Monday, June 3

I cycled to work and spent most of the morning dealing with the final thesis presentation of the academic year. It went well. Richard, who had the job of examining it, had planned to give it a Grade 1, but by the end of the presentation and discussion he volunteered a Grade 3.

I then opened the first block of the final course for the academic year: the online course called Storytelling & Experience Design. In previous years I have run this from Eliademy, but this year I decided to see if I could reconfigure it and put it onto Its Learning with all the other courses. It took some reworking but it appears to work.

I unlocked the first block and sat back to wait to see what happens.

At 11:45 most people left for our annual staff summer lunch; held this year at Il Gabbiano, and Italian restaurant overlooking the bay at Hakaniemi. Some took the bus while others, inlcuding me, leaped onto the number 6 tram.

As we walk from the tram stop around the bay, past the drunks lying on the grass in the sunshine, I stop to photograph another painted box. I like this one a lot. It has similar paintings on all four sides.

I will have vegetarian lasagne, and very nice it will taste. Leila stops working with us today, so this will also serve as her farewell lunch. I have liked working with her, to the extent that I have. She has always had a nice, dry sense of humour.

Jutta, Kauko and I will walk back to the tram and return to Arcada, where Jutta will pick up her car and I will sit and read through the discussion forums for the Interactive Storytelling course.

In the evening I will go for a walk, accompanied by Robbie Williams, before settling down to read another essay in Amitav Ghosh’s book of essays Dancing in Cambodia.