. Please give me the ball, quick!

• Harry (David Beckham). Forward, good goals, or should I say good mathematical equations?

• Lee (J. Carrick, or J. O'Shea with long hair). Mid fielder, fights hard for the ball. A man of a few words and a lot of energy!

• Bryant (Cuatemoch Blanco). Fast in the crossing, very inventive.
  

The culture of 'value'

Western society (and perhaps beyond) seems to be increasingly interested in understanding the meaning of the word 'value'. We talk about clashes of civilisations, clashes of cultural groups, new management practices to deliver better 'value' to customers, changes in values in society, etc. All these seemed to generate a personal interest to talk about the meaning of value.

An Oxford dictionary defines value in three terms: 1) The 'worth' of something (presumably to be exchanged by other things like money); 2) A moral standard o professional code of conduct; and 3) a quantity or number.

In all these, an issue is to try to find a meaning we all agree, possibly an exact and accurate representation of the value(s) we discuss. Not surprisingly, since the Greeks this issue has been discussed. We have disciplines that aim to work with values, and somehow try to elicit answers to questions related to values. Ethics and morality, economics, mathematics, etc. All they seem to work towards such elicitation, understanding, leading possibly to get some wisdom.

Nowadays we have marketing to help us finding the value that customers put into products. And we have activities of conflict resolution, justice and democracy which help us accommodate different perceptions, different values. Perhaps the most successful are those which link technological development to assign value to electronic information and its management.

I thought that as discipline, systems thinking was different, but nowadays I find myself that when we say we work with complex problems, that we look at a situation from different perspectives, that we reflect on potential consequences of decisions, we are trying to elicit different values from different people and work with them. We might be doing this out of a moral commitment to the betterment of society (good!), but why do we claim we are trans-disciplinary?

Perhaps we need to look at our own understanding of the meaning of 'value', and how we can work with other understandings.

Au jour d'hui, je me sense tres content, parce que j'ai reservé deux chambres pour passer trois jours en Rennes. Je ai parlé en Francais!

Maria Mar in London - Old friends Meet Again!

My good friend Maria Margarita (Maria Mar) and her husband Juan Carlos came to the UK, and we managed to meet in London. Spent the day crossing the Thames river from the Embankment, went to London Eye, the Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Whitehall.

We then landed in Trafalgar Square, and took the tube to go to London Bridge, and found Tito's (Peruvian Restaurant). Both Maria Mar and Juan Carlos enjoyed the food, the Peruvian beer (Cusqueña) and even paying the bill (we paid but still they would not let us go!)

Back to the Thames, we saw Shakspeare's Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern Gallery and the Millenium Bridge. They knew that Norman Foster's architectural design did not work at first, so they were a bit weary of crossing this bridge. After the bridge, St Paul's cathedral was waiting for us. We ended our tour in Kings Cross station, and they were looking for platform 9 1/2.

As with old friends, we were able to catch up on how we are doing (Maria Mar is doing her Phd in Computer Science, or Artificial Intelligence to be more precise). She and Juan Carlos enjoy living in Valencia, and I hope to visit them some time soon.

They remembered me of myself an my wife a couple of years back, being adventurous, enjoying walking, saving some money and not worrying too much about big plans (i. e buying a house). We the academics seem to go to very interesting stages in our lives, and perhaps the worries are magnified or minimised through time.

My next worry? Buying a house!!

The Tour Guide in London

Why studying business?

If memory does not fail me one of the first accounts we have had about travellers is that of Marco Polo. He and his father were merchants, looking to bring new products to the West. They were based in Venice.

Looking for alternative routes for travel, they encounter the people of the Emperor of China, and then are invited to visit him. From then on, their lives change, they become ambassadors of the West, and are able to appreciate new cultures, and write about them.

Marco Polo would write about his adventures many years later when he returns to Venice.

Businesses, if we know about them, they can become a passport for new worlds.

The world has changed, now people talk about New York, Shanghai, London, Tokio as places where businesses develop. Old Venice is still with us, and still there are businesses developing. In a changing world, studying businesses involves looking at how countries are doing (i.e. economics); how organisations operate internationally (international business); how we need to manage resources efficiently (i.e. finance); and how to project concepts, images and ways of life through our products (i.e. marketing).

We also need to know ways of solving problems in organisations (management systems), and care for the most important resource of all: people (human resource management).

So, why study businesses? It is a way of getting an international passport, who knows, we might visit China someday!

Castles and friends do not change, do they?

A picture of Conisbrough castle in South Yorkshire (I think). See the old 'motte' and 'bailey' style.

Motte and Bailey: Castles used to be built in wood at the beginning, and a motte (French word meaning mount or piece of turf) was used to make access difficult. A bailey (the outer wall of a castle) was built around the castle, together with a ditch (foso in Spanish) filled with water for protection. The land from the excavation of the ditch was used to build the motte.

In Colombia, had the opportunity to meet my old friends. We remembered past times and somehow we still share happiness, nostalgia about the past and expectations about the future.

Et au jour d'hui, J ai joué du football avec quelques étudiants francais, c'etait drole!

Castles, like friends, might get old, but do not change, do they?

Some history of the Conisbrough Castle can be found at:

http://www.conisbroughcastle.org.uk/History/history.htm

More visits: Roche Abbey

Weather is improving, so we are taking opportunities to visit places.

South of Yorkshire, there are nice Abbey remains, the Roche Abbey is dated from the 13th century, cisterian brothers (a rebel branch of the Benedictines). Very quiet and peaceful place, near a river!

Ideal for children like the ones in the picture (hehe).

The height of the buildings makes you wonder if the places were very cold, and how quiet this could have been. We spent some time walking in the valley of the Abbey. We heard the sounds of birds and the river. Ideal for relaxing.

Roman Stuff : Hadrian's Wall

At last, we went to Hadrian's wall in the North of England. I wanted to go for ages, and now my dream has come true! We visited Vindolanda (this picture), also Chesters fort and Carlisle.

The romans built the wall to protect themselves from the 'barbarian' invasions from the North. The wall was extended, refurbished and finally abandoned, and today one can see the remains of the forts in which there were also some civilian settlements. At Vindolanda (this picture) there is a great museum where one can see objects (clothes, writing tables, jewelry, armoury and even cooking utensils).

Chesters fort is smaller, and it had also a military settlement. We managed to see some sections of the wall. The Romans liked to be near rivers, and the fort had a bridge over the river.

Carlisle was another fort which they converted into a city, one can see a street with remains of shops, a kind of roman Forum. Here (third picture) some of the house remainings, again with connections to the river and bridges.

I loved this visit!

And they say it is spring

April 2007. We have had nice temperatures, but I am still suffering from a cold!.

Nevertheless, I have travelled a bit, and still find warmth in old friends. Here is Hetty (my friend and PhD student) and I in the Young OR conference. Enjoyable? Yes, we danced old celtic style!

And time also to say good bye to friends who leave Hull. My friend Marc is now based at Durham University, he says it is really nice over there. I cannot believe it is nicer than Hull (hehe)! Good luck Marc, we are going to miss you (in particular the latinos and their sense of humour).

Back from Colombia

At last, I have managed to login into the new blogger version, to report on my trip to Colombia.

Everything was fine, the family, the friends, the country...

Still, so much to take, I get a bit drained after coming back.

Nice to see old friends, and catch up. Many of them are already married, with kids. Some want to leave the country, some want to stay, others have to stay. The latter would say to me "Where else can we get such a nice life like the one we have here?"

Probably true...

Back to Hull searching for properties...