Austin, sort of.

 

 

I just came back from Austin, TX where I attended a conference for math nerds like myself. The location we ended up in was quite interesting: The hotel in itself was very elegant, with probably the best service I have had anywhere I have stayed (and I have stayed at a fair number of relatively expensive hotels in the line of work and whatnot). However, the location was very odd---this fancy hotel was located in the middle of a giant strip mall, where a number of the businesses seemed to not be doing so hot (see the abandoned giant home depot; what an opportunity for squatting!). So my hopes of getting to see the vibrant Austin downtown was dashed to say the least (Austin is supposedly a pretty rad town; many compare it to Portland).