I walked from the Sheraton to the East-West Center and it started out fairly pleasant since the sun was still below the mountains. It was pretty humid but at least it didn't feel too warm. With all of the crosswalks and getting lost on some of the small paths on the University of Hawai‘i campus, it took about 45 minutes to get here. The first half day session was on the new Internet2 outsourced VoIP service. It was led by the ITEC group at Texas A&M. They also taught the former open source SIP workshops that I had attended in the past which was the basis of the VoIP solution currently deployed in Barrow. This is the view of the Japanese garden through the windows of the tutorial venue. Kind of difficult to stay focused on the material.
The afternoon tutorial that I had signed up for was an overview of Software Defined Networking (SDN) using OpenFlow presented by Marist College. The presentation was made by a CS faculty member and three of his students and included software they had written to simplify the deployment of the technology through a grant they received from IBM. They were a little time constrained due to another tutorial using in the same room. I wish I had the time and energy needed to pursue this area of computer networking.
SInce this meeting includes APAN, the Asia Pacific Advanced Network, there are a lot more attendees than at most of the Joint Tech meetings with the number I heard was 450 attendees. They actually had to close registrations unless you were already selected for presenting or leading a working group meeting.
After the afternoon session, I walked back to the hotel with a fellow attendee from the University of Iowa. He was also a rider. It was much warmer and much more crowded. This is the street in front of the hotel, I had an hour or so before the next meeting here at the hotel so I went for a short walk and picked up a some souveniers for the family back home.
The beach across the street from the hotel is really crowded and I think that this tiny strip of sand is labled Waikīkī Beach. It does not look like a very pleasant place to spend much time. There were a number of sailboats moored a short distance offshore and there was no surf at all. Lots of surfboard rentals but no waves on the water.
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What a nice break in the midst of winter. I am sure it is all work and no play...
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, all work and no play. I did enjoy being able to walk back and forth to the campus today. It is a nice change of pace. And it's great to see all these familiar faces of people that I usually only hear on audioconferences.
DeleteSurfing? Boogie boarding? Fruity drinks by the pool? Any time off?
ReplyDeleteNo time off. Today was sessions from 8:00 to 3:00 so after walking back to the hotel, I had a couple of hours before things started up again at 6:00pm. Everyday, it's pretty much the same schedule. I do finish at 1:00pm on Friday.
DeleteA Twitter response from @mrs808:
ReplyDeleteThe surf is on the North shore now because it's winter time :) Summer is when it's bigger in waikiki.
Oh Richard...thank you so much for posting those garden photos. That's just what I needed to start today.
ReplyDeleteScenes like that also have me reevaluating my decision to stay in WI! But then I love snow covered fields and mountains, too.
Any more photos like that that you want to post would be just fine with me. : ^ )
The garden here at the East-West Center are pretty nice and a wonderful backdrop for these meetings. All of the meeting rooms that face the gardens have nice floor to ceiling windows.
DeleteI think that if I lived here I would feel more isolated than in Alaska. You can't just simply escape for a while. I'll post more pictures over the week...
Yes, there is something about living on an island that either makes you feel hugged or captured.
DeleteRichard:
ReplyDeletethe first thing I thought when I noticed your first photo is "where is the snow and ice" ? Nice to take a short break somewhere warm for a few days to unthaw. You probably have perfect temps right now, during the summer it is just too hot/humid over there
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
My Flickr // My YouTube
Yeah, I would have a difficult time focusing on materials with that beautiful view of the gardens. Wow.
ReplyDeleteSo how do those long boats pulled onto shore compete with the sunbathers at the beach? I wouldn't want to run over, or get run over. Sheesh.
Someone mentioned on the bus that it is a whole lot less crowded further down. The area I stopped at was very convenient to the hotels and "beach service" was available. I.e. umbrella rentals, bar service, towels, etc.
DeleteFortunately, they had the screens for the presentation in from of the windows so they couldn't tell if you were looking out the window or focusing on the facinating material.
Mmmm sunshine and pretty gardens. Yep, hard to concentrate on software and networking at that point.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to enjoy the weather - at least your walks are warm.
"Sunshine and gardens", just like home....
DeleteThe walks are a bit too warm. (Some people are never happy, eh) Actually, the temperature is pretty nice but it's pretty humid. This morning it was drizzleing this morning but I heard that it will clear up.
Unllike other venues, the receptions held here tend to be outside.