Not so far from the conference venue, we found a McD's in Wells Fargo Place. RonnieMac was there to welcome us.
To the left: Famous IJRR Managing Editor, Jennet Batten is distracted by a tasty idea, "For 2010, IJRR's impact factor is .... mmmmmmmmmmmmmm french fries.........."
Above: Several wildly tasty treats (only one of which is a real fruit smoothie).
Howie came to England!
On the left, you'll see us visiting the borough of Epsom & Ewell, in beautiful Surrey.
Above, you'll see us celebrating the inauguration of the new web site: sethwendyandhowie.com - which was a very nice present from Howie.
Howie engaged in a game of chess with a proper Englishman.
The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired and strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions; for life is a kind of Chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effect of prudence, or the want of it.--- Benjamin Franklin, in his article The Morals of Chess (1750)
Howie charming two proper English ladies at dinner.
By happy coincidence, we found ourselves in Boston, for different reasons.
Even happier -- Allison and Wendy were also in Boston.
In this photo, Howie and I are about to enjoy our treats (McSundae and Cono), but Allison still waits anxiously for her order to arrive.
(Hint - there are at least seven.)
(Another Hint --- three of them are robotics researchers.)
In January, Howie visited Egypt. Sadly, he traveled alone. Happily, he carried a nice photo with him!
For your holiday shopping --- a picture frame would be a very nice gift for Howie. Maybe something with a nice anti-glare glass, perhaps a bit of gilding along the edges, or maybe something in a mahogany.
In Egypt, the girls love the bass players!
Anchorage does not have a McDonald's in the downtown area. But that's no problem for savvy travelers who don't mind a short bus ride.
And, of course, a bus ride affords the opportunity to make new friends.
If you look closely, you'll see the Alaskan mountains reflected in the McD's windows (second row from the bottom).
It's art, really.
The Silver Arch in St. Louis.
The Golden Arches, the Silver Arch, and a new friend.
Unlike sad and lonely Kevin (whom you'll find further down the page, alone in an Asian McDonald's), Matt is happy and proud to have found himself alone in a strange land, yet held in the bosom of American culture.
In my quest to never be outdone by Matt in the search for exotic foods, in 2009 I crossed this McDonald's off my to-do list.
The Rock and Roll McDonald's in Chicago --- The best McDonald's ever!
Just beside the left arch you'll see Dieter, Martin and Howie.
At the Rock and Roll McDonald's, one can finish the meal with a Gelato while gazing out at the tawdry, touristic eateries across the street.
If you look very, very closely, you'll notice that my new friend is wearing on his tie a pin from a McDonald's in England. There's a very tiny British flag on the pin... and you must look very hard indeed to see it. But it's there.
Howie's favorite Martin.
Me, Neli and a mystery roboticist (but she's wearing her badge... maybe you can zoom in and learn her secret identity).
Welcome to Tijuana! Would you like fries with your cheaper generic drugs?
In Illinois, as in much of the heartland, one often has the desire to bowl after a fine meal at McDonald's.
Joel Burdick (famous hyper-redundant robotics guy) joins veterans Al and Peter (the famous Australian field roboticist) along with first-timers Jing Xiao, Jon Luntz, Andrew Ladd, and young researchers Max and Kostas
On this day, I was thankful for Howie, Nancy, George and James, and McDonald's, and strawberry shakes, and very thankful that George decided to use Robot Modeling and Control for his robotics class.
On our arrival in Europe - no Pope yet.
Within one day of our arrival --- a new pope.
Draw your own conclusions...
With Peter Corke, famous field roboticist
The photo that caused the McD authorities to ban my camera.
Howie's Voodoo doll in foreground
(with George Kantor and Al Rizzi)
