Again it is 3 am. Must be the perfect time to update my website. Or you know, actually sleep like a normal person. In any case, I just got back from the IROS robotics conference in San Fran, which was cool (both literally and figuratively). I got there a couple days early to see friends who had graduated and were now working in the Bay area. It was awesome to hang out and do stuff. Our “walking around SF” day turned into an 11 mile hike through the city, along the piers, through Fisherman’s Wharf, to Ghiradelli Square, across the lawns, up to the Golden Gate Bridge, across the bridge, and then back. Whew! Very exhausting.
IROS itself was both fun and boring in about equal measures. Maybe more on the boring side 😉 My presentations went well and CMU had two papers that were up for awards, which is always awesome. I saw some cool robots there, talked to people, and generally had a nice time. My iPod Touch came in handy when I ran into a talk that bored me; I’d just start reading my ebook until they said something interesting 😉
The weekend I got back was the PhD Movie (you know, from the makers of the PhD Comics), which honestly I was expecting to be a bad B movie with relatively weak jokes. However, it really surprised me. While definitely a B movie with relatively stiff acting, the laughs were really quite good. At least from my perspective as a grad student, they were spot on. “And the part of the week you look forward to most is the Friday gathering where you stand around drinking and talking to the same people you’ve been talking to all week” 🙂 It’s so true. Anyhow, I recommend a watch if you are (or know somebody) in grad school. I doubt it will become as iconic as the red stapler movie whose name currently eludes me, but it should be. And with that witty sentence, I shall take my leave to bed. Adieu!