I don't have a dedicated personal page at the moment, so I'll use this section to share a few things I like outside work:
Yes, I am a geek, hadn't you noticed? ;-)
I like what flies
This is a broad category, but how else say that I've always liked watching birds, planes and spacecraft?
Suggestions:
- Watch the ISS in the sky! Only a bright dot, but there's people up there. Go to Heavens-Above beforehand to check the dates and times for your location.
- More spectacular, catch an Iridium flare: a sun glint on the antenna of a passing Iridium satellite: also made possible by Heavens-Above; however, while the ISS sweeps the sky over a few minutes, you'll only have a couple of seconds for an Iridium flare. Sadly, Iridium flares should end in 2018 with a next generation of satellites. See them now while they last!
Now that I think about it, I don't have anything about planes or birds; you'll have to take my word for it.
Science fiction
I read a lot of SF. Not mind-twisting stuff, though, mostly space opera. Which many SF fans will insist is not “true” science fiction. Indeed, there are many sub-genres, and different people will like different books or different authors. I especially like:
- Anything by Vernor Vinge, but A Deepness in the Sky is my favorite.
- The excellent web comic Freefall: simple comedy on the surface, but underneath it's a long-running story, well-researched, developing on a young interstellar colony, with very pointed questions on artificial intelligences—robots and biological. Do read the story from the beginning if you like plot twists.
- The Vorkosigan Saga: has elements of space opera, but the truly speculative element is in the life sciences: cloned or genetically-engineered humans, entire societies of them, and a good look at some of the consequences from the point of view of the subjects. And very strong characters.
Do I read anything else? Well, I often don't “click” with a story unless its universe is different from ours, but still evolved from it. The future, alternate histories, yes. Magic, no.
One exception is the Discworld fantasy stories. Well-written, good stories, fantasy parodies. Excellent French translation.
Astronomy
I am the happy owner of a Celestron NexStar 102SLT 102-mm F/6.5 refractor. It's not in the same class as Hubble, but it's much easier to haul around. Seriously: I wanted an instrument to see planets (for which even Paris' light pollution isn't a problem), that I could set up quickly and easily (unlike most reflectors) and light and rugged enough that I could occasionally take it with me on a vacation under darker skies (7 kg, including the tripod and computerized “go-to” mount; anything larger would mean a very quick weight increase).
I'm still learning and experimenting, especially to
take pictures—which is much harder than just observing.
In the meantime, here are some early results.
Saturn.
Last-quarter moon.
Orion Nebula.
Andromeda Galaxy.
Dumbbell Nebula.
Computers
Finally, I've always liked tinkering with computers. I used to be a system administrator, and am still part of the team who manages email and shell account services for ENS' alumni association.
I have grown out of assembling my own hardware, but I still value keeping control of what it runs. I thus favor Free and Open-Source software wherever possible: more developer-friendly, usually more reliable and more secure.
Some of the resulting production: utilities, LaTeX document templates... can be found on my nonacademic page.