Gratuitous Vacation Pictures

( Aloha! )

I heard some interesting stuff from the COUNTER team, heard a few presentations that seemed like old robotics/AI news applied to the GNC community (can't complain, that's my paper in a nutshell), and some stuff on machine learning that I mostly got and some stuff on pseudospectral methods that I mostly didn't. Happy to say that, two years post-dissertation, I still remember the math associated with optimal controls and could follow along intelligently.

How Hawai'i Is Like Pennsic

We skipped Pennsic for this trip, but we've noticed some similarities:

• There's something of a specialized dress code, but no one cares if you don't really follow it.
  
• Almost everyone is on vacation, and those who aren't are mostly in the service industries.
  
• There are a lot of toned shirtless men walking around.
  
• There's a definite bohemian/hippie vibe, especially among the local over-50 crowd.
  
• ZOMG there is a lot of booze.
  
• And the under-30 crowd indulges heavily.
  
• The buses are annoying and slow and you may as well walk unless you're going downtown.
  
• A car seems like it would be a real hassle.
  

Look! We got garb so we'd fit in: