After work today, I rushed over to Emma Long Metropolitan Park with the intention to complete the Turkey Creek Trail hike before it got too dark. I goofed around with my camera a little too much and completed my nearly 3 mile hike in the dark. It was a fun evening!
Here is a different view of Downtown Austin than what you are used to me posting. It is from a secret location that I might be willing to share with you, but first you must hazard a guess. 🙂
One of my most anticipated events at the Artificial Intelligence Open House was to witness the Robocup Soccer Exhibition. One of the teams was from The University of Texas – The Austin Villa Robot Soccer Team. The goal is to “build fully autonomous cooperative multi-robot systems that perform well in dynamic and adversarial environments.” How much fun it was to watch these little guys roam the soccer field, chase the ball down, tumble around and get back up on their own, pass the ball, and score goals. The robots are all a Standard Platform (identical except for programming and jersey color) and “Aldebaran Nao” robots. They receive no programming assistance while on the field, but must find the ball and play soccer on their own. Too much fun!
I had a fun opportunity to visit the Hyatt Regency this afternoon for a conference on Artificial Intelligence. The host organization was the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). I sat in on a talk by Moshe Vardi from Rice University who spoke on the topic, “If Machines are Capable of Almost Any Work Humans can Do, What will Humans Do?” Thought provoking…
At sunset, it was time to work off my overconsumption of meat pies, and go for a long walk along the Walnut Creek Hike and Bike Trail. The section I walked had sights like a golf course, Walnut Creek, flooded trail sections, bridge underpasses, graffiti, winter trees, bamboo, dried brush, and plenty of bikers, hikers and dogs. It was a pleasant walk, and I will have to explore this trail further when I have the opportunity.
The highlight of the day was Boomerang’s and their food truck full of meat pies. I had a couple of Southwest Chicken pies to support their cause. I should have entered the Pie Eating Contest to get a free one on the sly. 🙂
The Austin Rugby Club set up a celebration for Australia Day this afternoon at their club house. It was a beautiful sunny day to celebrate. I wandered around their three pitches and took some photos, of course.
Tonight was Aurelio Voltaire’s Birthday Party at Elysium in Austin. The first part of the show was the Psycho Circus. They were talented and fun, but I wish I had gotten more photos to give you a better feel for their very interesting show.
I attended the Opening Reception of Between Borderlands by artist Sara Frantz this evening. The event was held at the Women & Their Work Art Gallery in Austin. I believe the exhibit is there until the middle of March, so check it out if you get the opportunity.
earthrobert 