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All projects have a beginning. This is Day 17 of our ERC project and we just had access to this office at the Maison de la Recherche, one out of three that will hopefully become available before the end of September. Our computer scientist and postdoctoral fellow in computational linguistics have taken up their quarters this morning.Since we start with a team of six people (not counting upcoming recruitments) and altogether 18 scholars and technicians from France, Taiwan, Germany, and the United Kingdom  directly involved, space will be  tight. We still have to figure out how to meet on a regular basis and how to organize videoconferencing, one of the basic tools of the project.Our first officeThe equipment has not arrived yet. We had to postpone ordering computers pending the decision to assign office space to the project. In-between, personal computers will have to make do until we receive the new machines without which we cannot start working and experimenting. Still, we may have a little trouble to fit all the equipment in the three offices. The project will require more space for a successful implementation. ZenCollaborative open spaceBut let's be optimistic on this first day! See if we can turn this plain office space into a working atmosphere between Zen and an ebullient collaborative space (which I experimented not so long ago). Here we are! Here we go!