Work and a new bike

So much has happened this last year. Much of it has been taken up with work. I don't think I've written much about it. I've edited a couple of books, but the English Language European Law School in Maastricht is mostly what I've been busy with. I'm teaching some really bright students from all over Europe. That's the best part of the job.
The program is new; the first of its kind, at least here in Europe. It's a grand experiment, one that I think will be successful. The aim is to teach a systemless form of law to students from a variety of backgrounds. It's an alien concept here, but in reality, it's not so different from the way I learned law in the U.S. The US has 50 states, each with their own law. Next to and over all of them, there is another Federal law. We certainly didn't learn the laws of all these systems. Instead, we learned how to research - how to FIND the law.
So that's what I'm teaching the students to do here.
Here's a link to a student's blog I ran across - from there, you can maybe explore more of Maastricht and the university, if you're interested. Oh - and if you're British, have a background in law and are looking to teach - give me a holler.

I'm going to be in the U.S. for awhile soon. Part of it is to attend a conference in D.C. A great perk! Another was the new bike I recently got. The commute to Maastricht is about 3 hours door to door. There is a 20 minute bus ride on my end, one a little shorter in Maastricht. By bike, it's faster. To help with the commute, I got a new fold up bike that I can ride from my house and the university to the train stations, then can carry with me on the train for free. It's all courtesy the Dutch government - a way to promote the greening of the country.

Here's the bike - and I would highly recommend it if you're looking for a good one.