Eeek Alors! Life, as always, is full of excitement, because in a few short months I will be winging my way to Norway with my wife (Gina the Gorgeous).

Way back in the mists of time we used to call 2012, I was invited to give the keynote presentation at the FPGA Forum in Norway. Just for giggles and grins, this auspicious event is invariably held in February, which means the weather is “brisk” to say the least (suffice it to say that even the average high temperature is sub-zero).

The capital of Norway is Oslo. The FPGA Forum is held in Trondheim, which is ~390 km (~242 miles) north of Oslo as the white-throated dipper flies, or ~490 km (~305 miles) by road. For myself, I prefer the train, which takes around 6 hours and 45 minutes, affording passengers with glorious views of… well, lots of things covered in snow, now I come to think about it.

Located on the south shore of Trondheim Fjord at the mouth of the River Nidelva, Trondheim itself is a beautiful city replete in history. Founded in 997 CE as a trading post, Trondheim served as the capital of Norway during the Viking Age until 1217. Today, Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway. Amongst many other things, the city is home to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research (SINTEF), St. Olavs University Hospital, and a cornucopia of other technology-oriented institutions.

It’s a scurrilous rumor that I am obliged to go everywhere twice, where the purpose of my second visit is to apologize for the first. In this case, the reason for my return to Norway is that I’ve been invited to celebrate the 10th anniversary of my previous presentation by giving the keynote at the 2022 FPGA Forum (yes, of course it will be in February). Since I’ll be in town, I’ve also been invited to present a guest lecture at the university, an occasion to which I’m much looking forward.

Just to add a big dollop of cream on top of the metaphorical cake, Gina is going to accompany me on this escapade. There’s just one fly in the torskesuppe (creamy Norwegian cod soup), which is that — ever since I told Gina we’d been invited — she’s leapt into the fray with gusto and abandon (and aplomb, of course), and shipments of arctic apparel and sundry supplies have been arriving at our home on a daily basis (goodness only knows how we are going to pack the snowshoes).

I was just thinking about how much things have changed in FPGA space (where no one can hear you scream) over the past ten years. For example, in 2012, no one was talking about artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) or augmented reality (AR) in the context of FPGAs. My, how things have changed, but at least we won’t be short of things to talk about. How about you? Is there any chance I’ll be seeing your smiling face in the audience?