Semiannual update
Well, it's now been about 6 months since I left the Budapest story hanging. So, final notes on Budapest, first off. Also, there are pictures up, on my constantly rotating (curse you, non-Pro Flickr!) photo sets. Origins photos are also there.
So, the last few days were the conference part of the trip. I presented there, as did many of the other alumni and teachers; I particularly enjoyed Sándor Dobos's talk presenting some clever combinatorial pattern-avoidance problems. He engaged and quizzed the audience (and played the ocarina when time was up on individual problems, which was a cute touch). In between we ate nd drank well, and went out of the evenings, and on the last night there had a visit to the Botanical Gardens (where our tour guide decided to give us "Paul Street Boys"-relevant context for every locale) and to a (Paul Street Boys-themed) kért nearby to formally bid farewell to each other, and particularly to recognize the long serive of the Humkes and Mary Kay Peterson of the North American Office. We stayed and drank until late, and then walked back to our various lodgings to prepare to leave the next day.
As for Origins, it was great fun, and is accurately summed up here.
2 weeks later, I was traveling again, joining my parents on Kaua'i for a week of lazing on beaches, snorkeling, appreciating nature, and otherwise keeping out and about and having fun. It was incredibly relaxing and there were definitely some magical moments following fish over the reefs. Kaua'is pretty small, and I think we did and saw most of what there was to do and see, and it was really a marvelous experience.
Back home for two weeks, and then out again, for Mathfest, and for a short jaunt up to New York to visit my brother and sister-in-law. It's always delightful to see them (which I'm afraid I don't do very often), and every time I see my nephew he's changed significantly, and as an unexpected bonus I was in town when a significant subset of Carla's family was getting together, so it was a chance to reconnect with her sisters and mother as well.
And finally my summer travels were done. In retrospect traveling for one week out of every three was a bad way to arrange my summer, if for no other reason than that my garden suffered immensely, but also that I could never quite recover my footing properly when I came back to town.
So during the fall I mostly had my hands full with classes. I was teaching MATH 301 (multivariable calculus, and 111 (college algebra). I'd never done either of them before, and 111 was a large lecture with recitation sections, so I had my hands full, but I made enough progress on my various researches to get two papers prepped to go. I also learned about an on-campus knitting-and-crochet circle, which was a nice chance to meet new people. Finally the year wound down, and now I'm largely at leisure.
Maybe I'll try to update more often in the coming year. I probably won't, but it's worth a shot.
So, the last few days were the conference part of the trip. I presented there, as did many of the other alumni and teachers; I particularly enjoyed Sándor Dobos's talk presenting some clever combinatorial pattern-avoidance problems. He engaged and quizzed the audience (and played the ocarina when time was up on individual problems, which was a cute touch). In between we ate nd drank well, and went out of the evenings, and on the last night there had a visit to the Botanical Gardens (where our tour guide decided to give us "Paul Street Boys"-relevant context for every locale) and to a (Paul Street Boys-themed) kért nearby to formally bid farewell to each other, and particularly to recognize the long serive of the Humkes and Mary Kay Peterson of the North American Office. We stayed and drank until late, and then walked back to our various lodgings to prepare to leave the next day.
As for Origins, it was great fun, and is accurately summed up here.
2 weeks later, I was traveling again, joining my parents on Kaua'i for a week of lazing on beaches, snorkeling, appreciating nature, and otherwise keeping out and about and having fun. It was incredibly relaxing and there were definitely some magical moments following fish over the reefs. Kaua'is pretty small, and I think we did and saw most of what there was to do and see, and it was really a marvelous experience.
Back home for two weeks, and then out again, for Mathfest, and for a short jaunt up to New York to visit my brother and sister-in-law. It's always delightful to see them (which I'm afraid I don't do very often), and every time I see my nephew he's changed significantly, and as an unexpected bonus I was in town when a significant subset of Carla's family was getting together, so it was a chance to reconnect with her sisters and mother as well.
And finally my summer travels were done. In retrospect traveling for one week out of every three was a bad way to arrange my summer, if for no other reason than that my garden suffered immensely, but also that I could never quite recover my footing properly when I came back to town.
So during the fall I mostly had my hands full with classes. I was teaching MATH 301 (multivariable calculus, and 111 (college algebra). I'd never done either of them before, and 111 was a large lecture with recitation sections, so I had my hands full, but I made enough progress on my various researches to get two papers prepped to go. I also learned about an on-campus knitting-and-crochet circle, which was a nice chance to meet new people. Finally the year wound down, and now I'm largely at leisure.
Maybe I'll try to update more often in the coming year. I probably won't, but it's worth a shot.