I'm in Philadelphia, here for the IVA conference (Intelligent Virtual Agents). I'm sitting in a ballroom with some hundred others, listening to Paul Debevec from ICT, USC, who is showing pictures of faces in 3D with high detail. If you want more detailed information, look here: Invited Speakers.
My flight was blissfully uneventful, despite a small debacle at Heathrow where we first got boarded onto busses, but then had to be de-boarded just to repeat the procedure. Small things. I was relieved that I didn't miss the connecting flight due to the lines. It goes quicker now in the new terminal 5. So Heathrow just bumped up a few dante-inferno levels in my book. Perhaps some day it can reach limbo, but the staff are still doing their best to cling downwards.
I looked at the map in the flight chair to be sure: east coast! My first time. In transit between the airport an the hotel I had managed to grab a tourist leaflet which had information on the history of Philadelphia. And looking out from the window: cobble stone. Teal. Historic buildings, grey, alongside quite elegant skyscrapers, black, silver and blue as reflected by the sky. I got a text from a friend about the result of the elections in Sweden. Pretty depressing, so I was even more thankful for the view.That shuttle-ride will most likely be all that I see of Philadelphia. The IVA has a really packed program - all sessions are super-interesting, and between them there aren't really room for taking a walk, unless I skip a lunch or a dinner. That's a good thing though - wouldn't want to fly all this way otherwise.
