View from an Austin Hotel Room
Feb. 4th, 2015 07:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
purplecatThe weekend before last, I flew out for a one day workshop on AI and Ethics as part of the American Assocation for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) conference. I will probably blog about that in more detail soon, but I've suddenly ended up on the radar of Liverpool University's Corporate Communications unit (I think because of my two appearances on Radio Merseyside making soothing noises about the imminent rise of the machines) and so they want me to run something past them first for potential publicity generating reasons.
Those following along on Facebook got a front row seat of my 4am discovery (I had jet lag) that all my flights home had been cancelled since they went through New York JFK and the resulting conversion of a crisis into a minor irritation when, in an entirely unexpected fit of competence and efficiency the departmental purchasing team managed to get everything rebooked onto a wonderfully empty British Airways flight. The minor irritation was was the 8 hour wait to check-in at Austin airport and the frustration of knowing I had just purchased a special "Priority Pass" card that would have let me spend those 8 hours in a first class lounge if only I had been able to get a boarding card and get through security to reach the lounge.
Anyway I took some photos from/of the hotel. They were terribly apologetic that they had no bedrooms left with a kingsize bed and so, instead, I would have to be put in a room with two double beds and a view of the river. I'm not entirely sure why they felt the need to keep apologising about this.
The view of the river
I was particularly impressed by the way the interior of the hotel was arranged around a central atrium that gave you a view of all the floors. I can't think why more hotels don't do this because it was very pretty, though I suppose, not so nice if you suffer from vertigo.
Interior of the hotel.
The workshop was interesting, and certainly worth attending. It would probably have been more sensible to stay the whole week and go to the conference as well but I have another paper deadline looming.
Those following along on Facebook got a front row seat of my 4am discovery (I had jet lag) that all my flights home had been cancelled since they went through New York JFK and the resulting conversion of a crisis into a minor irritation when, in an entirely unexpected fit of competence and efficiency the departmental purchasing team managed to get everything rebooked onto a wonderfully empty British Airways flight. The minor irritation was was the 8 hour wait to check-in at Austin airport and the frustration of knowing I had just purchased a special "Priority Pass" card that would have let me spend those 8 hours in a first class lounge if only I had been able to get a boarding card and get through security to reach the lounge.
Anyway I took some photos from/of the hotel. They were terribly apologetic that they had no bedrooms left with a kingsize bed and so, instead, I would have to be put in a room with two double beds and a view of the river. I'm not entirely sure why they felt the need to keep apologising about this.
The view of the river
I was particularly impressed by the way the interior of the hotel was arranged around a central atrium that gave you a view of all the floors. I can't think why more hotels don't do this because it was very pretty, though I suppose, not so nice if you suffer from vertigo.
Interior of the hotel.
The workshop was interesting, and certainly worth attending. It would probably have been more sensible to stay the whole week and go to the conference as well but I have another paper deadline looming.
(no subject)
Date: 2015-02-04 08:11 pm (UTC)You certainly had a bit of an adventure. And you're famous! Excellent :D
(no subject)
Date: 2015-02-04 08:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2015-02-04 09:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2015-02-05 03:00 am (UTC)