Back home

We're back home from the Czech Republic after attending the WSCG 08 conference in Plzen (I was programe co-chair, though Vaclav Skala really developed the programme) and having a couple of lovely days in Prague. I'll have more to say on the trip and the travel in the next couple of days, but right now we're getting settled back home.

Winter travel can be challenging, but it was a surprise to be called at 4:30 in the morning we were leaving to be told that our flight out of Cedar Rapids had been canceled and we couldn't get out of that airport in time to make our connections to Europe. Fortunately we were able to be switched to a flight out of Moline, but that meant that we had to drive 60 miles in the snow. It worked and the rest of the trip went well. Returning things went well as far as Chicago, but another snowstorm gave us a delay getting back to Iowa and made us dig out the car at the Moline airport. Still, we're home and our bag is with us.

We did miss a lovely snowstorm while we were gone, apparently. Our back yard has at least a foot of great snow that made it fun to go out and fill the bird feeders this morning. But the streets are quite passable and we're warm, even if it's cold outside, so we're again reminded of just how lucky we are.