Roppon's Reflections

Not a good week of sports for me. Both of my favorites lost this week. Federer lost to Nadal in Monte Carlo final (3rd year in the row) and Barcelona lost to Man United in the CL semifinal.

Back to Thailand for several days now. It’s raining here now.

Although it was a short trip, the time zone difference has caused me to be very jet-lagged. Only got a couple hours of sleep last night. Looking forward to sleep fully this weekend.

23 April

I woke up early as usual. Had breakfast: Bread, ham, cheese, and boiled egg. Small selection compared to other hotels I’ve been to. But it is sufficient.

The second day of meeting is still very difficult to follow. A lot of abbreviations and unfamiliar terms. Anyhow, I know what I know. This is not exactly my territory. No need to fret.

Rain stopped before we finished the meeting. So I was able to walk around the streets in the evening. This city is very beautiful. Old architectures everywhere I look. Bought postcards. Will send them tomorrow at IAEA.

I have put the photos up at my Zooomr page

First day of International Nuclear Data Committee (INDC) meeting. It is held at the IAEA, in the Vienna International Center (VIC). Very official, as can be seen in the participants: all senior ranking. I was the youngest participant there. Most things they talked about today were pretty much new to me. A lot of technical terms.

Nuclear data is crucial in doing any type of nuclear research. Reactors, medical therapy, fusion modelling. We need a nuclear data center at TINT. There can be enacted under Advanced Technology.

Had a couple glasses of red wine at a cocktail session in the evening. Talked to people from Japan, Czech, and Korea.

11-hr flight took me from Bangkok to Vienna airport. The passport check went very fast. My suitcase also came out very early. So I took a walk to train. There was actually no S7 sign anywhere that I could see. But I took a guess from other signs, and I was right. Got off at Wien Mitte station. Walked outside the Schnellbahn station and went to U-bahn station. Took U3 train for a couple stops. Easy so far.

I emerged from the subway station to immediately find a huge castle. What a sight. Beautiful, old-town Vienna. But from there I took a wrong turn, again and again as it turned out. So I spent nearly an hour walking. Talked to a couple people. Finally found Hotel Wandl.

There is a PC in the guest lounge. It is connected to the internet. It’s probably the only way to get online, for free, during my stay here.

Walked around the town. Many tourists. Many cafes. Hot dog and kebab stands all around. Chocolate shops. Also McDonald’s and Starbucks. Took subway to Vienna International Center just to see if I could get there. Didn’t go in. I will have to go there tomorrow for the conference anyway.

Going to Vienna tomorrow. Meeting at IAEA. Another trip to Europe this year. Short one like Germany (almost 5 days). I’m on my own this time. Hopefully I can find my way around town, a German-speaking town. It’s a work trip, but I’ll be trying to find time to see things. Never been there before.

Dinner at Sompong (สมพงศ์) tonight with 1/6 friends. About 16 of us had a nice meal together.

Great physicist John Archibald Wheeler passed away today. He was one of the pioneers of general relativity, and was also Feynman’s advisor. One of his students shares a story.

Louis Armstrong is one of my favorite musicians of all time. Nothing in particular; just thinking of him. The Jazz great performed Mack the Knife in this clip:

Choosing the right dog breeds which are friendly to children can be a big decision. There are many nice dogs which are suggested by the list below. The popular breeds are Golden Retriever, Beagle, and Labrador Retriever.

resources: About’s Family breeds, SelectSmart, Dog Breed Info, About’s Breeds for Kids, PetPlace, Dogs Central

meanwhile, here’s a short clip of our dog Pepe: