The next MCMSki IV conference will for the first time host contributed sessions as well as invited sessions. The scientific committee thus welcomes proposals for contributed talks and even more for contributed sessions. Contributed talks are scheduled to last 20 minutes, plus questions, and contributed sessions one hour and a half, including questions, which corresponds 
As advertised on the ‘Og, the ISBA mailing list and now the birth certificate of BayesComp (!), MCMSki IV is taking place for sure in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, January 6-8 2014. The webpage has been started, thanks to Merrill Liechty, and should grow with informations about the location, the hotels, registration, transportation, and of course skiing (check 
![ISBA towards higher computing goals [yet another new section!!!]](http://xianblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/img_1299-e1348083924787.jpg?w=450&h=236)
Surrounding the great and exciting gathering of Bayesian statisticians in Kyoto last June, several ISBA sections have appeared in the past weeks, as already mentioned on the ‘Og. Along with Anto Mira and Nicolas Chopin (who did most of the organisational work while I was wandering down under!), we discussed about a Bayesian computation section 
![Le Monde puzzle [#754]](http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/xianblog.wordpress.com/13956/)
The pre-X’mas puzzle in Le Monde weekend edition is about “magical numbers” having as digits all digits between 0 and n (at least once) and being multiple of all digits between 1 and (n+1). Easy, isn’t it?! I thought so while driving down to the Alps on Saturday and (on Monday early morning) I tried 
![Bayes-250, Edinburgh [day 2]](http://xianblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/img_9389.jpg?w=405&h=540)
After a terrific run this morning to the top of Arthur’s Seat, and then around (the ribs are feeling fine, now!), the Bayes-250 talks were exhilarating and challenging. Jim Smith gave an introduction to the challenges of getting different experts to collaborate on a complex risk assessment, much in the spirit of his book, that 
The Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso and the Università di Pavia are organising a summer school on “Advances in species distribution modelling in ecological studies and conservation” in Pavia and Cogne, 12-18 September 2011. This school includes R and Winbugs tutorials, regular classes, plus a field trip to the park, so this sounds quite exciting (at 
I am in Montpellier today for a general meeting of our EMILE ANR grant bi-yearly meeting, discussing ABC model choice and new applications of simulation methods in population genetics, including an upgrade of DIYABC into the 2.0 version. (The above is a picture comparing “true” Bayes factors with ABC versions, commented in my Zürich talk 
This may sound like a paradoxical title given my recent production in this area of ABC approximations, especially after the disputes with Alan Templeton, but I have come to the conclusion that ABC approximations to the Bayes factor are not to be trusted. When working one afternoon in Park City with Jean-Michel and Natesh Pillai 
This was my first trip to Lyon in about… 35 years, I think, but I did not have much time to tour the city! My original plan was to go climbing with Ivan near La Meije right after the talk, but our respective knees were hurting for the past week at least (since Utah in 
An exciting conference in Zurich next February, 02-05. (I think I will attend! And not for skiing reasons!) Latent Gaussian models have numerous applications, for example in spatial and spatio-temporal epidemiology and climate modelling. This workshop brings together researchers who develop and apply Bayesian inference in this broad model class. One methodological focus is on 
Zero Inflated Models and Generalized Linear Mixed Models with R.
Zuur, Saveliev, Ieno (2012).
