Back. Washigton was…sunny. Bet that was the last adjective you expected. Here is a copy of the talk I gave in the computer science and engineering department at the University of Washington (Warning, it’s 17 megs).
Been Around the World and I, I, I…
Yep, I’m still alive. Back from the SQuINt conference in Tuscon, Arizona. Back in Santa Fe for exactly 7 hours. Ugh. Hopefully I will have a chance to post during a layover during my travel to Washington tomorrow.
From Outer Space
Back!
No sooner had I gotten back to my office after spending last week in Boston, and lo and behold a bobcat walked in front of my office window. Since my gut reaction was, “Look at the big kitty,” and the encounter was really brief I have no picture of this bobcat, but my camera is now ready if he decides to come visit me again.
Airport Post
Ack, the bomb sniffing dog just ran over my feet. The free wireless at the Albuquerque airport is nice, but it always takes me 10 minutes to connect (the trick: about 5 enables/disables of my wireless card. Strange.) Well, I’m Boston bound. Anyone want to bet if I make my 35 minute turnover in Denver?
The Sixth Seal
Arrived in Seattle yesterday afternoon, just in front of Seattle’s notorious traffic.
As many of you may know, Washington is in the middle of a huge fight over recounting ballots for their governers race. Currently the Republican, Dino Rossi, is in the lead by 42 votes.
Anyway, I’m fairly convinced that the governor of Washington being a Republican is the sixth seal. Or is the 14th?
Pink Shasta
Yesterday: Santa Fe->Las Vegas->Sacramento->Yreka. Winter sunsets in the state of Jefferson make Mt. Shasta look incredible.
Today: Yreka->Portland.
Da Plane, Da Pain
Oh boy: four hours in the San Diego airport! Thought my flight was at two. It’s at six.
Blessed be wireless access at airports.
Sound Projects Down the Aisle
If you concentrate hard enough on the book you’re reading on the planeride, you won’t even hear the two women behind you discuss the fate of their souls. But you have to concentrate really hard.
Now I’m in San Diego for a workshop resembling a particle theory experiment. In this case we’re smashing together quantum algorithm people with signal processing people in hopes that this collision will produce some new particle of knowledge unknown to man.
New Job
Name: Dave Bacon
Occupation: Postdoctoral Fellow
Employer: Santa Fe Institute
Number of cars in SFI parking lot with personalized plates starting with the letter “Q”: 2
Beauty of the thunderstorm clouds and setting sun on my drive home after my first day of work: Priceless
So who can guess the licencse plates?
Back to Life, Back to Reality
Oh where, oh where, has the Quantum Pontiff gone? The Quantum Pontiff has gone to the glaciers:
The last few weeks have been hectic: fly from Santa Fe to Los Angeles. Then drive from Los Angeles to home in Yreka (on the Oregon, California border.) Next I drove up to Portland with my mom and sister for medical junk. Then I drove up to Missoula, Montana and then camping in Glacier and Yellowstone Parks followed by a night in Bozeman, Montana. After getting thoroughly soaked in the parks, it was off to Banff for a workshop at the Banff International Research Centre where I gave a talk and got to go hiking nearly every afternoon. Next was the long, 23 hour drive home from Banff to Santa Fe, via a night spent in the metropolis of Sheridan, Wyoming. Over 3300 miles driven, 8 states and 1 provence crossed, and I swear that if I have to drive my car again in the near future I’m going to go insane!