I spent two days this week at the ISI/ISD (Intelligent Systems Division) annual retreat, which was held at The Lake Arrowhead Resort in the San Bernardino Mountains, about two hours east of LA. Unfortunately, the weather was awful -- dense fog, rain, and even hail at times. (Did I mention it was foggy? Driving up and down the mountain was extremely challenging because the fog was so thick that you could see only a few inches in front of your car on a relentlessly winding mountain road. Due to the elevation, it was literally driving through the clouds.) Consequently, I didn't explore the area at all, but it is obviously a beautiful place.
The ISI retreat was an incredibly civilized affair. This is in stark contrast to our faculty retreats at the Univ. of Utah, which are a form of torture that should be banned by the Geneva Convention. At Utah, the faculty are sequestered in a local meeting room and subjected to an endless series of mind-numbingly boring and content-free Powerpoint presentations. Except for the occasional mental jolt provided by one faculty member brazenly insulting another, these meetings could induce a coma in an otherwise healthy person. But I digress...
At ISI, the retreat spans two days, and faculty, staff, and students all attend with expenses paid by the institute. The event consists of a series of high-level research presentations, tutorials on specific topics, question & answer sessions with project leaders and the division directors, and social events. The retreat serves many purposes, including educating everyone about the work currently going on throughout the division, exposing students to a wide swath of AI research, encouraging collaborations across research groups, and supporting collegiality and morale. I was impressed ... every institution should do this kind of thing!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
What a Fluke!
There's no denying it. I am in the midst of a full-blown obsession. I have long been fascinated by the ocean and marine mammals, and one of my deepest frustrations has been that I can't travel on boats without getting terribly seasick. So it would be impossible to overstate how liberating and thrilling it is to have discovered a place where I can see whales from land. And this magical place is just a short drive away. Any day, any time, I can go see whales. A fantasy come true.
Since whale-watching season is relatively short (roughly January-March), I've decided to indulge my obsession and go whale-watching as often as I can. About 2 weeks ago, I drove north past Malibu to visit Point Dume, which is another recommended whale-watching spot. It's a beautiful place that juts out over the ocean, and there's a short trail to the top of a hill which affords a spectacular view of the Pacific. I saw sea lions and dolphins, but alas, no whales. I'm glad I visited, but parking was horrific and Palos Verdes has at least as good a view, so I doubt I'll return to Point Dume.
Yesterday, I went whale-watching again (see "obsession" above) back at beautiful Palos Verdes. The other huge benefit of Palos Verdes is that the "official" whale watchers from the American Cetacean Society are there. Having many well-trained eyes scanning the vast ocean and broadcasting the exact location of every blow or hint of whale activity is enormously helpful. On this day, I saw 4-5 gray whales. For 2 of them, I got a great view of their backs and flukes. I also saw the back of a third whale, and saw the blows from 1-2 additional whales but no bodies. And I learned a new factoid: a whale's heart is the size of a Volkswagon Beetle. Wow.
This day was about as good as it gets because there was nearly constant whale activity for the entire time (3 hours) that I was there. However, "constant" is a relative term. Mostly you just see blows, and often they are 5+ minutes apart. So there's a whole lot of waiting and guessing as to where the next blow will be. Seeing whales is an exercise in patience and also an art. I'm getting better at identifying blows, which are typically short and dispersed for gray whales, so not as easy to spot as you might think. I even managed to find one whale before the official observers saw it, which earned me some valuable "street cred". :) One of the observers later gave me a lesson on how to identify "prints". Although whales regularly come to the surface to breathe, their bodies aren't always visible above the water. When whales dive back down, however, their large bodies often leave behind smooth, circular patches of water. These are called "prints" and trained observers use them to verify that a blow was indeed from a whale (and not, say, a dolphin or splash from something else) and also to help track the whale's movements underwater. Following the prints can help ascertain the direction that the whale is heading and how fast it is moving, so you have a better idea of where the next blow will come from.
The observers continuously update a board with the number of official sightings, and on this day the observers who had been there from dawn to dusk saw a total of 19 whales! Another reason why it's nice to hang out with the whale observers is that it's reassuring to know that there are people who are even more whale-obsessed then me. :)
Since whale-watching season is relatively short (roughly January-March), I've decided to indulge my obsession and go whale-watching as often as I can. About 2 weeks ago, I drove north past Malibu to visit Point Dume, which is another recommended whale-watching spot. It's a beautiful place that juts out over the ocean, and there's a short trail to the top of a hill which affords a spectacular view of the Pacific. I saw sea lions and dolphins, but alas, no whales. I'm glad I visited, but parking was horrific and Palos Verdes has at least as good a view, so I doubt I'll return to Point Dume.
Yesterday, I went whale-watching again (see "obsession" above) back at beautiful Palos Verdes. The other huge benefit of Palos Verdes is that the "official" whale watchers from the American Cetacean Society are there. Having many well-trained eyes scanning the vast ocean and broadcasting the exact location of every blow or hint of whale activity is enormously helpful. On this day, I saw 4-5 gray whales. For 2 of them, I got a great view of their backs and flukes. I also saw the back of a third whale, and saw the blows from 1-2 additional whales but no bodies. And I learned a new factoid: a whale's heart is the size of a Volkswagon Beetle. Wow.
This day was about as good as it gets because there was nearly constant whale activity for the entire time (3 hours) that I was there. However, "constant" is a relative term. Mostly you just see blows, and often they are 5+ minutes apart. So there's a whole lot of waiting and guessing as to where the next blow will be. Seeing whales is an exercise in patience and also an art. I'm getting better at identifying blows, which are typically short and dispersed for gray whales, so not as easy to spot as you might think. I even managed to find one whale before the official observers saw it, which earned me some valuable "street cred". :) One of the observers later gave me a lesson on how to identify "prints". Although whales regularly come to the surface to breathe, their bodies aren't always visible above the water. When whales dive back down, however, their large bodies often leave behind smooth, circular patches of water. These are called "prints" and trained observers use them to verify that a blow was indeed from a whale (and not, say, a dolphin or splash from something else) and also to help track the whale's movements underwater. Following the prints can help ascertain the direction that the whale is heading and how fast it is moving, so you have a better idea of where the next blow will come from.
The observers continuously update a board with the number of official sightings, and on this day the observers who had been there from dawn to dusk saw a total of 19 whales! Another reason why it's nice to hang out with the whale observers is that it's reassuring to know that there are people who are even more whale-obsessed then me. :)
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Huntington Botanical Gardens
I ventured "inland" for the first time to visit a friend in Pasadena on Saturday, and we went to Huntington Botanical Gardens. Incredibly beautiful place, with extensive gardens representing different regions of the world. Some pictures are here.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea
When it's nearly 75 degrees with deep blue skies on a mid-January day, the decision is not whether to visit the beach, but which beach to visit. I decided to take a short drive to Manhattan Beach and explore. I wasn't particularly impressed, but I had an interesting experience on the pier. First of all, I confess that it's been a revelation to me that people actually fish on the piers. Lots of people, on nearly every pier. ("That's what piers were built for!", you're probably thinking. Yea, I realize that now... ;)
On this day, I encountered a loquacious fisherman who proudly showed me photos of sharks and a huge black sea bass that he'd recently caught. Just then, his fishing line tightened up and everyone on the pier ran excitedly toward it. Whatever he'd hooked was obviously big. The fish dragged him all the way around to the right side of the pier, then all the way back to the center, then all the way around the right side again. With amazing dexterity, he angled his fishing rod around the backside of a tall pillar with his left hand, while he ran in front of the pillar and regained control of the fishing rod with his right hand. As the fish carried him quickly around the circular pier, he repeatedly swung his fishing rod around pillar after pillar, with such deftness that it reminded me of the graceful choreography of an orangutan effortlessly swinging through the jungle. After a long battle, the fish finally became visible underwater, and a collective groan emanated from the spectators on the pier. It was a large bat ray, which is not a desirable catch. A minute later, the point became moot as the powerful bat ray snapped the fishing line and swam off to live another day. All that effort came to naught in an instant. But the good-natured fisherman simply shrugged his shoulders and cheerfully announced that it was time to recast the line and try again.
On this day, I encountered a loquacious fisherman who proudly showed me photos of sharks and a huge black sea bass that he'd recently caught. Just then, his fishing line tightened up and everyone on the pier ran excitedly toward it. Whatever he'd hooked was obviously big. The fish dragged him all the way around to the right side of the pier, then all the way back to the center, then all the way around the right side again. With amazing dexterity, he angled his fishing rod around the backside of a tall pillar with his left hand, while he ran in front of the pillar and regained control of the fishing rod with his right hand. As the fish carried him quickly around the circular pier, he repeatedly swung his fishing rod around pillar after pillar, with such deftness that it reminded me of the graceful choreography of an orangutan effortlessly swinging through the jungle. After a long battle, the fish finally became visible underwater, and a collective groan emanated from the spectators on the pier. It was a large bat ray, which is not a desirable catch. A minute later, the point became moot as the powerful bat ray snapped the fishing line and swam off to live another day. All that effort came to naught in an instant. But the good-natured fisherman simply shrugged his shoulders and cheerfully announced that it was time to recast the line and try again.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Whale Redux
I've been tracking the daily stats posted by the LA Cetacean Society folks, and the number of gray whale sightings increased quite a bit this past week, which suggests that the bulk of the migrating whales are starting to pass by the LA area. So I decided to visit Palos Verdes again this weekend. After about 1-1.5 hrs of waiting, I got lucky and was treated to the sight of a cow/calf pair! They were remarkably close to shore and swam around for a long time right in front of the observer area. They circled a lot, and at times you could clearly see the calf surfacing right next to mom. Really cool. At one point, the cow dove down and fluked (i.e., flipped her tail straight up in the air for all to see and admire). I'm still learning the key features that distinguish one type of whale from another, so this fluke was very helpful to me -- it was a perfect display of the heart-shaped tail that is the hallmark of the gray whale. The calf never seemed to leave mom's side -- the observers said that it appeared to be very young. [According to them, the whales are giving birth en route to Mexico more and more frequently, due to changes in the oceans. Which is not good, because the young whales are much safer in the relatively sheltered Mexican lagoons than they are in the open ocean.]
This whale-watching stuff is addictive! When I leave, all I can think about is when I can come back...
This whale-watching stuff is addictive! When I leave, all I can think about is when I can come back...
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Whale Tale
I'd been reading that there are spots in southern CA where you can see whales from land, which is endlessly appealing to me because I get horrifically seasick on boats. So I ventured to Point Vicente in Palos Verdes, which is an official whale lookout site for the LA Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. This is a gorgeous cliff 125 feet above sea level, where the water depth abruptly drops off close to shore. In the winter months, official whale observers are there from dawn to dusk, 7 days a week, conducting a gray whale census.
My primary goal was to see gray whales as they pass by California on their famous migration. The whales swim ~5,000 miles from Alaska to Mexico, where they give birth to calves, and then swim another 5,000 miles from Mexico back to Alaska. I wasn't expecting to see anything on this day because most whales aren't expected to pass by until January, but I wanted to check out the area. Well ... I ended up hanging out with the whale watchers for several hours and we saw 2 whales! One was a southbound gray whale, which I could see quite well thanks to my recent investment in a pair of good binoculars. I learned so much from the whale folks! For example, the grays often follow a pattern of surfacing twice after shallow dives and then surfacing a third time after which they take a deep dive and don't surface again for ~10-20 mins. When you see the whale's fluke (tail) come way up out of the water, that means it's heading down for a deep dive. This gray whale wasn't far off shore and we were able to follow it for several dive sequences. Wow!! Incredibly exciting!!
The process of whale watching is interesting. Mostly, it's a waiting game. Sometimes, the observers sit out there all day and don't see anything. But then suddenly someone yells "BLOW!!!!!!" and everyone runs for their binoculars. The spout from a blowhole is the telltale sign. And interestingly, the blow is an important part of whale identification. We also saw a fin whale while I was there, although I couldn't see much except its back and fin because it was far away. Based on the fin shape and size, the observers said it must be a humpback or fin whale. They concluded that it was a fin whale because the blow was extremely high, which means the whale must be enormous -- a humpback couldn't generate a water spout that high.
The observers also see many different varieties of dolphins nearly every day. I saw some dolphin, but couldn't tell what kind. However, at one point someone excitedly yelled for everyone to look far off-shore. In the distance, you could see a huge swath of dolphins jumping in and out of the water. There were far too many dolphins to count, and they were excitedly leaping and jumping everywhere. I was informed that these are common dolphins, which travel in huge pods. The observors said that such pods can include hundreds or even thousands of dolphins. They claim to have seen one pod that was so big that there was a 2-mile long stretch of nothing but dolphins! TWO MILES!
Oh, and one other anecdote. I had noticed several pieces of (what I thought was) garbage floating in the ocean, but was informed that they were sea lions! Or more accurately, sea lion flippers sticking out of the water. Apparently, sea lions often hold one flipper out of the water to thermoregulate.
This was a total blast!! I can't wait to go back. I have hopes for seeing not only more gray whales, but also blue whales (the biggest whales in the world!), which the observers claim to see sometimes.
My primary goal was to see gray whales as they pass by California on their famous migration. The whales swim ~5,000 miles from Alaska to Mexico, where they give birth to calves, and then swim another 5,000 miles from Mexico back to Alaska. I wasn't expecting to see anything on this day because most whales aren't expected to pass by until January, but I wanted to check out the area. Well ... I ended up hanging out with the whale watchers for several hours and we saw 2 whales! One was a southbound gray whale, which I could see quite well thanks to my recent investment in a pair of good binoculars. I learned so much from the whale folks! For example, the grays often follow a pattern of surfacing twice after shallow dives and then surfacing a third time after which they take a deep dive and don't surface again for ~10-20 mins. When you see the whale's fluke (tail) come way up out of the water, that means it's heading down for a deep dive. This gray whale wasn't far off shore and we were able to follow it for several dive sequences. Wow!! Incredibly exciting!!
The process of whale watching is interesting. Mostly, it's a waiting game. Sometimes, the observers sit out there all day and don't see anything. But then suddenly someone yells "BLOW!!!!!!" and everyone runs for their binoculars. The spout from a blowhole is the telltale sign. And interestingly, the blow is an important part of whale identification. We also saw a fin whale while I was there, although I couldn't see much except its back and fin because it was far away. Based on the fin shape and size, the observers said it must be a humpback or fin whale. They concluded that it was a fin whale because the blow was extremely high, which means the whale must be enormous -- a humpback couldn't generate a water spout that high.
The observers also see many different varieties of dolphins nearly every day. I saw some dolphin, but couldn't tell what kind. However, at one point someone excitedly yelled for everyone to look far off-shore. In the distance, you could see a huge swath of dolphins jumping in and out of the water. There were far too many dolphins to count, and they were excitedly leaping and jumping everywhere. I was informed that these are common dolphins, which travel in huge pods. The observors said that such pods can include hundreds or even thousands of dolphins. They claim to have seen one pod that was so big that there was a 2-mile long stretch of nothing but dolphins! TWO MILES!
Oh, and one other anecdote. I had noticed several pieces of (what I thought was) garbage floating in the ocean, but was informed that they were sea lions! Or more accurately, sea lion flippers sticking out of the water. Apparently, sea lions often hold one flipper out of the water to thermoregulate.
This was a total blast!! I can't wait to go back. I have hopes for seeing not only more gray whales, but also blue whales (the biggest whales in the world!), which the observers claim to see sometimes.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Celebrity Sighting
This happened a while ago, but I forgot to include it in my previous catch-up posts. I was walking into a local supermarket and noticed a very, very tall guy walking in front of me. I looked up and thought "Hey, that looks like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!". Then I thought "nah, couldn't be". But I looked back up (way up) at his face one more time and thought "I think it is him!". Just then, some guys across the parking lot yelled at him and, without looking at them, he signaled a "V" peace sign in their direction and steadfastly continued walking on. I'm almost positive it was him, especially since a shopkeeper later told me than he lives in nearby Playa del Rey and people frequently see him in this area.
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