About

Short bio

d3 = require("d3@7")
topojson = require("topojson-client@3")

// Your location data by year
locationData = [
  { year: 1998, location: "Racine", country: "USA", lat: 42.7261, lon: -87.7828 },
  { year: 1999, location: "Racine", country: "USA", lat: 42.7261, lon: -87.7828 },
  { year: 2000, location: "Racine", country: "USA", lat: 42.7261, lon: -87.7828 },
  { year: 2001, location: "Racine", country: "USA", lat: 42.7261, lon: -87.7828 },
  { year: 2002, location: "Racine", country: "USA", lat: 42.7261, lon: -87.7828 },
  { year: 2003, location: "Racine", country: "USA", lat: 42.7261, lon: -87.7828 },
  { year: 2004, location: "Reutlingen", country: "Germany", lat: 48.4921, lon: 9.2095 },
  { year: 2005, location: "Reutlingen", country: "Germany", lat: 48.4921, lon: 9.2095 },
  { year: 2006, location: "Reutlingen", country: "Germany", lat: 48.4921, lon: 9.2095 },
  { year: 2007, location: "Reutlingen", country: "Germany", lat: 48.4921, lon: 9.2095 },
  { year: 2008, location: "Reutlingen", country: "Germany", lat: 48.4921, lon: 9.2095 },
  { year: 2009, location: "Reutlingen", country: "Germany", lat: 48.4921, lon: 9.2095 },
  { year: 2010, location: "Reutlingen", country: "Germany", lat: 48.4921, lon: 9.2095 },
  { year: 2011, location: "Reutlingen", country: "Germany", lat: 48.4921, lon: 9.2095 },
  { year: 2012, location: "Reutlingen", country: "Germany", lat: 48.4921, lon: 9.2095 },
  { year: 2013, location: "Reutlingen", country: "Germany", lat: 48.4921, lon: 9.2095 },
  { year: 2014, location: "Reutlingen", country: "Germany", lat: 48.4921, lon: 9.2095 },
  { year: 2015, location: "Reutlingen", country: "Germany", lat: 48.4921, lon: 9.2095 },
  { year: 2016, location: "Reutlingen", country: "Germany", lat: 48.4921, lon: 9.2095 },
  { year: 2017, location: "Reutlingen", country: "Germany", lat: 48.4921, lon: 9.2095 },
  { year: 2018, location: "Stirling", country: "Scotland", lat: 56.1165, lon: -3.9369 },
  { year: 2019, location: "Stirling", country: "Scotland", lat: 56.1165, lon: -3.9369 },
  { year: 2020, location: "Stirling", country: "Scotland", lat: 56.1165, lon: -3.9369 },
  { year: 2021, location: "Stirling", country: "Scotland", lat: 56.1165, lon: -3.9369 },
  { year: 2022, location: "Royal Leamington Spa", country: "England", lat: 52.2851, lon: -1.5364 },
  { year: 2023, location: "Bath", country: "England", lat: 51.3751, lon: -2.3618 },
  { year: 2024, location: "Irvine", country: "USA", lat: 33.6846, lon: -117.8265 },
  { year: 2025, location: "Irvine", country: "USA", lat: 33.6846, lon: -117.8265 }
]

// Load world map data
world = {
  const response = await fetch("https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/world-atlas@2/countries-110m.json");
  return topojson.feature(await response.json(), "countries");
}

// Function to get current theme colors for timeline map
getTimelineThemeColors = () => {
  const isDark = document.body.classList.contains('quarto-dark');

  if (isDark) {
    return {
      landColor: "#374151", // gray-700
      countryStroke: "#6b7280", // gray-500
      futurePath: "#60a5fa", // blue-400
      traveledPath: "#f87171", // red-400
      currentMarker: "#f87171", // red-400
      otherMarkers: "#60a5fa", // blue-400
      markerStroke: "#e5e7eb", // gray-200
      labelText: "#f3f4f6", // gray-100
      labelBg: "rgba(17, 24, 39, 0.8)", // gray-900 with opacity
      tooltipBg: "rgba(17, 24, 39, 0.95)", // gray-900 with opacity
      tooltipText: "#f3f4f6", // gray-100
      tooltipAccent: "#fbbf24", // amber-400
      controlsBg: "rgba(17, 24, 39, 0.8)", // gray-900 with opacity
      controlsText: "#f3f4f6", // gray-100
      controlsButtonBg: "rgba(75, 85, 99, 0.8)", // gray-600 with opacity
      sliderBg: "rgba(17, 24, 39, 0.8)", // gray-900 with opacity
      sliderText: "#f3f4f6", // gray-100
      sliderButtonBg: "rgba(75, 85, 99, 0.8)" // gray-600 with opacity
    };
  } else {
    return {
      landColor: "#e5e7eb", // gray-200
      countryStroke: "#9ca3af", // gray-400
      futurePath: "#3b82f6", // blue-500
      traveledPath: "#ef4444", // red-500
      currentMarker: "#ef4444", // red-500
      otherMarkers: "#3b82f6", // blue-500
      markerStroke: "#374151", // gray-700
      labelText: "#374151", // gray-700
      labelBg: "rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.9)", // white with opacity
      tooltipBg: "rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.95)", // white with opacity
      tooltipText: "#374151", // gray-700
      tooltipAccent: "#f59e0b", // amber-500
      controlsBg: "rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.9)", // white with opacity
      controlsText: "#374151", // gray-700
      controlsButtonBg: "rgba(243, 244, 246, 0.8)", // gray-100 with opacity
      sliderBg: "rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.9)", // white with opacity
      sliderText: "#374151", // gray-700
      sliderButtonBg: "rgba(243, 244, 246, 0.8)" // gray-100 with opacity
    };
  }
}

// Theme-adaptive year selector with buttons
viewof selectedYear = {
  const MIN_YEAR = 1998;
  const MAX_YEAR = 2025;
  const DEFAULT_YEAR = 2025;

  const colors = getTimelineThemeColors();

  const container = html`<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; width: 100%;">
    <div style="display: flex; align-items: center; margin-bottom: 8px;">
      <button id="prev-year" style="
        background: ${colors.sliderButtonBg}; 
        color: ${colors.sliderText}; 
        border: 1px solid ${colors.countryStroke}; 
        border-radius: 4px; 
        padding: 4px 8px; 
        margin-right: 10px;
        cursor: pointer;
        font-size: 16px;
        width: 36px;
      ">◀</button>
      <div style="flex-grow: 1; text-align: center; color: ${colors.sliderText}; font-size: 16px;">
        Year: <span id="year-display">${DEFAULT_YEAR}</span>
      </div>
      <button id="next-year" style="
        background: ${colors.sliderButtonBg}; 
        color: ${colors.sliderText}; 
        border: 1px solid ${colors.countryStroke}; 
        border-radius: 4px; 
        padding: 4px 8px; 
        margin-left: 10px;
        cursor: pointer;
        font-size: 16px;
        width: 36px;
      ">▶</button>
    </div>
    <input type="range" id="year-slider" min="${MIN_YEAR}" max="${MAX_YEAR}" step="1" value="${DEFAULT_YEAR}" style="width: 100%; accent-color: ${colors.traveledPath};">
  </div>`;

  const slider = container.querySelector("#year-slider");
  const display = container.querySelector("#year-display");
  const prevBtn = container.querySelector("#prev-year");
  const nextBtn = container.querySelector("#next-year");

  let value = DEFAULT_YEAR;

  // Function to update colors based on theme
  const updateColors = () => {
    const currentColors = getTimelineThemeColors();
    prevBtn.style.background = currentColors.sliderButtonBg;
    prevBtn.style.color = currentColors.sliderText;
    prevBtn.style.borderColor = currentColors.countryStroke;
    nextBtn.style.background = currentColors.sliderButtonBg;
    nextBtn.style.color = currentColors.sliderText;
    nextBtn.style.borderColor = currentColors.countryStroke;
    display.parentElement.style.color = currentColors.sliderText;
    slider.style.accentColor = currentColors.traveledPath;
  };

  // Function to update everything
  const updateYear = (year) => {
    year = Math.max(MIN_YEAR, Math.min(MAX_YEAR, year));
    value = year;
    slider.value = year;
    display.textContent = year;

    // Update button states
    prevBtn.disabled = year <= MIN_YEAR;
    prevBtn.style.opacity = year <= MIN_YEAR ? "0.5" : "1";
    nextBtn.disabled = year >= MAX_YEAR;
    nextBtn.style.opacity = year >= MAX_YEAR ? "0.5" : "1";

    container.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent("input"));
  };

  // Update when slider changes
  slider.oninput = () => {
    updateYear(parseInt(slider.value));
  };

  // Previous year button
  prevBtn.onclick = () => {
    updateYear(value - 1);
  };

  // Next year button
  nextBtn.onclick = () => {
    updateYear(value + 1);
  };

  // Add keyboard navigation
  container.tabIndex = 0;
  container.style.outline = "none";
  container.addEventListener("keydown", (event) => {
    if (event.key === "ArrowLeft") {
      event.preventDefault();
      updateYear(value - 1);
    } else if (event.key === "ArrowRight") {
      event.preventDefault();
      updateYear(value + 1);
    }
  });

  // Listen for theme changes
  const observer = new MutationObserver(() => {
    updateColors();
  });

  observer.observe(document.body, {
    attributes: true,
    attributeFilter: ['class']
  });

  // Initialize
  updateYear(DEFAULT_YEAR);
  updateColors();

  // Define getter for Observable
  Object.defineProperty(container, "value", {
    get: () => value
  });

  return container;
}

// Current location based on selected year
currentLocation = locationData.find(d => d.year === selectedYear)

// Create a theme-adaptive tooltip element
tooltip = {
  const colors = getTimelineThemeColors();

  const div = html`<div style="
    position: absolute;
    background: ${colors.tooltipBg};
    border: 1px solid ${colors.countryStroke};
    border-radius: 5px;
    padding: 10px;
    pointer-events: none;
    opacity: 0;
    transition: opacity 0.2s;
    z-index: 1000;
    font-family: sans-serif;
    font-size: 14px;
    max-width: 200px;
    color: ${colors.tooltipText};
    box-shadow: 0 2px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3);
  "></div>`;

  document.body.appendChild(div);

  // Function to update tooltip colors
  const updateTooltipColors = () => {
    const currentColors = getTimelineThemeColors();
    div.style.background = currentColors.tooltipBg;
    div.style.borderColor = currentColors.countryStroke;
    div.style.color = currentColors.tooltipText;
  };

  // Listen for theme changes
  const observer = new MutationObserver(() => {
    updateTooltipColors();
  });

  observer.observe(document.body, {
    attributes: true,
    attributeFilter: ['class']
  });

  return div;
}

// Theme-adaptive map visualization
mapVisualization = {
  const colors = getTimelineThemeColors();

  // Set up dimensions and projection
  const width = 900;
  const height = 500;

  // Create a projection focused on US and Europe
  const projection = d3.geoMercator()
    .center([-40, 45])
    .scale(250)
    .translate([width / 2, height / 2]);

  // Create path generator
  const path = d3.geoPath().projection(projection);

  // Create SVG
  const svg = d3.create("svg")
    .attr("width", width)
    .attr("height", height)
    .attr("viewBox", [0, 0, width, height])
    .attr("style", "max-width: 100%; height: auto;");

  // Add ocean background
  svg.append("rect")
    .attr("width", width)
    .attr("height", height)
    .attr("fill", "none");

  // Create a group for all map elements
  const g = svg.append("g");

  // Draw countries
  const countries = g.append("g")
    .selectAll("path")
    .data(world.features)
    .join("path")
    .attr("fill", colors.landColor)
    .attr("stroke", colors.countryStroke)
    .attr("stroke-width", 0.5)
    .attr("d", path);

  // Get unique locations to avoid drawing the same point multiple times
  const uniqueLocations = Array.from(
    new Map(locationData.map(d => [`${d.lat},${d.lon}`, d])).values()
  ).sort((a, b) => a.year - b.year);

  // Draw path lines connecting unique locations
  const lineGenerator = d3.line()
    .x(d => projection([d.lon, d.lat])[0])
    .y(d => projection([d.lon, d.lat])[1])
    .curve(d3.curveCardinal.tension(0.5));

  // Draw the complete path 
  const futurePath = g.append("path")
    .attr("d", lineGenerator(uniqueLocations))
    .attr("fill", "none")
    .attr("stroke", colors.futurePath)
    .attr("stroke-width", 2)
    .attr("stroke-dasharray", "5,5")
    .attr("opacity", 0.7);

  // Highlight the path traveled up to the current year
  const currentYearIndex = uniqueLocations.findIndex(d => {
    const locationsAtThisPoint = locationData.filter(loc => 
      loc.lat === d.lat && loc.lon === d.lon
    );
    const years = locationsAtThisPoint.map(loc => loc.year);
    const minYear = Math.min(...years);
    return selectedYear < minYear;
  });

  let traveledPathIndex;
  if (currentYearIndex === -1) {
    traveledPathIndex = uniqueLocations.length;
  } else if (currentYearIndex === 0) {
    traveledPathIndex = 0;
  } else {
    traveledPathIndex = currentYearIndex;
  }

  // Draw traveled path
  let traveledPath = null;
  if (traveledPathIndex > 0) {
    const traveledPathData = uniqueLocations.slice(0, traveledPathIndex);
    traveledPath = g.append("path")
      .attr("d", lineGenerator(traveledPathData))
      .attr("fill", "none")
      .attr("stroke", colors.traveledPath)
      .attr("stroke-width", 3)
      .attr("opacity", 0.9);
  }

  // Create a group for markers and labels
  const markersGroup = g.append("g");

  // Get unique locations for markers
  const markerLocations = Array.from(
    new Map(locationData.map(d => [`${d.lat},${d.lon}`, d])).values()
  );

  // Draw all locations as markers
  const markers = markersGroup.selectAll("circle")
    .data(markerLocations)
    .join("circle")
    .attr("cx", d => projection([d.lon, d.lat])[0])
    .attr("cy", d => projection([d.lon, d.lat])[1])
    .attr("r", d => {
      const isCurrentLocation = locationData.some(loc => 
        loc.year === selectedYear && 
        loc.lat === d.lat && 
        loc.lon === d.lon
      );
      return isCurrentLocation ? 8 : 4;
    })
    .attr("fill", d => {
      const isCurrentLocation = locationData.some(loc => 
        loc.year === selectedYear && 
        loc.lat === d.lat && 
        loc.lon === d.lon
      );
      return isCurrentLocation ? colors.currentMarker : colors.otherMarkers;
    })
    .attr("stroke", colors.markerStroke)
    .attr("stroke-width", d => {
      const isCurrentLocation = locationData.some(loc => 
        loc.year === selectedYear && 
        loc.lat === d.lat && 
        loc.lon === d.lon
      );
      return isCurrentLocation ? 2 : 1;
    })
    .attr("opacity", d => {
      const isCurrentLocation = locationData.some(loc => 
        loc.year === selectedYear && 
        loc.lat === d.lat && 
        loc.lon === d.lon
      );
      return isCurrentLocation ? 1 : 0.7;
    })
    .on("mouseover", function(event, d) {
      const locYears = locationData
        .filter(loc => loc.lat === d.lat && loc.lon === d.lon)
        .map(loc => loc.year);

      const yearRanges = [];
      let start = locYears[0];
      let end = locYears[0];

      for (let i = 1; i < locYears.length; i++) {
        if (locYears[i] === end + 1) {
          end = locYears[i];
        } else {
          yearRanges.push(start === end ? `${start}` : `${start}-${end}`);
          start = end = locYears[i];
        }
      }
      yearRanges.push(start === end ? `${start}` : `${start}-${end}`);

      d3.select(this)
        .attr("r", 12)
        .attr("stroke-width", 3);

      const currentColors = getTimelineThemeColors();
      tooltip.innerHTML = `
        <strong style="color: ${currentColors.tooltipAccent};">${d.location}, ${d.country}</strong><br/>
        Years: ${yearRanges.join(", ")}<br/>
        Coordinates: ${d.lat.toFixed(2)}, ${d.lon.toFixed(2)}
      `;

      tooltip.style.opacity = "1";
      tooltip.style.left = (event.pageX + 15) + "px";
      tooltip.style.top = (event.pageY - 28) + "px";
    })
    .on("mouseout", function(event, d) {
      const isCurrentLocation = locationData.some(loc => 
        loc.year === selectedYear && 
        loc.lat === d.lat && 
        loc.lon === d.lon
      );

      d3.select(this)
        .attr("r", isCurrentLocation ? 8 : 4)
        .attr("stroke-width", isCurrentLocation ? 2 : 1);

      tooltip.style.opacity = "0";
    })
    .on("mousemove", function(event) {
      tooltip.style.left = (event.pageX + 15) + "px";
      tooltip.style.top = (event.pageY - 28) + "px";
    });

  // Add label for current location
  let currentLocationLabel = null;
  let currentLocationBg = null;

  if (currentLocation) {
    const [x, y] = projection([currentLocation.lon, currentLocation.lat]);

    currentLocationBg = markersGroup.append("rect")
      .attr("x", x + 10)
      .attr("y", y - 15)
      .attr("width", `${currentLocation.location.length * 8 + 30}px`)
      .attr("height", "22px")
      .attr("fill", colors.labelBg)
      .attr("rx", 3)
      .attr("ry", 3);

    currentLocationLabel = markersGroup.append("text")
      .attr("x", x + 12)
      .attr("y", y)
      .text(`${currentLocation.location} (${currentLocation.year})`)
      .attr("font-family", "sans-serif")
      .attr("font-size", "14px")
      .attr("font-weight", "bold")
      .attr("fill", colors.labelText);
  }

  // Add zoom controls
  const zoomControls = svg.append("g")
    .attr("transform", `translate(${width - 70}, 20)`);

  // Zoom in button
  const zoomInButton = zoomControls.append("rect")
    .attr("x", 0)
    .attr("y", 0)
    .attr("width", 30)
    .attr("height", 30)
    .attr("fill", colors.controlsButtonBg)
    .attr("stroke", colors.countryStroke)
    .attr("rx", 5)
    .attr("ry", 5)
    .attr("cursor", "pointer")
    .on("click", () => zoom.scaleBy(svg.transition().duration(300), 1.5));

  const zoomInText = zoomControls.append("text")
    .attr("x", 15)
    .attr("y", 20)
    .attr("text-anchor", "middle")
    .attr("fill", colors.controlsText)
    .attr("font-size", "18px")
    .attr("font-weight", "bold")
    .attr("pointer-events", "none")
    .text("+");

  // Zoom out button
  const zoomOutButton = zoomControls.append("rect")
    .attr("x", 0)
    .attr("y", 40)
    .attr("width", 30)
    .attr("height", 30)
    .attr("fill", colors.controlsButtonBg)
    .attr("stroke", colors.countryStroke)
    .attr("rx", 5)
    .attr("ry", 5)
    .attr("cursor", "pointer")
    .on("click", () => zoom.scaleBy(svg.transition().duration(300), 0.75));

  const zoomOutText = zoomControls.append("text")
    .attr("x", 15)
    .attr("y", 60)
    .attr("text-anchor", "middle")
    .attr("fill", colors.controlsText)
    .attr("font-size", "18px")
    .attr("font-weight", "bold")
    .attr("pointer-events", "none")
    .text("−");

  // Reset button
  const resetButton = zoomControls.append("rect")
    .attr("x", 0)
    .attr("y", 80)
    .attr("width", 30)
    .attr("height", 30)
    .attr("fill", colors.controlsButtonBg)
    .attr("stroke", colors.countryStroke)
    .attr("rx", 5)
    .attr("ry", 5)
    .attr("cursor", "pointer")
    .on("click", resetZoom);

  const resetText = zoomControls.append("text")
    .attr("x", 15)
    .attr("y", 100)
    .attr("text-anchor", "middle")
    .attr("fill", colors.controlsText)
    .attr("font-size", "14px")
    .attr("font-weight", "bold")
    .attr("pointer-events", "none")
    .text("R");

  // Function to update all colors based on current theme
  function updateMapColors() {
    const currentColors = getTimelineThemeColors();

    // Update countries
    countries
      .attr("fill", currentColors.landColor)
      .attr("stroke", currentColors.countryStroke);

    // Update paths
    futurePath.attr("stroke", currentColors.futurePath);
    if (traveledPath) {
      traveledPath.attr("stroke", currentColors.traveledPath);
    }

    // Update markers
    markers
      .attr("fill", d => {
        const isCurrentLocation = locationData.some(loc => 
          loc.year === selectedYear && 
          loc.lat === d.lat && 
          loc.lon === d.lon
        );
        return isCurrentLocation ? currentColors.currentMarker : currentColors.otherMarkers;
      })
      .attr("stroke", currentColors.markerStroke);

    // Update labels
    if (currentLocationBg) {
      currentLocationBg.attr("fill", currentColors.labelBg);
    }
    if (currentLocationLabel) {
      currentLocationLabel.attr("fill", currentColors.labelText);
    }

    // Update controls
    zoomInButton.attr("fill", currentColors.controlsButtonBg).attr("stroke", currentColors.countryStroke);
    zoomOutButton.attr("fill", currentColors.controlsButtonBg).attr("stroke", currentColors.countryStroke);
    resetButton.attr("fill", currentColors.controlsButtonBg).attr("stroke", currentColors.countryStroke);
    zoomInText.attr("fill", currentColors.controlsText);
    zoomOutText.attr("fill", currentColors.controlsText);
    resetText.attr("fill", currentColors.controlsText);
  }

  // Define zoom behavior
  const zoom = d3.zoom()
    .scaleExtent([0.5, 8])
    .on("zoom", zoomed);

  function zoomed(event) {
    g.attr("transform", event.transform);
    const strokeScale = 1 / Math.sqrt(event.transform.k);
    g.selectAll("path").attr("stroke-width", 0.5 * strokeScale);

    markersGroup.selectAll("circle").each(function(d) {
      const isCurrentLocation = locationData.some(loc => 
        loc.year === selectedYear && 
        loc.lat === d.lat && 
        loc.lon === d.lon
      );

      d3.select(this)
        .attr("r", (isCurrentLocation ? 8 : 4) * strokeScale)
        .attr("stroke-width", (isCurrentLocation ? 2 : 1) * strokeScale);
    });
  }

  function resetZoom() {
    svg.transition().duration(750).call(
      zoom.transform,
      d3.zoomIdentity
    );
  }

  // Enable zoom and pan on the SVG
  svg.call(zoom);

  // Listen for theme changes and update colors accordingly
  const observer = new MutationObserver(() => {
    updateMapColors();
  });

  observer.observe(document.body, {
    attributes: true,
    attributeFilter: ['class']
  });

  return svg.node();
}

// Display the map
mapVisualization;

Hi, I’m Luke, or more formally Lukas. I’m a German national with dual citizenship in the US. I was born in Wisconsin, USA but grew up in the greater Stuttgart area (Germany), which is known for its car industry and the Swabian dialect.

Reutlingen, Germany - Credit

Stuttgart, Germany - Credit

After a brief stint working in a closed psychiatric ward at my local university hospital in Tübingen, I decided to pursue undergraduate education at a small university in beautiful Scotland.

Tübingen, Germany - Credit: Westend61/Getty Images

Stirling, Scotland - Credit

Despite my initial ambitions to pursue a career in clinical psychology, I discovered my analytical side when I was introduced to computer programming by a PhD student in the lab I was helping out in. I got very lucky in this regard as just prior to graduating, I was offered a summer internship at a London-based Data-Science consultancy. I enjoyed the work as it offered diverse problems to solve from different clients, but ultimately I felt that I should also seek formal education in data analytics.

The Behavioral and Data Science M.Sc. at the University of Warwick was very much the perfect fit for me, as it combined my interest in behavioral research with my newfound passion for select topics in Computer Science. It was at Warwick where I first came to appreciate the application of computational modelling to describe cognitive processes. This was when things “clicked” in my head, and I knew that I wanted to pursue a PhD in this area.

Royal Leamington Spa, England - Credit

I spent a very fun year working in the Applied Digital Behavior Lab at the University of Bath while preparing my PhD applications and was fortunate to be accepted into the Cognitive Science PhD program at the University of California, Irvine, where I am currently working in Mark Steyvers’ lab.

Bath, England - Credit: Ian Woolcock — Shutterstock

University of California, Irvine, USA - Credit

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Hobbies and Interests

1. Exercise

I’ve always been pretty active, but when I was younger I somehow never really stuck with any particular sport for too long. To give you an idea, I’ve had a phase for: archery, badminton, Crossfit, golf, parkour, powerlifting, and skateboarding. I’m still interested in strength training, which I have been doing in some form for 10+ years, and badminton. I have limited means to engage with these in an organized format at the moment, so to fill the hole in my heart, I’ve been investing some time to figure out the perfect home gym setup that still fits inside my bedroom. I think I’ve been pretty successful with this, so maybe I’ll show it off in a post sometime.

2. Technology

I like GNU/Linux, and use it as my everyday operating system. At the moment, my laptop runs Debian with KDE. I’ve also played around with operating systems on mobile devices, currently using GrapheneOS. I enjoy coding, and wish I could do it more! My favorite languages at the moment are Julia, R, and Python. As you can see, I’ve also taken an interest in web development. While Quarto admittedly makes this website pretty easy to create, I also use web development in my research to create experiments that run in a browser. I’m super interested in picking up creative coding and I am hoping to eventually generate some art that I can post on here! :)

3. Languages

English used to be my first language as I only started learning German after relocating to the Länd at age six. Fast-forward to now, English has become my second language. Maybe because of this strange experience, I’ve had a bit of an interest in language-learning. I have a habit of doing language lessons for fun on Duolingo, where I have a streak of over 2000 days. I’m mostly learning French and Dutch at the moment. My Dutch is definitely better than my French, probably just by virtue of being so similar to German, but both are good enough to follow a YouTube video. I hope to eventually move away from Duolingo and bring my skills to the next level, but don’t feel I have the bandwidth for it just now. If you know a good free resource, be sure to let me know!

4. Gaming

I was quite the avid gamer as a teen, spending countless hours on the likes of Team Fortress 2, Minecraft and Guild Wars 2. I don’t actively play much these days, but I still like to keep up with the industry. Perhaps I’m just waiting for the next big thing to come along. I also really enjoy going to board game cafés and completing escape rooms with friends!

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Places I’ve been

d3Highlight = require("d3@7")
topoHighlight = require("topojson-client@3")

// Your list of visited countries
countriesVisited = [
  "Germany", "France", "USA", "Spain", "Italy", "Austria", 
  "Switzerland", "Netherlands", "Belgium", "San Marino", 
  "Vatican", "Malta", "Monaco", "United Kingdom"
]

// Load world map data with a unique variable name
worldGeoData = {
  const response = await fetch("https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/world-atlas@2/countries-110m.json");
  return topoHighlight.feature(await response.json(), "countries");
}

// Function to get current theme colors
getThemeColors = () => {
  const isDark = document.body.classList.contains('quarto-dark');

  if (isDark) {
    return {
      visitedColor: "#00a653",
      notVisitedColor: "#374151", // gray-700 equivalent
      strokeColor: "#6b7280", // gray-500 equivalent
      strokeHoverColor: "#ffffff",
      tooltipBg: "rgba(17, 24, 39, 0.95)", // gray-900 with opacity
      tooltipText: "#ffffff",
      legendBg: "rgba(17, 24, 39, 0.8)",
      legendText: "#ffffff",
      controlsBg: "rgba(17, 24, 39, 0.8)",
      controlsButtonBg: "rgba(75, 85, 99, 0.8)", // gray-600 with opacity
      controlsButtonStroke: "#9ca3af" // gray-400
    };
  } else {
    return {
      visitedColor: "#00a653",
      notVisitedColor: "#e5e7eb", // gray-200 equivalent
      strokeColor: "#9ca3af", // gray-400 equivalent
      strokeHoverColor: "#374151",
      tooltipBg: "rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.95)",
      tooltipText: "#374151",
      legendBg: "rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.9)",
      legendText: "#374151",
      controlsBg: "rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.9)",
      controlsButtonBg: "rgba(243, 244, 246, 0.8)", // gray-100 with opacity
      controlsButtonStroke: "#d1d5db" // gray-300
    };
  }
}

// Map visualization with theme-adaptive colors
highlightedCountriesMap = {
  const colors = getThemeColors();

  // Set up dimensions and projection
  const mapWidth = 900;
  const mapHeight = 500;

  // Create a projection focused on the world
  const mapProjection = d3Highlight.geoMercator()
    .center([10, 45])
    .scale(150)
    .translate([mapWidth / 2, mapHeight / 2]);

  // Create path generator
  const mapPath = d3Highlight.geoPath().projection(mapProjection);

  // Create SVG with transparent background
  const mapSvg = d3Highlight.create("svg")
    .attr("width", mapWidth)
    .attr("height", mapHeight)
    .attr("viewBox", [0, 0, mapWidth, mapHeight])
    .attr("style", "max-width: 100%; height: auto; background: none;");

  // Create a group for all map elements
  const mapGroup = mapSvg.append("g");

  // Create a tooltip
  const mapTooltip = d3Highlight.select(document.createElement("div"))
    .attr("class", "highlight-map-tooltip")
    .style("position", "absolute")
    .style("background", colors.tooltipBg)
    .style("color", colors.tooltipText)
    .style("border-radius", "5px")
    .style("padding", "8px")
    .style("pointer-events", "none")
    .style("opacity", 0)
    .style("z-index", 1000)
    .style("font-family", "sans-serif")
    .style("font-size", "14px");

  document.body.appendChild(mapTooltip.node());

  // Country name mapping for special cases
  const countryNameMap = {
    "United States of America": "USA",
    "United States": "USA",
    "Holy See": "Vatican",
    "Vatican City": "Vatican",
    "Vatican": "Vatican",
    "San Marino": "San Marino"
  };

  // Function to update map colors based on current theme
  function updateMapColors() {
    const currentColors = getThemeColors();

    // Update country colors
    mapGroup.selectAll("path")
      .attr("fill", d => {
        const countryName = d.properties.name;
        const normalizedName = countryNameMap[countryName] || countryName;
        return countriesVisited.includes(normalizedName) ? currentColors.visitedColor : currentColors.notVisitedColor;
      })
      .attr("stroke", currentColors.strokeColor);

    // Update tooltip colors
    mapTooltip
      .style("background", currentColors.tooltipBg)
      .style("color", currentColors.tooltipText);

    // Update legend colors
    mapLegend.select(".legend-bg")
      .attr("fill", currentColors.legendBg);

    mapLegend.selectAll(".legend-text")
      .style("fill", currentColors.legendText);

    // Update control colors
    mapZoomControls.select(".controls-bg")
      .attr("fill", currentColors.controlsBg);

    mapZoomControls.selectAll(".control-button")
      .attr("fill", currentColors.controlsButtonBg)
      .attr("stroke", currentColors.controlsButtonStroke);
  }

  // Draw countries
  const countries = mapGroup.selectAll("path")
    .data(worldGeoData.features)
    .join("path")
    .attr("fill", d => {
      const countryName = d.properties.name;
      const normalizedName = countryNameMap[countryName] || countryName;
      return countriesVisited.includes(normalizedName) ? colors.visitedColor : colors.notVisitedColor;
    })
    .attr("stroke", colors.strokeColor)
    .attr("stroke-width", 0.5)
    .attr("d", mapPath)
    .on("mouseover", function(event, d) {
      const currentColors = getThemeColors();
      d3Highlight.select(this).attr("stroke-width", 1.5).attr("stroke", currentColors.strokeHoverColor);

      const countryName = d.properties.name;
      const normalizedName = countryNameMap[countryName] || countryName;
      const isVisited = countriesVisited.includes(normalizedName);

      mapTooltip
        .style("opacity", 1)
        .html(`<strong>${countryName}</strong><br/>${isVisited ? "✓ Visited" : "Not visited"}`)
        .style("left", (event.pageX + 10) + "px")
        .style("top", (event.pageY - 28) + "px");
    })
    .on("mouseout", function() {
      const currentColors = getThemeColors();
      d3Highlight.select(this).attr("stroke-width", 0.5).attr("stroke", currentColors.strokeColor);
      mapTooltip.style("opacity", 0);
    })
    .on("mousemove", function(event) {
      mapTooltip
        .style("left", (event.pageX + 10) + "px")
        .style("top", (event.pageY - 28) + "px");
    });

  // Add a legend
  const mapLegend = mapSvg.append("g")
    .attr("transform", `translate(20, ${mapHeight - 60})`);

  // Background for legend
  mapLegend.append("rect")
    .attr("class", "legend-bg")
    .attr("x", -5)
    .attr("y", -15)
    .attr("width", 120)
    .attr("height", 70)
    .attr("fill", colors.legendBg)
    .attr("rx", 5)
    .attr("ry", 5);

  // Visited countries legend
  mapLegend.append("rect")
    .attr("width", 20)
    .attr("height", 20)
    .attr("fill", colors.visitedColor);

  mapLegend.append("text")
    .attr("class", "legend-text")
    .attr("x", 30)
    .attr("y", 15)
    .text("Visited")
    .style("font-family", "sans-serif")
    .style("font-size", "14px")
    .style("fill", colors.legendText);

  // Not visited countries legend
  mapLegend.append("rect")
    .attr("width", 20)
    .attr("height", 20)
    .attr("y", 30)
    .attr("fill", colors.notVisitedColor);

  mapLegend.append("text")
    .attr("class", "legend-text")
    .attr("x", 30)
    .attr("y", 45)
    .text("Not Visited")
    .style("font-family", "sans-serif")
    .style("font-size", "14px")
    .style("fill", colors.legendText);

  // Add zoom controls
  const mapZoomControls = mapSvg.append("g")
    .attr("transform", `translate(${mapWidth - 70}, 20)`);

  // Background for zoom controls
  mapZoomControls.append("rect")
    .attr("class", "controls-bg")
    .attr("x", -5)
    .attr("y", -5)
    .attr("width", 40)
    .attr("height", 120)
    .attr("fill", colors.controlsBg)
    .attr("rx", 5)
    .attr("ry", 5);

  // Zoom in button
  mapZoomControls.append("rect")
    .attr("class", "control-button")
    .attr("x", 0)
    .attr("y", 0)
    .attr("width", 30)
    .attr("height", 30)
    .attr("fill", colors.controlsButtonBg)
    .attr("stroke", colors.controlsButtonStroke)
    .attr("rx", 5)
    .attr("ry", 5)
    .attr("cursor", "pointer")
    .on("click", () => mapZoomBehavior.scaleBy(mapSvg.transition().duration(300), 1.5));

  mapZoomControls.append("text")
    .attr("x", 15)
    .attr("y", 20)
    .attr("text-anchor", "middle")
    .attr("fill", colors.legendText)
    .attr("font-size", "18px")
    .attr("font-weight", "bold")
    .attr("pointer-events", "none")
    .text("+");

  // Zoom out button
  mapZoomControls.append("rect")
    .attr("class", "control-button")
    .attr("x", 0)
    .attr("y", 40)
    .attr("width", 30)
    .attr("height", 30)
    .attr("fill", colors.controlsButtonBg)
    .attr("stroke", colors.controlsButtonStroke)
    .attr("rx", 5)
    .attr("ry", 5)
    .attr("cursor", "pointer")
    .on("click", () => mapZoomBehavior.scaleBy(mapSvg.transition().duration(300), 0.75));

  mapZoomControls.append("text")
    .attr("x", 15)
    .attr("y", 60)
    .attr("text-anchor", "middle")
    .attr("fill", colors.legendText)
    .attr("font-size", "18px")
    .attr("font-weight", "bold")
    .attr("pointer-events", "none")
    .text("−");

  // Reset button
  mapZoomControls.append("rect")
    .attr("class", "control-button")
    .attr("x", 0)
    .attr("y", 80)
    .attr("width", 30)
    .attr("height", 30)
    .attr("fill", colors.controlsButtonBg)
    .attr("stroke", colors.controlsButtonStroke)
    .attr("rx", 5)
    .attr("ry", 5)
    .attr("cursor", "pointer")
    .on("click", resetMapZoom);

  mapZoomControls.append("text")
    .attr("x", 15)
    .attr("y", 100)
    .attr("text-anchor", "middle")
    .attr("fill", colors.legendText)
    .attr("font-size", "14px")
    .attr("font-weight", "bold")
    .attr("pointer-events", "none")
    .text("R");

  // Define zoom behavior
  const mapZoomBehavior = d3Highlight.zoom()
    .scaleExtent([1, 8])
    .on("zoom", mapZoomed);

  function mapZoomed(event) {
    mapGroup.attr("transform", event.transform);
    const mapStrokeScale = 1 / Math.sqrt(event.transform.k);
    mapGroup.selectAll("path").attr("stroke-width", 0.5 * mapStrokeScale);
  }

  function resetMapZoom() {
    mapSvg.transition().duration(750).call(
      mapZoomBehavior.transform,
      d3Highlight.zoomIdentity
    );
  }

  // Enable zoom and pan on the SVG
  mapSvg.call(mapZoomBehavior);

  // Listen for theme changes and update colors accordingly
  const observer = new MutationObserver(() => {
    updateMapColors();
  });

  observer.observe(document.body, {
    attributes: true,
    attributeFilter: ['class']
  });

  return mapSvg.node();
}

// Display the map
highlightedCountriesMap

I have also visited a few micro-states including: Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican.

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