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10 points to Nora for correctly translating my license plate (”LOW RE” = Low Reynolds number).

At the Boeing Museum of Flight in Seattle

My new license plates came today. 10 points to anyone who can tell me what they mean. Hint: the “1″ is not significant.

10 points to Mike for being an excellent host.

I’m back from an exhausting but exciting international adventure to Portsmouth, Seattle and Vancouver (I think that counts as “international”), and now it’s back to work. Mike, thanks again for a great time. Despite the gloomy weather, the Pacific Northwest gets my official stamp of approval. Portsmouth does not.

The highlight of my Portsmouth trip was convincing a cab driver to go back to school to finish his teaching degree, which he seemed very excited about near the end of the ride. I also attended a UAV conference featuring dozens of engineers and Army guys named “Bob” and “Gene” who were presenting new ways to blow people up. In all fairness, the conference had a few sessions that made it worthwhile. Were it in any other city than Portsmouth, perhaps it would score more points.

Then came Seattle. Mike was a most gracious host and driver, and it was great to see everyone else who visited. Mike and I toured the Boeing plant, which was incredible. Actually, I was most impressed with the building, which was reported to be the world’s largest by volume. The inside defies description, so I won’t try. These days, however, Boeing could probably get by with a smaller building - several of the stations were unused because of descreased business after 9/11. Still, it was impressive to see two 747s sitting inside, taking up less than half of one assembly line (there are three). After Boeing, we headed to Microsoft, where I obtained the following picture in the Mircosoft museum:

Hmm, I thought they would superimpose my head on Bill Gates’ body using their advanced Microsoft technology or something. Oh well. Across the street from Mike’s building, we saw Bill Gates’ office, which appeared to be occupied. Oooohh. Then, in Vancouver, we saw Angie Harmon of Law and Order fame. Ahhh. Other highlights include: Orioles beating Mariners at Safeco Field for the first time ever (I think we were the only O’s fans there), famous flying fish market, Vancouver and tourist-trap Capilano suspension bridge (cool despite multiple tour buses and fake village), Bimbo’s Bitchin’ Burrito Kitchen, mountainous scenery and generally hilly topography, Mike’s X-Box, and so on. It was a great time, and I hope to see everyone again this summer.

Also, after ripping through six rolls of film during this trip, I recovered from the photography drought that is Illinois. If any photos turn out well, I will scan them tonight.