H.A. Eiselt wrote on January 22, 2015
Here is a tidbit about the ISOLDE 1996 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. As usual, one day of the conference was devoted to an outing. This time, the organizers took us to Fort Edmonton, which was interesting in its own right, but the highlight (to me, at least) was our very own John Hodgson (who describes himself as an “old hippie”) who took out his guitar and sang “Paddin’ the old CV.” I took a shot of him during that performance. You can actually find the tune recorded at the Alberta Faculty Club in 2011 on youtube.
As far as I concerned, it is not only an eye-openener, but should be mandatory listening for all new faculty members. By the way, John has played in clubs for quite some time now, and, I think he is quite good. See, for instance, his rendition of “Wedding Bells,” a Hank Williams classic.
With or without guitar, John was quite a character. In my time, I have heard many justifications, fake and otherwise, why some functions should be linear (most of the time, the true reason is that it makes computations and life a lot simpler). When John made one of his presentations, he stated that being in a department of geography, his Dean did not want him to use mathematics, but finally agreed to the use of formulas, as long as they were linear. I am certain it’s a tall tale, but it sure is original.
John retired a few years ago. I’d like to wish him & his wife the very best of health.
John Hodgson wrote on March 23, 2019
Somehow I stumbled upon this tonight, H.A. Thank you so much for your compliments. I remember our meetings with great pleasure. I hope all is well with you and your family.
