More standard update…

Hi All!
After the TV script, here is a more conventional e-mail about my
experience...
The flights to Hyderabad (via Amsterdam) were long and tyring, however my
Elite status with KLM made the flights more bearable -- I sat in the
frontmost rows of Economy class and had a free seat next to me. I got meals
earlier than the rest of the passengers and could pass security in Amsterdam
without waiting in a long queue with all the Indians. Also, the AMS-HYD
flight was full of babies, but the all sat in the back so they didn't
disturb me. I also disembarked the flight early and my luggage came quite
early. I met Ola (Another graduate student working with Moshe) again at
Hyderabad and we shared a taxi to the hostel.
The next day, I went alone to tour the city while Ola stayed at the
Hostel. I went to Charminar, where I met Daniel -- another IJCAI delegate
from Berlin, Germany. We decided to stick together. I didn't take a camera
with me, but Daniel did, so I will soon copy his pictures and post them
online.
We toured various parts of Hyderabad including the Buddha statue and a
more modern part of town where we ate at McDonald's. It turns out the
McDonald's here does not serve beef -- only chicken. The meal cost 101 Rupee
(1 Rupee = 0.1 NIS = US$ 0.023). Next we took a Riksaw to the conference
opening ceremony and ate the very spicy meal.
I have met here several AI people I know, including Michael Wellman, who I
met on the flight, and Kevin Leyton-Brown and Vince Conitzer who I met at
the opening ceremony. I also took Moshe's role in introducing Ola to these
people.
The accomodation here is very good. The (private) room is comfortable as
an American hotel, and the accomodation includes a nice breakfast. I was
very postively surprised.
Now I'm listening to the keynote talk of IJCAI. The wireless network does
not really work well, but there is a wired connection here as well. I will
explore this issue later.

--
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-=[ Random Fortune ]=-
Why on earth do people buy old bottles of wine when they can get a
fresh one for a quarter of the price?