I’ll be there for Independence Day, then two weeks of work. I’m not sure what to do with my weekends, I’m told I should see the Palace of Mysore (or is that Mysuru?) but have few other ideas. Maybe they’ll have some suggestions when I get there!

The National Air and Space Museum has two locations: the main one on the National Mall, and another with some bigger stuff called the Udvar-Hazy Center. We went to the main branch some years ago, but — ahh — never uploaded the pictures? Bad blogger! Bad! Anyway, on a recent trip to visit one of Jenny’s highschool friends (ObPlug: visit Woodlands Restaurant! Try the Pani Puri!) we hit the other branch. Since it’s the National Air and Space museum the stuff you see is the Real Deal™. Like, they don’t just have some random test Gemini capsule, they have Gemini 7. And they don’t just have some random B-29, they have the Enola Gay. And of course, the main attraction for me, the Space Shuttle Enterprise.

And then once I get back from that, I get to start on the new new new new thing which will be, by the time it’s finished, the newest thing EVER.

For Jenny’s Dad’s 60th birthday, the whole family took a trip out West! We stayed 7 days, on a tour bus whenever there was sunlight, and in different hotels each night. The bus travelled counter-clockwise around Wyoming and its bordering states, hitting as many destinations as humanly possible: Denver, Crazy Horse Memorial, Mt. Rushmore, Devil’s Tower, Yellowstone, The Grand Tetons, Salt Lake City, Arches National Park… probably several more I’m forgetting. Look at the pictures.

On the first day, when the tour guide told us that we would be receiving a 5 AM wake up call to get going the next morning, I demanded to know whose crazy idea the trip was. On the last day, after doing an incredible sunset hike in Arches National Park, we were making plans to go back.

Sharena is making a mockery of the lion dance and eventually her great grandfather can’t take it any more.

Remember this famous picture of Sharena from the first trip? I took an almost identical one of Mira this time around, and not even on purpose! For reference, here’s what Sharena looks like now.

Today we’re in Hualien and tomorrow we continue our bus ride around the country. The bus ride today was pretty long, but it was no problem because there was “entertainment”.

Tomorrow is a day of relative rest (other than the inevitable banquet-grade dinner) and then the next day we start a 5 day bus trip around the island, to some places we’ve been before, and some we haven’t.

This weekend: Palo Alto! I’ve been casually talking to somebody out there for a while, and now that our conversations are getting more serious (O(lg n) and the like) we’ve decided to meet up in person and see where things lead.

End of February: Taiwan, again! This time with all of them, plus ALL their kids, which will definitely be either fun or “fun”. Hoping for mostly the former.

Reading Laozi, by Bai Juyi

Those who speak do not know, those who know are silent,
I heard this saying from the old gentleman.
If the old gentleman was one who knew the way,
Why did he feel able to write five thousand words?