Sometimes, business travel isn't so bad

DoctorIt

A few weeks ago, I was invited to give a quick talk on a technology we've been working on in our lab. ASME was holding a conference, and there was to be a "NanoVenture" competition on the side, to showcase emerging lab-to-fab innovations. I've given the pitch before, so it was a no-brainer, exposure is always good...

...Exposure to the sun!!!



Yup, every once in a long while, a conference happens somewhere pretty nice. Not that Chicago and Seattle aren't nice, but they're cities, where you're stuck in a convention center, and it's all business. This time, the conference was in Honolulu!

We arrived, took a quick nap, and then were determined to stay awake until a reasonable west coast bedtime. So we headed out to the beach to look for dinner. Pretty ugly, eh?



We didn't get a beach side hotel, but I think the hills behind Honolulu are pretty cool as well, especially at night.




There's nothing more depressing than putting on a suit in a tropical paradise. But, as the saying goes, ya gotta pay the bills.



...more later... work calls at the moment.

DoctorIt

Business went well - a good little conference, actually. And there was a beautiful Japanese garden behind the conference building, complete with many pools full of Koi and a Mongoose! No, really, we saw a little mongoose scurry through the garden. We thought it was a small squirrel at first, but when it popped up again, it was definitely a ferret/mongoose lookin' little critter. Now, I don't think those are native to Hawaii... what gives? Someone suggested they were imported to get rid of snakes. Any truth to that? Unfortunately, no photos of that.

Moving on, the next day was my turn to be a beach bum. MrsIt had already gotten her chance while I was at the conference the previous day, so she wanted to do all sorts of stuff, but I just wanted to swim and sit in the sun.

So much for swimming carefree:



These canoes look like fun:



Sand is fun



And so are waterproof cameras (that's my face)



So I made MrsIt some chicken feet, and realized it was about lunch time...

DoctorIt

Lunch isn't exactly a strong point at the tourist haven of Waikiki, but then again, seems like food on Hawaii is expensive just about everywhere. No matter, we found a place slightly off the main drag and enjoyed an outdoor table.

Then, MrsIt had her way and we went to the zoo. Did I mention she loves zoos? She's still talking about it.

Here she is plotting our attack



The ring-tailed lemurs put on a nice show for us





The mid-day lighting was really tricky, so these really aren't my best photos



These gibbons were MrsIt's favorites. So humanlike, very amazing to watch for a while. It doesn't hit you until you've watched them for more than 5 or 10 minutes how much like us they are.



Ever seen a huge rock move? Pretty amazing animals, tortoises:



These are in fact NOT crocodiles, they are __________. Very intimidating nonetheless.





And lots of pretty birds





And of course, the big kitties are always a crowd pleaser. This was actually the only one we saw. It was late in the day, and all the others (lions, cheetahs) were hiding in their "private" enclosures.



Zoos are definitely fun.

System

The not a croc is in fact a Gharial. Nice pics, Hawaii is a not so bad place.

DoctorIt

truth wrote:

The not a croc is in fact a Gharial. Nice pics, Hawaii is a not so bad place.

Bingo... I remembered it started with a Gaaaa...something.

ChrisJ

So did you get any good fishy shots with the underwater cam? Definitely hard to beat business trips to Hawaii. Though I prefer the Big Island.

Oh, and the mongooses (mongeese?) are actually bad. They were imported to the islands to try and control the rats. This made loads of sense considering rats are noctural, and rats are diurnal. Instead, the mongoose eat native birds and their eggs.

Great shots, I haven't been there in a year and a half now.

DoctorIt

ChrisJ wrote:

So did you get any good fishy shots with the underwater cam? Definitely hard to beat business trips to Hawaii. Though I prefer the Big Island.

Oh, and the mongooses (mongeese?) are actually bad. They were imported to the islands to try and control the rats. This made loads of sense considering rats are noctural, and rats are diurnal. Instead, the mongoose eat native birds and their eggs.

Great shots, I haven't been there in a year and a half now.

1. Fish were too small and too fast. It was hard enough to get myself in the underwater shots! MrsIt only managed to get the top of head when she tried.

2. This was my second time to Oahu, I would soooo like to see the other islands.

3. Thanks for the mongoose info - I knew there was some real facts out there!

DoctorIt

Almost done with the journey...

Just before dinner is when you get some really nice light

DoctorIt

On our last full day, I convinced everyone that there was more to Oahu than just Waikiki and Honolulu. Granted, its a small island and physically there isn't that much more, but the scenery certainly changes.

We were lucky enough to score a jeep from the rental place. After about 15 minutes, we finally got the top off - yes, I'm an engineer. And then, it was off to Diamond Head so everyone could get a good look around.

The extinct volcano



Waikiki and Honolulu:



Looking inland:



There's some fun tunnels on the hike up to the top of the crater



And we continue around the southeastern tip of the island (wide angle is fun):



Wish those power lines weren't there:

DoctorIt

This was my response to "time to go to the airport for the flight home"

SirArmstrong

Nice business trip! Good series and fun.:ivar

gus

What a deal doc !! The only time i get paid to speak is at re-trials. Looks like you had a great time.

DoctorIt

gus wrote:

What a deal doc !! The only time i get paid to speak is at re-trials. Looks like you had a great time.

We definitely had fun. Very occasionally, this grad-student gig pays off.

ian408

Get a job ya lazy slacker

Nice place to have a conference. Why is it the only ones in my field are in
places like San Jose?

DoctorIt

ian408 wrote:

Get a job ya lazy slacker

Nice place to have a conference. Why is it the only ones in my field are in
places like San Jose?

could be worse. you could be in the auto biz and be stuck in southeastern michigan.

DavidTO

Nice series. I enjoyed tagging along. Never been to Hawaii, definitely have to get my butt there one of these days.

DoctorIt

DavidTO wrote:

Nice series. I enjoyed tagging along. Never been to Hawaii, definitely have to get my butt there one of these days.

your butt will thank you, it's a nice place to plant it for a visit.

Tim Kirkwood

Looks like fun to me! Just hope that your boss does not read Dgrin lol

Thanks for sharing.

Tim

DoctorIt

Tim Kirkwood wrote:

Looks like fun to me! Just hope that your boss does not read Dgrin lol

Thanks for sharing.

Tim

I saved my "boss" $300 by staying an extra couple days, actually. If you don't have the saturday stay, the air tickets are twice as expensive, and since I wangled the conference discount at the hotel, even though it was 2 extra nights, it netted as a savings to our travel budget. Damn I'm good.

ian408

DoctorIt wrote:

I saved my "boss" $300 by staying an extra couple days, actually. If you don't have the saturday stay, the air tickets are twice as expensive, and since I wangled the conference discount at the hotel, even though it was 2 extra nights, it netted as a savings to our travel budget. Damn I'm good.

You could be a NASA administrator

DoctorIt

ian408 wrote:

You could be a NASA administrator

Dare to dream.

mmroden

Nice pics! I was just in Hawaii a few weeks ago, and it is really fun. We did the hike up Diamondhead as well, and ran into the security guys from Lost on the way. Apparently, their base of operations is right near there.

Next time you go, I highly recommend taking a puddle jumper to one of the other islands. Waikiki is nice, but the others are much nicer (and cheaper).

DoctorIt

mmroden wrote:

Next time you go, I highly recommend taking a puddle jumper to one of the other islands. Waikiki is nice, but the others are much nicer (and cheaper).

Yeah, that was my promise to myself after my first trip to Honolulu. But when you're traveling on business as a student, you go where the business is. It worked out well though, it was MrsIt's first - so we got the whole Waikiki thing out of the way for her as well. Now we're on equal footing for our next trip: more nature in the Natl Parks of Maui and Hawaii.

NHBubba

Not bad at'al! Sweet, sweet colors. I'm an New England kid and the ocean always looks goofy to me in shots from the Carribian and South Pacific.

Not a bad deal fer yah either. I've only been to two business conferences in my career: One was just down the road in Boston.. the other was in Wichita, Kansas in August! ... Man, did that ever suck!

DoctorIt

thanks Bubba - you nailed it, the most obvious difference about the tropical island is that the color saturation is turned waay up!