ICDERS: Day 4

Today was my last day at the conference.  Yesterday, we had a party at the beach which was nice.  Today, after my morning run, I returned to the conference for the day's talks.  I led a session in the afternoon, and was a little surprised to be given some hardware and a certificate, shown below.

Handsome certificate of merit.

Fancy medal

It turns out the medal and graphics design was done by my friend Prof. Michael McCarthy, a very good roboticist who has a side business.  We had a nice chat at the banquet.  I also was surprised to see an old friend, Prof. Atsushi Ishihara, pictured below.

Your correspondent with Prof. Atsushi Ishihara

ICDERS: Day 2

I went to the gym this morning, then to the conference.  Here is a shot of a morning lecture.

Morning lecture at ICDERS

There really is a good group of people here from all over the world, and I have known many of them for some years now.  My colleague Tariq Aslam was here today, and we had a nice lunch of fish tacos.  I went to more talks in the afternoon, and then went to dinner with a group of Canadian friends.

ICDERS: Day 1

I attended the ICDERS (International Colloquium on Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems) today; the conference lasts all week.  I've many friends and colleagues here--a lot more than in Vancouver last week.  I spent all day attending talks and talking with people in the hallways and over meals.  All in all, very nice.

Seattle->Newport Beach, CA

Today was my last day in Seattle.  I got up around 7:30 and did some bootleg laundry on Margaret's fancy Samsung washer/drier duo.  Margaret then arose and cooked a fine breakfast of waffles, bacon, and melon.  Margaret, Cowboy Jack, and I enjoyed listening to Bill Daley's south side accent on Meet the Press.  Margaret, Lucy, Charlie and I then went on a drive.  We found Chief Seattle's grave, pictured below.

Grave of Chief Seattle

The Puget Sound region is blessed with many 70s vintange VW vans, one of which is shown below in a parking lot in nearby Poulsbo, a hotbed of Norwegian culture.

Charlie Hanacek and 1970s VW van

Charlie and I are pictured below at the ferry stop, where we all parted ways.

Charlie Hanacek and the author (in reverse order)

Here is the 2:04 PM ferry approaching the Seattle dock around 2:40.

View of Seattle harbor from the ferry

And here is Seattle from the ferry.

Downtown Seattle

On landing, I took the short 10 minute walk to the light rail station at Pioneer Square.

Light rail approaching Pioneer Square station

The light rail took me on a forty minute ride to the Sea-Tac airport, where I boarded Alaska Air bound for LAX in Los Angeles, CA.  I arrived there around 7:45 PM, boarded a shared ride Super Shuttle, which fifty minutes later deposited me at a 1990s vintage Radisson Hotel in Newport Beach, CA.  The hotel has a few bumps and bruises, but it is fine, and a real bargain.  Had a delicious spaghetti dinner before retiring to my room.

Bainbridge Island: Day 2

I slept in this morning on Margaret's new air mattress in her home office.  We had a nice breakfast and lunch. I introduced Charlie to the joys of matrix algebra via some open courseware videos from MIT's Gilbert Strang.  Charlie has become an enthusiast.  Margaret, Charlie, and I then toured the Bainbridge Island Historical Society.  They are pictured below in a creosote application machine.

Margaret and Charlie Hanacek in the creosote applicator

 Later we went to the fancy bookstore where Margaret is fully vested in her reading club exercises.  Her club was featured on the shelves.

Margaret and Charlie in the bookstore.

 Later we went shopping for food at the no-nonsense Town & Country Grocery. Vegetables were purchased for the dinner.  Here is the checkout man hamming it up for the camera.

Checkout man at Bainbridge Island's Town & Country Grocery.

We did a little tour before dinner.  Here is a cove.

Cove on Bainbridge Island

 Here are some trees, second growth, as the original was cut down in the early 20th century.

Trees on Bainbridge Island

Margaret baked here special sockeye salmon for dinner. I grilled the vegetables (brussel sprouts with onion, mushroom, and pepper).  Sweet potatoes were baked, and corn was boiled.  We chatted all evening in the backyard.  And to bed.

Vancouver->Seattle

Today was my last in Vancouver.  I took my morning run and breakfast, then did some work on my computer in my hotel room.  At 11:15 AM, I boarded a bus for Seattle.  The bus was nice, and was fully equipped with a good WiFi, so I got some more chores done on the three hour ride.  We had to fully unload at the US border and go through customs.  Once in Seattle, around 4:00 PM, I took a cab to the ferry pier, where the view below was to be had.

View from ferry pier in Seattle

 Following a nice snack of very tasty spring rolls, I boarded the ferry for nearby Bainbridge Island

View of Seattle from the Bainbridge ferry

I was met at the terminus by Chris and Lucy Hanacek, who drove me to their nearby home, where cousin Margaret had prepared a cookout dinner in the backyard of their beautiful house.  We were joined by Chris's uncle, "Cowboy Jack". Following dinner, we recessed to nearby Bloedel Reserve, a park focused around an English-style country home with manicured gardens.  Here is Team Hanacek in the Reserve.

Lucy, Charlie, Margaret, Chris, and Cowboy Jack 

Here are some manicured lawns.

Manicured lawn and manor house at Bloedel Reserve, Bainbridge Island

Here is your correspondent with the Puget Sound in the background.

The author at Bloedel Reserve

The Reserve featured lively entertainment from the "Dusty 45s" a local band who will be touring nationally with the singer "Adele" soon.  They craft a Buddy Holly/Ventures sound with some original material, mainly highlighted by an aggressive trumpet sound from their lead singer, who hails from an Illinois farm in Carlyle, IL, attended Illinois State University, and is well acquainted with your correspondent's home town of Wapella, Illinois.  Here, the Dusty 45s are in action with a flaming trumpet.

Dusty 45s on fire on Bainbridge Island

ICIAM: Day 4

I did my morning run on a different side of town, loaded up on breakfast, secured bus transportation for tomorrow's journey to Seattle, and took the 20 minute walk to the conference.  The plenary lectures have been mixed in quality, and today's proved to be a lesser temptation than answering my email.  The WiFi at the magnificent conference venue is first class.  After the coffee break, I went to a mini-symposium organized by my friends Hans and Tasso Kaper.  Both spent many years in Downers Grove, with Hans at Argonne National Laboratory.  Hans is now at Georgetown U. and his son Tasso is at Boston University.  The morning talks they arranged were very good.  My student Josh and I walked north to lunch at noon.  Below is a scene on the walk to lunch.

Scene of Vancouver Harbor

The harbor has an active group of sea planes taking off and landing all the time.  Some are pictured below.

Sea planes in Vancouver Harbor

 Josh located an excellent lunchery in an upscale grocery store.  Italian chicken, rice w/ sundried tomatoes, and steamed vegetables for me.  Josh and food pictured below..

Josh and lunch

After lunch there was another forgetable plenary.  The fellow in front of me was snoring loudly.  The remainder of Hans and Tasso's mini-symposium was from 3-5. Josh gave his talk, which was well received.  My colleague Sam also gave a talk.  Afterwards Tasso and I found some local beer and salmon and had a nice conversation.  I took a pleasant walk through peaceful and crisp Vancouver to my hotel on return.  The weather here is absolutely wonderful, in contrast with the midwest, which is currently similar to the Amazon.