Well, depending what blog you read, you’ll know i have been away for a week visitng the USA; this has mostly involved working 0700h through to 2000h for four days, and until 1700 on the last day.

trip highlights:

• getting off the plane, going shopping at rei, and then going hot-tubbing with dave, valerie and others at kady’s birthday party.
• breakfast with dave and whit and camilla in caffe verona.
• getting to see john mccarthy, inventor of lisp. yes he does look like [bartnagel.com]
• blowing $500 on essential geek gear at frys.
• friday evening with dave and camilla at the gaslighter, taking in the show and then hanging with val and the rest of the cast.
• getting to meet the other sec-ambs to discover that they are a bunch of nice people, even if they still are too secretive.
• getting a (partially standing) ovation for my presentation on thursday.
• getting a taxi home

trip lowlights:

• sharing a row of three seats on the flight out with a charming and chatty neurologist from imperial college on the flight out, only to have a moody teenage girl interspersed between us.
• getting a cigarette-smelly rental car with bad brakes and no windscreen washer fluid
• having the hotel room toilet block and overflow
• having a squishy carpet in the hotel
• having the hotel room lights fizzle and die
• being ignored in the hotel restaurant for 10 minutes when i am looking for a fast breakfast
• a 9.5hr return flight wearing eyemask and earplugs, with screaming babies and my brain looping a mantra of please, god, let me sleep