Alon's Blog

Here is a photo I took at Punalu’u black sand beach, where I met Shira (this photo also courtesy of my camera phone, click to enlarge):

Hi All! I’m back!

In the HNL-EWR post I forgot to tell you about the fact that my plane (a 767) was full. All 11 empty seats on the plane, including the one I cleverly left free between me and Itai were filled with nonrevenue passengers on standby. So, no free space for us.

Shortly after posting my previous post, Itai managed to get us admitted to the Delta Crown Room lounge at Newark. The lounge featured more comfortable seating and free drinks, although Dan lounge in Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport is better.

Anyway, our Air France flight to Paris was slightly late, and for some strange reason the flight attendants insisted on counting and recounting the number of passengers on board with a clicker. The Air France Airbus A330-200 was full to capacity, and even though the flight was overbooked, we could not get rerouting and compensation.

The plane featured personal video touch screens, however most of the interactive system did not work due to some malfunction. So, there remained very few films to watch, one of which I already saw on a previous flight (Music and Lyrics). I decided to use my laptop and watch The 4400 instead. I did however enjoy tracking the flight in real time, and the option to see the view from a camera mounted below the plane. The food service on board was surprisingly good, and I enjoyed the lunch served after takeoff, although I had nothing edible for breakfast.

Upon arrival at Charles de Gaulle International Airport, our plane taxied for about 20 minutes, until we came to a stop at a parking space. It turns out that at CDG some jets are still de-boarded by bus, so we had to take airstairs and board a bus to the terminal. The terminal itself was not a pleasant place either. The ground staff refused to change our seats for the next flight, even though I’m entitled to priority seating and will not give an emergency exit row to anyone who’s not fluent in French.

Upon reaching the departure gate (after passing security yet again), I was stunned to see that the boarding is again by bus. I further noticed that the flight would be at least 10 minutes late. There were no reasonable restaurants in the boarding area and everything was overpriced (and in Euro!). I boarded the plane quite early, but there were still more delays. It took more than an hour for the plane to start taxiing and a lot more than that until takeoff. I decided to read a book during all this time in order not to get too annoyed. However, one flight attendant managed to annoy me anyway when she insisted on addressing me in French twice, as if all Air France passengers are French. All in all, the service aboard the A320 was terrible, and was anxious to land, after more than 40 hours since checkout from the hotel.

We arrived 1:10 late. At Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, I whizzed through passport control, and arrived to the baggage hall just as the baggage from our flight started to appear. For some unknown reason, Itai’s bag arrived before mine, even though mine was clearly labeled “Priority”. Anyway, my bag did arrive quite early.

However, it turns out I just missed the shuttle cab to Haifa (Itai took the last place on the previous shuttle). I spent most of the shuttle ride sleeping. I finally arrived at home only at around 21:00, showered and went directly to sleep. Upon waking up, I immediately updated my blog for your reading pleasure.

Well, another update from Newark…

Here I am, still in Newark Liberty International Airport, waiting for my flight to Paris. I spent my hours here mostly sleeping on the terminal floor and chatting online using Internet connections from airline lounges that I sit outside of.

I need to emphasize here that Newark is not New York. This is not a typo. Newark, New Jersey is $14 away from Manhattan, each way! So, no, we are not going to New York.

I’m bored, so if you see me online, please chat with me!

Hi All!

Today I took TheBus alone to Manoa Falls, a nice short hiking trail outside Honolulu. The hike went through a thick forest, and ended in front of a beautiful waterfall.

At the end of the trail, I met a nice group of girls from Hawaii and the mainland. They continued on the Ahualama Trail, so I went with them. After about an hour we turned around and returned to the trailhead. In the meanwhile I chatted with one of them, we exchanged e-mail addresses. So, I invited her to read my blog (If you’re reading this — Hi Michelle!).

I planned to go to Diamond Head in the afternoon, but they told me at the hotel that it closes at 18:00, so I’ll probably go tomorrow. I think I’ll skip going to Hanauma Bay tomorrow as I have a flight to catch back home at 21:20.

Back at the hotel, 50 First Dates was on TV — a stupid comedy set in Hawaii. It was interesting to see when I understood most of the Hawaiian references. So, now I’m back in the hotel updating my blog.

By the way, now that this a blog, you can comment — so please do!

Hi all!

Yesderday was the first day of the conference. I started the day by volunteering at the conference registration desk. There were very fewregistrations, so I mostly used the wifi to browse the net and chatted with people at the desk. For lunch I went to the Ala Moana shopping mall and ate some chicken with Itai and Vince (and others).

After lunch, I had my poster session. I put my poster near the entrance of the hall, so I got many visitors. Some of the visitors went to my poster specifically. For example, Kate Larson, who tought my paper in a course she was giving was very interested in my new results, and all the usual suspects (David Parkes, Toumas Sandholm, Michael Wellman) paid a visit as well.

After the poster session I was late for the next session about Multi-Agent systems. There were some interesting talks (and some less interesting), and I asked a question or two.

In the next session, I gave my talk. I added a slide in the last minute due to what I’ve seen at the poster. However, during the talk a found some small mistakes (text that shouldn’t have been in the slides), but none were noticed. After the talk I got positive feedback from several people about my
talk and my work. I refered everybody who was interested to my website.

In the evening, there was the conference banquet, or Luau. A Luau is a traditional Hawaiian feast with Polynesian entertainemnt. The Luau at AAMAS featured a cast from the Polynesian Cultural Center. The show was entertaining and showcased traditions of the various islands of
Polynesia.

Hello all!
Today I woke up early and headed towards the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. This is a unique place, as it is the only place on US soil which was attacked in WWII. Moreover, this was a devastating surprise attack by a nation that was in the midst of peace negotiations, that marked the US entry into the war.

The memorial itself is one of those “free ticket” sites, where you have to come early and wait in line for a free ticket redeemable some time later. Also, for “security reasons” you have to check your handbag and pay $3, and if you want an audio guide it’s an additional $5.

So, I took the audio tour through the small museum that told the story of that day, December 7th, 1941. How the RADAR operators saw the incoming barrage of Japanese planes and their superior officer disregarded it, how Isoroku Yamamoto who planned the attack did not agree with its goals, and more. Then, my time came and I saw a film about the attack and visited the memorial itself.
After visiting the free memorial, I bought tickets to visit the USS Bowfin submarine and the brand new Pacific Aviation Museum. The audio tour in the USS Bowfin was interesting and provided insight on life aboard a submarine. The nearby museum chronicles the history of submarine warfare from its conception to present day.

Interestingly enough, although nuclear warfare was mentioned in the Bowfin museum and the American victory in WWII was mentioned repeatedly there was no mention of Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Interestingly, there were much less Japanese tourists here than in other places in Hawaii.

The aviation museum was interesting, albeit small. It included real refurbished aircraft from the time, from both the American and Japanese sides. The most interesting exhibit was of a small civilian general aviation plane (Aeronca 65TC) that was in the air over Oahu when the Japanese struck. Remarkably, it managed to land safely in what later became Honolulu International Airport.

After this historic tour, I rode TheBus back into town, and visited the world’s largest open-air shopping mall, and the largest shopping center in the United States. I didn’t buy anything, but I got a free scoop of Ice Cream at Haagen-Dazs.

Tonight was the opening reception of the conference, the main excuse for me being here. Met some of my former acquaintances, including Vince, and came back to the hotel.

Tomorrow will be a long day. I’m volunteering from 7:30 to 12:00, then after lunch I present my poster, then another volunteer session, then I give my talk and at night I go to the Luau.

Hi All from Holiday Inn Waikiki Hawaii!
Today I decided to visit downtown Honolulu and chinatown, and the famous Waikiki beach. So, I took TheBus to downtown. It turned out I picked the wrong day to do so, as most sites are closed on Mondays. I did however see the state capitol and venture into chinatown, which is just like any other chinatown in the US. I concluded my downtown excursion with a visit to a botanic garden including a guided tour by a botanist.

Then I took TheBus back to the hotel and took a walk to the all-so-famous Waikiki beach. To my disappointment, Waikiki beach is exactly like the promenade of Eilat — many huge hotels, several steet vendors selling overpriced food and water gear, and lots and lots of people on the beach, and an abundance of beautiful women. All in all, really nothing to see. The only thing different is the dormant volcano in the background, but it seems most of the tourists are much more into the ocean than the mountain.

So, I hopped back on TheBus, and returned to the hotel, where I can surf freely without even entering the ocean, thanks to the hi-speed Internet connection.

Tomorrow I plan to absorb some American history at the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor, and maybe climb Diamond Head.

P.S. No photos from today, as I didn’t bring a camera and Itai is on Kauai.