Saturday, January 12, 2013

Headed a Little South

On the wall of the elevator

Well, maybe a lot south. Saturday afternoon, I headed for the APAN/ESCC/Internet² Joint Tech meeting at the Manoa campus of the University of Hawai‘i. The informal name for this meeting is TIP or Techs in Paradise and this is the fourth time it has been held here. This is the same meeting that we hosted back in Fairbanks in July, 2011. The last time it was hosted by UH was in 2008 also in January. There were a couple blog posts back then when this blog was focused more on walking than riding. Even though it was a direct flight from Anchorage, it was still a 6 hour flight. Not really long but long enough to be tiring. The humidity when leaving the airport made me feel like I was walking in the shower.

The first time I attended this meeting was in 2004 and the University of Hawai‘i had on campus housing available right next to the venue. But not this year so the conference hotel is the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani across the street from Waikīkī Beach. I opted for the bargain priced room and that is evident by the wonderful view from my balcony. A parking garage, no beach of mountain view.

Just for comparison, this is the view from the balcony of my room back in 2008 where the hotel was practically in the ocean and the room cost over 2½ times as much. A Wonderful view of Diamond Head but not worth the price especially since I tend to spend very little time in the room during these meetings. It's a 2.7 mile walk from the hotel to the East-West Center where the bulk of the meeting will be held. Sounds like a good walk at least in the morning. There is supposed to be shuttle service but since tomorrow is Sunday, I'm hoping that the roads will be pretty quiet.

There was a small noodle shop off of the main road and it was delicious. A perfect late night meal. Ramen with tofu in a fish stock. There are tons of tourists packing the sidewalk in front of the hotel so I didn't venture out there for more than a few minutes. Lots of people waiting in lines to get into restaurants and bars. Though I must admit that it's pretty nice to be able to attend a meeting here in Honolulu. I'm not complaining.

As I was getting ready for this trip, my iPhone decided to act up and I ended up doing a factory reset. The timing for this isn't too good as I started the restore process at 4:00pm on Friday and it didn't finish until 11:30pm. All of the apps needed to check in with the mother ship to make sure that it's okay to be installed on my phone. Also, since I have iTunes Match, all of the music on my phone had to be re-downloaded from Apple instead of simply synching from my computer over USB. The m usic download and the app checkin were competing with each other. Kind of a pain but at least the phone is running faster now.

 

18 comments:

  1. You have a nice life, Richard. Don't forget to post a shot of a piece of chocolate cake with a purple orchid on it.

    What a wonderful place to be...

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    1. I can't complain at all. I really enjoy the opportunity to travel and see new places. In this case, it isn't new but every time I've been here it feels "new" since I never get to see much of the area. I just arrived at my morning class and the view out of the classroom windows is a Japanese garden with a koi pond....

      Chocolate cake with a purple orchid? Are there such things?

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    2. I LOVE the Japanese influence in Hawaii and the PNW.

      Just have dinner at a nice place and order dessert. The orchids must adorn more than chocolate cake, but that's what I had... : ^ )

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    1. Seasons meaning hot followed by snow? That is one of the reasons I moved to Alaska in the first place from Southern California. I wanted it to be cold and have snow in the winter.

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  3. If anyone deserves a trip to Hawaii it has to be you, I'll bet it is nice to warm up and thaw out.

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    1. I think the jury is still out on that...

      I walked to the campus this morning and by the time I got here, I was hot and drenched. Too much humidity. But all of the green is nice to see.

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  4. Hawaii is still one of the states I haven't ridden a motorcycle in or visited and I don't expect that to change very soon though I'm sure I'd enjoy both.

    Retain that heat Richard, hopefully leaving the humidity behind upon your return to northern climes.

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    1. Motorcycle rentals here are really expensive. I was thinking of renting a scooter to get wander around a bit but even for a 49cc scooter, the price is horrendous.

      I've been to Hawaii several times but it's always been work related. If you ask some, you'll need to have work in quotes... One of these days I'll make it here on vacation.

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  5. Okay you win. You get the prize for traveling to the most fun places for work and I think we're all a little jealous you are in Hawaii, BUT since you put up with Alaskan winters you deserve it.

    Of course it sounds like you might be melting......

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    1. No, I think that SonjaM gets the prize. The university has a lot of approvals needed for international travel. This trip would be a lot nicer if I wasn't in Honolulu. Too many people.

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  6. Yep...that is a bit south, isn't it? :) You obviously need to pad the timetable with a day or three and take the wife to make it a little vacation.

    PS. Love the header picture of you, that hack, and the snow. :)

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    1. A little bit further south than my other trips. In fact, at this time of year I tend to head the other direction. I was told specifically that I couldn't "have any fun" and her grad classes and vacation day limitations make it so she can't accompany me at this time of year. All of the winter joint tech meetings in HI have been in the middle of January since they need to coordinate dates with APAN (Asia Pacific Advanced Network) and the PTC (Pacific Telecommunication Council).

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    2. Bummer she can't go too. I can sympathize with her and her edict that you "are not to have any fun". :) Sorry Richard. Us girls gotta stick together sometimes. I couldn't stand it when Oilburner went to Italy for reserve duty. :)

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    3. IMHO, this isn't anything like going to Italy. For me, a fun activiey is going out for a walk so walking to and from the meeting is great.

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  7. Hawaii in winter - what a heavenly dream! Enjoy the warmth Richard!

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    1. Remember, I'm not supposed to be "enjoying myself", go to the beach, see the sights....

      (Bridget didn't really say all of those things)

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