Deductible Junkets
VRML 95 Bound?
So, you think of San Diego as the gateway to Tijuana? Well, as Supercomputing '95 and VRML 95 attendees will discover, this Southern California city is a multifaceted urban canvas with an ever-growing Latino culture, a waning US military presence, and a wave-riding community as perpetual as the tides. They'll also discover San Diego's civic treasure - its idyllic Mediterranean climate.
On a clear day from the Cabrillo National Monument, at the end of Point Loma, you can see forever: the arching sweep of the bay, the sandy coastline stretching into Mexico, and, on the horizon, the barrios of Tijuana. Of course, you can also see nuclear submarines floating like crocodiles in the naval harbor below.
This city is really a collection of neighborhoods and sleepy coastal communities. Check out the surfing culture described in Tom Wolfe's The Pump House Gang thriving on the shores of La Jolla. Low-tech thrill seekers can still ride The Giant Dipper, a restored wooden roller coaster on the Mission Beach boardwalk. (This whirligig was built in 1925, the same year Seymour Cray was born.)
Wander along the serene Sunset Cliffs, a sandy ribbon on the west side of Point Loma. Go at dusk, and as the luminescent orb slips over the Pacific horizon, discuss the existence of the green flash phenomenon. Continue the debate over gin and tonics at Pacific Shores, a funky bar decorated with Formica seashells and marine motifs. Black lights make this a glowing experience.
In keeping with local tradition, watch the tortilla makers as you wait in line for a chicken burrito at El Indio Shop, a takeout taquería that has been here on India Street since the calle was part of Mexico. But don't burn your tastebuds - there are dozens of delicioso dishes to be tried in this city. Munch on tapas or tap your toes to the live flamenco music at the festive Café Sevilla, located downtown. The nearby Cervecería Santa Fe serves the most authentic Baja-style whole fried fish north of the border. And as for raw fish, the defection of the chef from Mister Sushi, in Pacific Beach, to Sushi Ota has caused a ricey rift among maki lovers. Both eateries are superb.
For a peaceful picnic, pick up a layered tofu supreme at the scrumptious Kung Food Deli and walk down El Prado into Balboa Park. This tranquil commons offers walking trails, shady eucalyptus groves, and 13 museums, housed in old Spanish-Moorish buildings dating back to the Panama/ California Exposition of 1915.
Theaters and entertainment venues abound throughout the city, and Zoom san diego () is your comprehensive guide. Check for the up-and-coming local acid jazz group The Greyboy All Stars.
Or, if you're tuckered out from the techie talk, slide deep into a crimson leather booth at The Red Fox Room and let the timeless mood of this piano bar relax you. The locals might be right when they say "There's no life east of I-5."
Jessie Scanlon
The Current Roundup (see Wired 3.10)
__November 7-11 Doors of Perception 3: Info-Eco; Amsterdam. November 9-11 Fourth Foresight Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology; Palo Alto, California.
November 13-27 The Third Annual New York Digital Salon; New York City.
November 30-December 1 NIMA Marketing Congress '95; Amsterdam.
December 4-6 Reasoning with Uncertainty in Robotics; Amsterdam.
December 3-8 Supercomputing '95; San Diego
Faster than a speeding bit, stronger than an Onyx, it's Supercomputing '95 - the annual conference on high-performance computing, focusing on experimental networking. Attendees can participate in the I-WAY '95, an ATM network linking dozens of supercomputers and advanced visualization environments around the country. Registration: technical program US$460 until November 3, $535 after, $100 for students; tutorials extra. Contact: (800) 644 7295, +1 (619) 534 5039, e-mail sc95@sdsc.edu, on the Web at .
__December 11-14 Fourth International World Wide Web Conference; Boston
This wide world of webbing event, titled "The Web Revolution," covers tools and browsers, the evolution of protocols and standards, commercial applications, intelligent searches, and more. Remember - there's no place like your home page.
Registration: US$495 until October 30, $595 after.
Contact: e-mail www4-help@w3.org, on the Web at www.w3.org/hypertext/Conferences/WWW4/.
__December 11-15 Eleventh Annual Computer Security Applications Conference; New Orleans
The phenomenal growth of the Internet has made computer security the hot topic du jour. This conference will address the digital jambalaya of information policy and privacy standards. Technical papers, panels, and vendor presentations will address civil, defense, and commercial security issues.
Registration: US$385 until November 15, $425 after, students $150.
Contact: +1 (205) 890 3323, fax +1 (205) 830 2608, e-mail vreed@mitre.org.
__December 13-15 VRML 95; San Diego
Pronounced "vermul," it stands for Virtual Reality Modeling Language. This first-time event will cover the future of VRML, which has quickly become the standard format for browsing 3-D environments on the Web.
Registration: US$225.
Contact: +1 (619) 534 5107, e-mail smartc@sdsc.edu, on the Web at www.sdsc.edu/Events/vrml95/.
January 3-6 Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing; Waimea, Hawaii
There will be more molecular models than mai tais at this Hawaiian hobnob of biologists and computer scientists. The symposium offers tracks on interactive molecular visualization, the evolution of biomolecular structures, and stochastic models and other systems for biosequences.
Registration: US$475.
Contact: +1 (619) 658 9782, e-mail psb@intsim.com, on the Web at .
Out on the Range
__January 5-8 International Consumer Electronics Show; Las Vegas. Contact: +1 (703) 907 7600, fax +1 (703) 907 7601. January 12-14 96tek; New Orleans. Contact: +1 (305) 294 3540, fax +1 (305) 293 0729, e-mail 73204.542@compuserve.com.
January 29-February 1 ComNet '96; Washington, DC. Contact: +1 (703) 907 7600.__
Got a good junket? E-mail junkets@wired.com.________
