We are nearly home after a 4-day trip to Melbourne. Like most things these days, the 3,000 km round trip (by air) was a rushed affair, with me being in conference most of the time and Dot, who accompanied me, seeing the sights of the city. Dot, for one had a good time and the highlight was a trip to Philip Island to see the fairy penguin parade just after dusk. The penguins, which are protected, nest in burrows on the island and come ashore in the twilight to rush across the beach and up to feed their young. They fish during the day and cannot be seen. Otherwise, Dot's time was a parade of shops, art galleries, parks, museums and lovely old buildings. She also enjoyed riding the trams. Melbourne has an extensive network of tram lines, much like most European cities.
I, meantime, was holed up in the suite of conference rooms we hired at a hotel near Melbourne University. I presented the ANZ Regional Science Association's accounts for 09-10, resigned as treasurer, took over as the journal's editor with another colleague, chaired a conference session, presented an award, gave a paper (on quantum mechanics and uncertainty), drafted an article with a colleague and designed a research project. All this was intellectually exciting, but tiring as discussions sometimes went into the late evening and I met several good colleagues from all over Australia, and the US and New Zealand. Moreover my US visit in July will now take a detour via Missouri!
I'm typing this while delayed in the Qantas Club at Sydney airport. It looks like my home district had some wild weather today!
AS
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