Last Conference Day

Does Nick like math? Just a hair.

My legs seemed to have recovered a bit from the shock of all the hills. I walked to the conference today again and definitely felt better than yesterday. I saw several people waiting for the bus near the hotel and we arrived at the conference venue about the same time.

Today was the last day of the conference. The plenary talks were from Portuguese scholars. One spoke about symmetry patterns in the plane and their associated stamp patterns. He also gave a workshop in the afternoon I attended. During his talk he demonstrated some really neat software designed to create and analyze symmetry groups. In the workshop we used the software. I bought a copy for 5 Euros - quite a deal! I also attended some other interesting talks.

I had lunch at an Italian restaurant in a park near the river. I had a pizza with anchovies and capers. Yes, I did order that intentionally. It was very good and surprisingly fast. I then climbed the big hill (again) in the hot sun back to the meetings. For dinner, I had some odds and ends from the local market.

The view from the bridge looking at Coimbra. The conference was at the top of the hill.

After dinner I took a long walk over the river on the way to the concert. I somehow missed the lower-level pedestrian bridge and ended up walking on the 80 km/hr fast traffic bridge. There was a narrow sidewalk across the river and the views were nice. When I got to the other side, the sidewalk ended at the offramp where there was insufficient shoulder to walk. I opted to bound down the steep hill and through the tall weeds back to a more managable path. I walked along a quieter road with slower traffic until the sidewalk started again. the walkway then became a nice pedestrian lane with a very nice view of the city lit by the setting sun. This was the view I was looking for on my walk.

The finale was a concert from the local orchestra. They kicked off the program with Suite No 1 Abertura C Major by Bach. The next piece was a very interesting piece named Densita II by Albini. The third was a new piece composed for the event by Dmitri Tymoczko based on the concept of cellular automata. The fourth piece was Motzart's Symphony 35. The concert ended with Grieg's Peer Gynt.

Tomorrow I will leave Coimbra and head to Lisbon via train. I have a reservation at a hotel near the train station there. I hope to see a few sites in Lisbon. My flight leaves early the next day. Time has really gone fast, but I am glad to be headed home soon.

On a roll

Today was family day at the conference. There were talks in the morning and the afternoon was filled with interactive workshops on a variety of topics. The afternoon sessions were at an other univeristy in town, further from the hotel. I walked there with another group. As we left, we walked under a Roman aquaduct. I was taking some pictures and admiring the soaring arches then BAM. I took a tumble on the cobblestones. I impressed everyone with my syle of tumbling. I did a nice barrel roll and came up with slightly skinned knees. No blood or bruises. Superstar! Our route took us through the botanical gardens and past a seminary. We ate lunch at a small cafe on the way. It was hot in the sun but there was a nice breeze.

After the workshops, many participants had dinner at the local cafeteria. The food was a rice/pork casserole dish. It was good. We then had music night with informal music by conference participants. There was a diverse set of talents on display including singing, guitar playing, accordian, recorders, ukelele, and piano. I walked the 2.5 miles back to the hotel with three others, mostly along the river. It was still very pleasant outside at 11 pm.

I only took a few pictures, but will post them another day when the internet is working better.

Excursion Day

Today was the "Excursion Day" at the conference. Instead of talks, we traveled in groups to several sites in and around Coimbra. Today I paid for bounding up and down the big hill yesterday with very sore calf muscles. I think it is a combination of the steepness of the streets, the roughness of the cobbles, and the poor support provided by my sandals. I decided to take a new way to the conference site that took me along a very pleasant tree lined boulevard. It culminated with climbing about 500 steps. I will try a different way tomorrow.

Our day started by visiting the science museum. This was located in an old chemistry building. In addition to new science exhibits, there were quite a few exhibits and instruments from the early days of chemistry and physics. There was an extensive collection of scientific instruments. Many of the new exhibits were related to light and vision. There was a 30 year old GE gamma camera on display. I explained how it worked to several people. One room contained a large display collection of minerals. My favorite was the dolomite from South Dakota. There was a small exhibit on artificial insemination and how frogs were used in that research. How do you collect from sperm? Simply put some rubber pants on the male frog is shown in the display model!

We had a short break for lunch. I bought a sandwich from a local market and ate near the river. We met at a plaza downtown to catch tour buses. It was hot so I opted to have a cool beverage with another conference participant who is from the Netherlands. We sat under the shade of a cafe umbrella and enjoyed a cool breeze while we talked about our research. We had a good laugh (at the expense of many) when I noted they looked a lot like cattle bunched together under the shade of a small tree.

Our tour buses took us up and into the hills (300-400 m) to a nearby national forest, the Mata National do Bucaco. The park contains cypress and cedar trees that are hundreds of years old (one dates to before 1644). There was a path that has the 12 stations of the cross to with the correct distances ascribed to the passion walk. It also contains a former convent and an active chapel. A room adjacent to the chapel contained a prayer room dedicated to the female breast. There was a large painting of a breast-feeding child. On the prayer table there were small wax models of single and double breasts placed as offerings. There were pictures and notes, presumably prayers of hope and thanksgiving for healthy children, placed by expectant and recent mothers. The paths through the forest led to overlooks where we could see miles (or km) out over nearby towns and countryside. It was very beautiful.

We then visited a local winery, Caves do Freixo. Portugal has a long history of wine production and some varieties of grapes used in wine production are only grown in Portugal. The majority of wine produced at the winery was sparkling. The also had a few types of table wine, a non alcoholic fruit syrup, and an 80 proof brandy distilled and aged on site. I asked the owner about the process and indicated I was interested in purchasing a bottle. He proceeded to give me a sample (which caused much commotion and demands of samples by others in the group). It is very tasty! He then wen to the back room and handed a bottle to me and a local organizer and translator. He said it was too complicated to take our money, so I left with bottle of Reliquia (relic; precious) for the trip home. Ask me for a sample when I get home!

We then left on the bus for Coimbra. There was much envy as I walked on the bus with a bottle of Reliquia. I managed to avert an ambush on the bus and made it back to the hotel with the bottle still sealed.

I then walked around town looking for a nice restaurant. I found a restaurant in a quiet area and sat at a table outside. I had some cod cakes, salad, and rice. I had a vanilla cream pudding for dessert. The cold rose wine was refreshing.

I loaded pictures, but the internet is too slow for much interactivity. I will add pics later. Sorry about lack of visuals, especially of the frogs and wax breasts!

Great Day in Portugal

Yes, I am in Coimbra! This is located on the university campus.

This is a view of the town from campus.

This is the library at the university.

Here is the front of the math department building. What else could be in this building.

Today was a very nice day. The weather is warm/hot with mild humidity. I was able to get up in plenty of time to walk to the conference. I met another person in the lobby who was also headed to the conference so we went together. He was from London and we had met yesterday. The talks were very interesting and I was able to renew some connections with several people and meet others for the first time. I had lunch at a little restaurant down the street from the conference location. I had a ham and cheese omelette. I stopped at a book store and purchased a Portuguese-English translation book. I hope it helps with some language issues I have, particularly with regard to food. The conference has some great pastries for the breaks, probably the best of any conference I can recall. After the talks for the day I went to the local market for some cerveja and chocolate. I drank the cerveja at the hotel before dinner. I zipped back up the hill to the university for dinner.

One artist has carved some mathematical structures from alabaster.

Here is the start of the zome tool sculpture.

Tonight was the conference banquet at the local archaeology museum. We toured a large underground crypt and tunnel system that dates back to the Roman occupation of Portugal. There were several Roman busts and other architectural carvings. The museum is also the site of this year's zome tool sculpture build. I worked on putting some pieces together for a few minutes before dinner. Dinner was a buffet with a variety of main dishes and desserts. I am sure Amy will be disappointed to hear that she could have sampled the snout, ear, or foot of a roasted suckling pig! I had a fish dish and a pork/rice/sausage dish. The sausage was almost as good as the sausage from Delmont. For dessert there three like flan/creme brule and a rice pudding - all were very good. I sat at a table with some people I met earlier this year and some others I met for the first time. One is on the Journal of Mathematics and the Arts and she encouraged me to submit a paper on the work I have been presenting at the Bridges conference. I then walked a new way back to the hotel in record time.

Conference

The started as I had hoped it would not. The conference opening remarks were scheduled to start at 9:30. When I woke and looked at my watch, the time was 9:25. Yikes! I took a quick shower, got dressed, packed my stuff and headed out. I stopped by the breakfast area, but had no time to eat anything. I decided to take a taxi to the conference. This was a good move because it is all uphill from the hotel and I had no idea where to go. I got to the conference by 10, just in time for the first plenary talks.

The first talk dealt with designing curved surfaces using flat shapes. The tricky part is flat material like paper or steel does not want to conform to a curved shape. However, one can distribute the curvature of the boundary between flat pieces by making the boundary as long as possible.

The second speaker, George Hart, gave an interesting discussion of stick puzzles and displayed some for the audience to study. George also talked about the new museum of mathematics that will open in Manhattan in Fall 2012.

I ate lunch at a cafeteria at the University. I decided to pass on the head-on grilled sardines and opted to have plate with some cold fish salad, potato salad, some melon, and a flan-like dessert.

A view of Coimbra from the University.

I then headed to the session I was chairing and speaking. Overall it went well. A few speakers did not seem to understand the time constraints. One speaker showed up right when he was scheduled to speak. Of course it took a few minutes to set up and he had more material then time. He finally gave up talking. Luckily the next speaker, a young woman from Turkey, spoke quickly and completed her talk with time to spare. Overall the talks were interesting. I definitely got a new appreciation for keeping your talk to the time allotted! My talk went well and I had several positive comments afterwards. We had a short coffee break and I went to the final session of talks. One speaker, Rinus Roelofs, showed some verying interesting 3D models. It seems that many have access to robotic paper cutters and 3D printers - some things now on my wishlist. I saw quite a few people I knew at the conference and many cool art works.

I went back to the hotel after the talks. I then went to dinner. At 7 pm. it is still on the early side for dinner, but I went anyway. The clerk at the hotel recommended another place a few blocks away. I sat at a nice outdoor table with a view of the action in the adjacent plaza. Tonight the "entertainment" was a young man and woman arguing and scuffling. The wait staff and other patrons seemed surprised and acted like this was not common place. I was happy the menu had English translations. I then ordered scallops and mushrooms, a favorite of mine. I had a bowl of good soup as a starter. The scallops came, but rather than sea scallops, they were beef scallops. It was good, but I really need to work on better food translations. I finished with a glass of red porto and headed back to the hotel for the evening. I am hopeful to get more sleep and make it to the conference on time tomorrow.

A first look at Portugal

I am in Portugal! Amy was not able to come with me this time, so this will be solo blog posting. I flew from Detroit to Philadelphia on Monday and then on to Lisbon. The flights were mostly uneventful. Our flight to Philadelphia was an amazing 30 minutes ahead of schedule, given the thunderstorms over Pennsylvania. As we waited for a gate to open, the airlines mechanic sitting next to me and I engaged the flight attendant in his worst flight experiences. He indicated in the 1970s he was on 2 evacuation flights where people where killed. One was on a 747 where people were foolish jumping on the slide 80 feet above the ground, rather than sitting, and tumbling/bouncing to an unsuccessful flight. He said the FAA rates planes at 90 seconds for evacuation before the plane will become an inferno. Think of this when you are waiting forever to deplane. He also said in a water evacuation, the tail will likely fill with wasit-high water before people can evacuate. I commented that at least it will hide the fact that you have wet yourself in the process. I love flying!

The flight from Philadelphia to Lisbon was about half full. There were about 10 others going to the same conference on the flight. I mentioned the reason for my trip to the flight attendant and he then played spot the geek with me. It definitely takes one to know one. I think many people missed the flight due to the weather. I had the exit row to myself. I was smug knowing I would easily make it out in well under 90 seconds. I was the second person off the plane after we landed. Customs and baggage claim was no problem. I was able to get some cash at the ATM and caught a bus to the train station.

A sculpture near the Lisbon train station.

The Lisbon train platform. It was warm, but there was a very nice breeze.

The station was large with an adjacent shopping center. I had about 90 minutes before my train so I walked to the shopping center. I also bought some batteries at a little store and practiced my favorite Portuguese phrase: "Eu não falo Potugese. Você fala Inglês?" which means "I do not speak Potugese. Do you speak English?" The woman behind the counter had a good laugh and told me that me Portuguese was pretty good. There was also a big grocery store there. It is always fascinating to look at what sells in other countries. The one thing that stood out was the stacks of dried salted cod (or some other fish). I did not have room in my luggage for such fish, so I settled for chocolate, water, and a fizzy lifting drink.

I jumped on the train, which was at about 98% capacity. I had a second class ticket. Unlike other countries, it turns out these tickets have reserved seats which I found out when the proper ticket holders had me move. I ended up sitting next to a couple of city planners on vacation from Tallahassee. The area looks arid. Lots of pine trees, olive trees, and other dry climate plants. We passed by some agricultural plantings of grapes, corn, and a smattering of other crops. I had to catch another train in Coimbra from the B to the A station. I saw another person I recognized from last year's conference on the train. We had a nice chat and he gave me a very cool beaded bucky-ball.

The bucky-ball. It is comprised of 90 beads in groups of 5 ("pentagons") and 6 ("hexagons").

At the train station I asked about directions to my hotel. It would have been helpful to have the address in addition to the name. I had a map, unlabeled, with the location of the conference hotels. The train worker seemed to think he knew which dot was my hotel. I set out and walked about three blocks. I looked up and much to my surprise and delight I saw my hotel. By then it was hot and I was ready to be done with traveling. I worked on the final details of my talk for tomorrow.

The view from my hotel room. The conference is at the university that is visible on the hill in the distance.

My room is fairly large by European standards. I have free wi-fi internet access and there is complimentary breakfast. I'll see what that is like in the morning. The beds were more comfortable than the plane seats for power napping.

I went to a place for dinner near the train station that was recommended by the hotel attendant. It served Portuguese/Italian dishes. My travel book does not have good food dictionary and the server spoke as much English as I speak Portuguese. I ended up ordering an fish entree the server said was good. It was a bread bowl with some potatoes, fish (probably cod), topped with sauteed onions. I found it very tasty. The restaurant also had a fado performance tonight. Fado is a popular folk music with acoustic guitars and soulful singing. It was entertaining and I stayed longer than usual. I also had a piece of delicious chocolate cake for dessert.

I walked back to the hotel about 10 pm local time. It is very pleasant outside. Low humidity and temperatures in the 60's/70's. I am looking forward to a nice quiet night.