Nicholas ([info]nhw) wrote,
@ 2008-06-15 18:54:00
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Entry tags:interview memes

This autobiographical meme is going round. Fill it in if you like.

  1. First Name: Nicholas - definitely not "Nick"!
  2. Age: 41
  3. Location: Belgium; work in Brussels, live some 20 km to the east.
  4. Occupation: I'm an international relations specialist. I work for an organisation that gives diplomatic advice to marginalised actors in international diplomacy.
  5. Partner?: [info]artw, together since 1990, married since 1993.
  6. Kids: Three. Here is a rare picture of all three with their mother, taken two years ago. Our oldest no longer lives with us.
  7. Brothers/Sisters: One of each: [info]wwhyte and [info]scattyme.
  8. Pets: The tadpoles! Which are growing legs. It's all very exciting.
  9. List the 3-5 biggest things going on in your life:
    1. Hoping to hold a garden party, all being well, next Saturday. (You can come if you like, but do let us know.)
    2. Anticipating small surgical procedure at end of next week.
    3. Moving to a new office on 1 July.
    4. Planning the summer holiday in Ireland.
    None of which is terribly dramatic, but I don't mind!
  10. Where and for what did you go to school for? I translate this as "what did you study in higher education" rather than "what is the point in attending high school". I did a BA in Natural Sciences and an M Phil in History and Philosophy of Science at Clare College, Cambridge; and a Ph D in History of Science at the Queen's University of Belfast.
  11. Parents: My father died in 1990; my mother still lives in Dublin.
  12. Who are some of your closest friends?: Well, let's see who comes to the aforementioned garden party next weekend...

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[info]davesangel
2008-06-15 05:18 pm UTC (link)
The tadpoles! Which are growing legs. It's all very exciting.

We've had a pond in our garden for at least a decade, and when my dad originally constructed it, he put in some frogspawn. It was fab watching the tadpoles grow into frogs, and the best thing is that they come back year after year, so we've always got lovely froggies every summer :)

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[info]celestialweasel
2008-06-15 07:01 pm UTC (link)
I have a question not directly related to this. You mentioned Somaliland a while back? Why don't people decide to recognise it. I assume there is a vague issue of precedent, setting of. But it is, I guess, a special case since it WAS a separate colony. Worst referendum decision ever as the Simpsons probably would say.

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[info]nhw
2008-06-15 07:30 pm UTC (link)
Well, since I actually advise them, I'm not going to waste much space on explaining the detailed reasons why people don't recognise them! - other than to remind you of the international community's instinctive conservatism on these matters. As you rightly say, it was a separate colony, so (re-)recognising its independence would be in line with the African Union's general principles.

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[info]celestialweasel
2008-06-15 08:29 pm UTC (link)
The reason I ask is that my boss is from there (
and went back for the first time in 25 years or so this year). Who should one be lobbying? :-)

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[info]dalmeny
2008-06-16 02:25 pm UTC (link)
How did you end up as an international relations specialist after studying the history of science? And, indeed, what was your PhD topic?

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[info]nhw
2008-06-16 07:41 pm UTC (link)
Some of this is explained here. But it's a long story which I realise I haven't told here in much detail. Perhaps a full post some time soon.

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