European Vacation

It's been a long (and great) month of vacation, and I am inching my way slowly back to New York. I went almost two weeks without checking e-mail -- OK, it was only nine days, though this must be close to a personal best for the last decade or so. I even did my reading in books, a rather refreshing experience. I also actively tried not to think about cities much -- at least in an analytical way -- and recalled how much I like hiking, art, and food.

A number of interesting things happened when I was away -- sometimes when one returns from vacation, one feels the obligation to "catch up" (though at the moment, I don't). Old news to everyone else, that will surely provoke future commentary:

1. New London vs. Kelo, Supreme Court decision on eminent domain.
2. Interesting plane chat on the way to London with a computer scientist, chatting about the applications of agent-based modelling to urban systems.
3. London's surprise win for the 2012 Olympics; disappointment for Paris; New York's unexpectedly poor showing.
4. Bombing of the London Underground

More generally, despite my best efforts to be on vacation, it's hard not to muse about cities while walking through London, Madrid, Barcelona, and others. I'll have to decide if I have anything interesting to say on this blog about them. Blogging seems to have a minimum speed limit -- somehow, languid thoughts about topics that aren't in constant motion don't seem appropriate either.