back to article El Reg Christmas Lectures to span space, big data and GCHQ

What will you be doing in the run-up to Christmas? Mad dash round the shops? Crunching the end of year numbers? Warm white wine and cold sausages in a meeting room? Or will you be kicking back with other similarly bright people, sipping hand crafted beer and listening to a bona fide expert talk about space exploration; or …

  1. Semtex451
    Pint

    Done and done

    Will there be a podcast of them too, in case DR snafu?

    1. Fogcat

      Re: Done and done

      All in London I see, no one venturing into the real world?

      1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
        Happy

        Re: Done and done

        Real World? Surely you jest. There's nothing North of that thar London but an ice-filled wasteland full of wolves, bears and savages. I've seen a documentary about it. It was called Game of Thrones I think...

        1. Irongut

          Re: Done and done

          You know nothing Spartacus Snow.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Done and done

            said it in my head with a Northern accent....it's like im there.

      2. Carbon life unit 5,232,556

        Re: Done and done

        London is a black hole, everyone gravitates here at some point.

  2. Alistair Dabbs

    Similarly bright people

    Looking forward to the hand-crafted beer. I can't stand it when they it with their elbows.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    GCHQ

    Would like to go to the GCHQ talk as they have a station here and know people that work there.

    Unfortunately a London location rules me out. How about doing something in Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, York, Hull, hell anywhere north of Watford?

    1. Mr_Pitiful
      FAIL

      Re: GCHQ

      Or anywhere south of Exeter would be easier, I'm not about to drive 5 hours to a speech and then 5 hours back again!

    2. LucreLout
      Pint

      Re: GCHQ

      "Unfortunately a London location rules me out. How about doing something in Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, York, Hull, hell anywhere north of Watford?"

      El Reg is a media organisation and in common with most media outlets it has never ventured outside of the M25.

      Since I'm in London these days, it works for me, but I'd agree with your post. The beer is certainly better the further north you go, and the absence of skinny Geordies suggests the pies are too!

      1. Mark 85

        Re: GCHQ

        El Reg is a media organisation and in common with most media outlets it has never ventured outside of the M25.

        Except for Lester that is. He's pretty far outside of the M25.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Featuring speakers who are even cleverer than some of our readers

    Some but not all....modesty compels me to post anonymously...

    1. Lyndon Hills 1
      Joke

      Re: Featuring speakers who are even cleverer than some of our readers

      yeah, next year have some of the commentards do an address. Possible subjects; advantages of iThings over MS/Linux, are Google worse than the TLAs? and Media, to download or to buy?

  5. tony2heads

    record it please

    and put it on youtube (or similar)

  6. Joe Loughry

    Webcast please?

    I can't get to London but I'm interested in these. For a webcast, I'd get up early to listen in.

    1. Petrea Mitchell
      Unhappy

      Re: Webcast please?

      Same here! Never mind what planet we should be on, I can't even manage to be on the right continent on this one...

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    BRIAN COX....

    ...can't stand him.....he's not going to be there is he??

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: BRIAN COX....

      A friend is a Russell Group university professor in something to do with Theoretical Physics. He had a relatively low opinion of Brian Cox based on his TV appearances.

      Then he went to something scientific where Brian Cox was one of the speakers. My friend freely admits that changed his opinion to one of glowing appreciation - "He really does know his stuff".

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: BRIAN COX....

        i have now stopped hating him.

    2. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Re: BRIAN COX....

      Whenever I've seen any Brian Cox stuff on telly, it's been dumbed down science-lite with soaring instrumentals and lots of shots of him looking moody on mountainsides. But that's not necessarily his fault, that's just TV. So I don't watch any of his telly stuff. Sadly large chunks of the rest of the BBC's TV documentary output have gone the same way, so that Horizon is now pretty much unwatchable for example. Although there's plenty of better stuff on BBC4.

      But if you listen to Brian Cox on Radio 4 (the home of civilisation), you get a much better impression. I was just listening to a podcast of 'The Infinite Monkey Cage' on my way into work this morning. Which I recomend. Scientific discussion with a mix of scientists and interested comedians - hosted by Brian Cox and Robin Ince. It turns out that Brian Cox likes to be rude about homeopathy, astrology, mediums... And chemistry...

      1. itzman

        Re: BRIAN COX....

        Like any expert turned media luvvie, he knows his stuff. The problem is when he strays off his stuff.

        Which is why junkie comedians think they can pronounce of economics, oscar winning actresses on climate change, and bunny huggers on engineering..

    3. Ol'Peculier

      Re: BRIAN COX....

      If you were lucky to get to the Douglas Adams Virtual 60th party a couple of years ago, you'd have seen Jon Cuylshaw mocking him (Cox was meant to be there) by saying he was off on a BBC jolly pointing at stars and stuff.

      Would have been nice to have seen him actually prove his stuff.

  8. Chris G

    Nice Convention Centre

    Sitting empty most of the year in Ibiza and the weather will be better than London or anywhere north of Watford, can't say much for most Spanish beer though we have some excellent local and mainland wines.

    If you can't make the lectures there, you can at least do a podcast and post on YouTube

  9. Dominic Connor, Quant Headhunter

    Outside London

    The Reg is of course read throughout the universe, indeed the majority of readers aren't even lucky enough to live in the UK.

    So, let's turn this around...

    A lecture requires a high calibre speaker, a decent venue and publicity.

    The Reg can do publicity and knows some interesting people, venues outside London are a bit harder to arrange and of course the speakers are mostly London-ish.

    I've been helping out with getting venues and it is remarkably hard graft, our glorious group editor had to use his charm to get the one we are using.

    So who has influence over a nice venue that is accessible by public transport ?

    1. pci

      Re: Outside London

      Can you get you a place in York easy enough. Seats upto 290.

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