This time I'll write about my trip to the cvpr conference at Minneapolis. The flight was fine, except the security checks. First, they forced me to drink my 1.5 liters bottle. They don't allow now liquids on flights to the US, and there was no way back to empty the bottle. Then, they searched my bags for 10 minutes. I don't have much to say about Minneapolis, so I pictured a house
When attending a scientific conference, the first question that comes to mind is where is the media? Some of the greatest professors of the world gather to present their latest research and nobody knows. Is what the media showing instead as important or interesting? I believe the public would appreciate seeing more science as it is happening.
The second question that comes to mind is where are the scientists? It is true that people there speak a strange dialect, and at conferences they find people from all around the world talking the same language. But they don't look like scientists, and some of them will admit they don't do science. They prefer to be called researches (personally I prefer student). Science is such a big word that nobody would take the responsibility. So maybe that's the reason why the media didn't show up.
Who goes there? There are young student whose face says "Wow, I've never seen this before", and there are senior professors whose expression says "I've seen similar ideas 30 years ago". Places like MIT have their presence, but the current world champions in computer vision publications are from Hong Kong. And there is a disproportional number of Israelis. Overall, the conference wasn't that interesting. It became harder to impress people, which are really tired of powerpoint presentations.
Then I went to the airport to catch a United Airlines flight to Toronto via Chicago. When I checked in, they told me the Chicago flight departs an hour earlier, and they cannot assign me a seat yet. When I went through the security, they stopped me again for 10 minutes. They even used a pad to take samples from my cloths into a machine that smells explosives. It turns out that the airline picks some passengers "randomly" and those who get "SSSS" printed on their ticket go through this special examination. I thought it was smart. They suspected me on the way in and marked me for the way back. Weren't two United Airlines airplanes hijacked on 9/11? They got smarter. The flight went fine, and after landing one flight attendant sang to the microphone in a slow, jazzy mood
crazy
you are crazy
if you're flying
another airline
other than United Airlines
operated by Shuttle America
Everybody clapped for such an authentic American Poetry. I thought the airlines were united but never mind. I searched the gate for the connection flight. Remember I didn't have a seat assigned. This was smart. In case suspects escape the security check, they cannot board a plane without a seat. At the counter of the gate, me and three other passengers were told the flight was over-sold. Not only they suspected me, they also sold my seat, in advance. The flight was scheduled an hour early, they had their statistics, and as I said, they got smart. Luckily some passengers volunteered to stay a night in Chicago and I returned on time. Crazy.
