Home Sweet Home

We made it home with no troubles. LaGuardia did not seem particularly stressed or overcrowded (more than usual). We know that there was flooding and damage and even a few deaths elsewhere, but we simply had a good vacation, with a bit of a pause in the middle.

Last Day in New York

Last night (Sunday night) we walked around, along with many thousands of others relieved to have Irene pass us over.

By this morning, the city was getting close to normal. There were downed trees in Manhattan, for example in Central Park, but people were going about their business.




We went up to the Guggenheim Museum (as most museums are closed on Mondays).


We certainly enjoyed these several days to spend with our friends Uli, Anja, and Karin.



From the Guggenheim we caught a subway all the way to the southern tip of Manhattan, to battery park, where we could spot the Statue of Liberty, the new World Trade Towers (I forget the official name) they are busily building, and ferries to Staten Island and Ellis Island. Unfortunately our time was too short to visit any of those sites.




We only had time for a last lovely lunch overlooking the harbor from Battery Park, before our friends had to catch a taxi to JFK back home to Munich.

Tonight most shows were closed as well, so we went to a small theater very near our hotel, showing the 9,966th performance of "Perfect Crime," a Broadway record, apparently.



Tomorrow, if all goes well, we will go to La Guardia and head home.

The Morning After

Well, it looks like we here in Times Square survivied Irene.

I'm sure there is plenty of suffering and property damage elsewhere. Here, while the streets are empty near Times Square (truly amazing), there is no immediate sign of damage and we even see a few brave souls out walking around. We'll stay indoors for most of the day, as there could still be heavy rain and winds through midday, but I suspect by evening the city will begin picking up again.

YAU (Yet Another Update)

Not much to report. Heavy rains. The winds have not been enough to notice from out our window. We can see the streets, including Times Square, nearly empty, which is eerie. Height of the storm is supposed to hit early morning. More then.

More updatery...

Okay, about 8 pm local time, the rain has started coming down heavy.

We can vouch for this, as we were out taking a walk.

Inside and changed into dry clothes. I am thinking we are in for the duration.

Update -- Hurricane watch

Yesterday the news was predicting winds to start up around 5 pm.

Hasn't happened yet. I don't know if that is good news or not.

We walked around a little bit--turns out the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood is just a few blocks from Times Square (hey, I'm a west coast boy, how should I know?) and found a lovely blue-collar wine bar. Yeah, that's the kind of thing we love. We hung out there for a bit, and then returned to the hotel, probably for the duration.

We'll let you know as events progress. So far, nothing to panic over.

Of Broadway and Waiting for the Hurricane

Sorry I have been slow in posting. We have been busy, trying to get in as much touristing before we are shut up in our hotel during the hurricane (more on that below).

Actually we spent some time in the morning trying to help our German friends see if there was some way they could leave early, but it seems all flights are full. It seems we are better off just staying here and waiting out the storm.



After chasing down a wild goose (long story and irrelevant) we went by Rockerfeller Center, where there was a farmer's market. We bought cheese, fruit, and bread, in preparation for picnics in our rooms.



Then we went to Central Park and had an enjoyable couple of hours renting bicycles and riding around. It was a sunny day with high, light clouds, so while humid it was not too hot.

Our friends were tired so they went back to the hotel. We rode the subway down to the Strand, a famous book store, buying several books of books.

Then we went out for a nice dinner (I had butternut squash gnocchi), and then for a wonderful Broadway musical, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," starring Daniel Radcliffe and John Laroquette. It was excellent and great fun.

Radcliffe did a credible job, in his singing and dancing and American accent. But what always impresses me is just how much amazing talent is out there; Radcliffe was a good singer, but some of the cast were fantastic. (Actually it's somewhat ironic, that Radcliffe stars in a show about someone succeeding in business mostly by accident, which is somewhat how Radcliffe became famous. With that in mind, it was clear that he was not taking his good fortune for granted and was serious about working very hard as an actor.)





John Laroquette also managed to make a joke about a hurricane party.

We were very lucky in choosing our tickets for Friday night. All shows for Saturday and Sunday have been cancelled.





This morning we thought about trying museums, but they are all closed. We walked around Central park and then down Fifth Avenue, back through Rockerfeller Center again (the famous flags were all down, but underground a cafe was open where we waited out a shower), and are back to our hotel room for a while now.

More news when we have it. We are safe, no matter what.

The Big Apple

We had a great day. We started off walking up Broadway, along the edge of Central Park, up to the Natural History Museum.

With dinosaurs!!!



Plenty of dinosaurs!




After the Natural History Museum and a late lunch, we paused at our hotel, then went to the Empire State Building. We splurged for going all the way to the 102nd floor (there is an observatory on merely the 86th floor). It was a fabulous view of the city at twilight.




We stayed through sunset, and were able to spot Times square near our hotel. From this enormous height it looked tiny.



And for our concerned fans, we are following the situation with Hurricane Irene closely. Sunday will probably be a washout, so to speak; the only question is, will we have to evacuate? Not clear yet. We will play it by ear. Stay tuned.

Times Square at night

New York never sleeps.

We had a good trip out to the Big Apple. San Diego was smooth. The flight out of Denver was delayed, but it didn't matter as La Guardia was our last stop. We even got moved to the exit row, which has extra room. Got our bags, caught a taxi, and to the Novotel Times square.

The for our friends from Germany was also late--they didn't arrive until almost midnight. But we were all on west coast time (they were coming from San Francisco), so we took a walk around Times Square, only a couple of blocks from our hotel. We even have a lovely view from our hotel window:


New York never sleeps, but we must. More later!

Off to the Big Apple

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we head off to NYC, where we'll meet up with our friends Uli, Karin, and Anja. A real...I think the word is..."vacation"...for us. (Shrug.) Stay tuned!

Home Again

I got home last night late--the flight from Chicago was an hour late in departing. But I am home. Was pretty tired, but slept well and had a hike in Mission Gorge Trails this morning so feeling a bit recharged.

This is pretty much it until we go to NYC in late August...

Boston, then Michigan

From New London, NH, I returned on the conference bus to Boston, where I spent a weekend catching up with my friends Athena and Peter. We had a lovely time, visiting the Gardner Museum and partaking of the excellent restaurants in Boston. In particular we had a fabulous brunch at the fabled Blue Room, pictured below. Although rain had been forecast, it was mostly sunny (though a bit muggy), which is why they are squinting.




From Boston I flew to Lansing, Michigan via Chicago, for a workshop at a conference site sponsored by Michigan State University. Here I have met up with many old friends, colleagues, and even two former students (Ionel and Hai Ah). We'll be working hard all week, and then I return home on Friday.

Choose your crustacean!

The food here has been, I must say, outstanding for a conference, and even better for being served in a college cafeteria. Perhaps this is to make up for the spartan rooms, which have been either too cold or too hot. Foodwise, it has been a challenge to not pig out, but I have taken a large salad with every meal.

But last night they outdid themselves: Maine lobster!



Apparently this arthopodic feast is a tradition at the Gordon Research Conferences, at least the ones held at Colby-Sawyer College. (There are at least half a dozen being held simultaneous any given week during the summer.) I have no complaints. The lobster was sweet and succulent and prepared perfectly.

There was also sides of smoke salmon, caprese salad, roasted asparagus, baked brie, sweet potato tortellini, and I forget what else.

Of course there was dessert:



That was last night. This morning we take a bus back down to Boston. Next week I have the UNEDF collaboration meeting in East Lansing, Michigan, near Michigan State University, and so I'm spending the weekend with friends rather than on an airplane going to San Diego, stepping off, and getting right back on again.

Gordon Research Conference

So I'm at a Gordon Research Conference, which is quite famous if you are in the sciences, and if not you probably haven't heard of them. They are held at various locations in New England, a week of intense presentations. While I have a photo of the conference room, we are not allowed to post pictures or discussion of the actual presentations, in order to inculcate a free spirit of discussion and debate.

The past few days were overcast and cool. Today was warmer and mostly sunny, but with the occasional shower. Even had a bit of thunder a few moments ago.

New Hampshire

I am now at Colby-Sawyer College, in the quiet town of New London, New Hampshire. It is a cool, misty day. Very green, very bucolic.









The accomodations are a bit spartan. But that's fine; I'm going to be busy so I don't need luxury.

Rainy Boston

I'm on my way to one of the famed Gordon Research Conferences, scattered throughout New England every summer. This one is "nuclear chemistry" (really: low-energy nuclear physics), at Colby-Sawyer College near New London, New Hampshire. I've never been to one before, though I have heard of them for years. Donna went to at least one years ago.

En route, I took a red-eye via LAX to Boston. I never can sleep on planes. So I drank 3 cups of coffee and now I feel all buzzy, and not in a good way. Boston is rainy; the temperature is tepid.

I'll keep you all updated. Next week I go on to East Lansing, Michigan, for another conference; in between I'll be visiting my friends Athena and Peter in Boston.

Back Home

I'm home. Relatively uneventful trip. Just about 24 hours door-to-door, but I've had a good night sleep and ready to get back to work.

Oslo Harbor and Fjord

Yesterday was my last full day in Oslo. The conference broke up around 1 pm, but I had a coffee and a chat with one of the local theorists and then headed downtown.

The first thing I saw was the Oslo Opera House, only built in the last 10 years. A beautiful modern building on the water's edge, people can walk up to the roof and even have picnics there. Interestingly, I noticed they are doing a production of Britten's "Peter Grimes" (which we missed two years ago in San Diego because I was on sabbatical in Seattle). But unlike San Diego productions, which tend to have very international casts, this looked to be mostly Scandinavian singers.



After the Opera I walked to Aker castle, an old fort built by Norwegian kings,
most notably Christian V.



After the castle I went down to the harbor, and along a boardwalk called Akers brygge. I had an early dinner, red mullet, and then took a cruise of the harbor and out into the Oslo fjord, where I got another view of the castle.



There are dozens of islands and pennisulas and many houses. A Norwegian tradition is the bathhouse, which juts out into the fjord a little way to allow a quick dip in the water in the summer, and for people to chat with their neighbors. Apparently, during a brief period of Prohibition during the 1930s, the bathing houses were also used by smugglers. imagine that.



The Oslo fjord, at least the parts I saw, is not one of the spectacular, sheer-cliff fjords seen in many pictures, but despite the day starting out cold and rainy the late afternoon and early evening (it's light until 11 and never gets fully dark this time
of year) were lovely, a perfect day to go out on the water.


And now I head back home, via Newark and Houston before touching down in San Diego Saturday night.

Scupture park and dinner

Today we had the excursion for the conference, which was to the Vigeland sculpture park. Apparently Gustav Vigeland convinced the city of Oslo of his genius and got them to provide him with a house and stipend and in exchange he donated all his sculptures, as long as they displayed them publically in perpetuity.



It's a very nice park and some interesting statues. The guide said he made all his statues nude because he didn't want them tied down to an era. Now, I'm no expert, but many of the statues seemed to me very emblematic of his era. At the end of this post I'll reveal when he was working at the height of his powers.


Vigeland's most famous statue, apparently (I'm no expert in Norwegian art) is this statue of a child throwing a tantrum:








After the park we went to dinner. The main course was reindeer, served with turnips and potatoes, very Scandanavian. A lovely time was had by all.

ANSWER: Vigeland died in 1943 (the obelisk below is his memorial to those who died during the Nazi takeover of Norway). Most of his work was in the 1930s.

Conference proceeds

The workshop is going fairly well, although I have jetlag so I nod off even during interesting talks.

Here is a scenic part of the University of Oslo, Blindern campus.


In Norwegian, Blindern isn't pronounced as an English speaker would. Instead, the 'l' is kind of a spice on the vowel, and the 'd' is worn away to a kind of glottal pause (like the glottal stop in the southern pronounciation of 'Baton Rouge' only softer).

Here is the view out the window of my hotel room... at the rest of the hospital ("Sykehus" which means, of course, "Sick-house".)


Finally, for all you physics fans out there, a gamma-detector array at the University's cyclotron. The cyclotron is smaller than the one at Davis where I trained decades ago, but they do a lot of radiochemistry, very much like Davis.

In Oslo

Made it to Oslo.

A hectic trip, but no disasters--just lots of hustling from gate to gate. San Diego to Houston to Frankfurt to Oslo. A number of people seemed to be significantly unhappier than I was, so I guess that means I was in good shape.

It was raining in Oslo last night, when I met up with some of the other attendees of the workshop. I am staying at a hotel that is near the university but is part of the hospital, including it appears intensive neonatal care. The hospital/hotel is on Kirkeveien, which means "Church Way".

Today is sunny and beautiful, but right now I am in a dark room listening to a talk about using huge lasers to create neutron sources...

I'll try to post some pictures later, although I don't have much.

Off to Norway

I'm off to Oslo, Norway for a Workshop on Level densities and gamma strenght (don't worry what that means) for a week. I will update when I can, including pictures if and when I can.