day −1
day 0
days 1 and 2
day 3
general remarks about the meetings
days 4 to 6
days 7 and 8

2023-02-11 08:30-8:00:

Today begins my trip home, but that won’t start until this afternoon.  This morning is the final half day of the C++ standards committee, a plenary session where we take formal votes and wrap things up.

I lost a pair of glasses somewhere yesterday.  I was hoping that somebody would find them and turn them in, either to the front desk at the hotel or to one of the folks in charge of the meeting…no such luck.  Fortunately, what I lost are my “computer glasses” with the same prescription as the near prescription on my bifocals; and I can see my computer screen just fine as long as I’m only about a cubit from it.  I think I need to get some new glasses anyway because my eyes seem to be getting worse.

10:00:
Well, that was fast.  We finished our work and took the 32 formal votes in just an hour and a half.

The next two meetings will be in June in Varna, Bulgaria, and in Kona, HI, USA in November.  I’ll take Amtrak to the east and west coasts, respectively, and fly from there.

We have 2024 meetings tentatively scheduled for Japan, Sweden and Poland.  I’ll probably participate in the Japan meeting via Zoom since I refuse to sit in an airplane long enough to get there in person.

The hotel had no way to call me a taxi, but the very nice woman at the front desk called an Uber using her app; and I paid her the cash.  I have a cell phone, but I don’t have any special apps on it.  I guess this old dude needs to get with the program.

11:15:

After checking one bag to Chicago at the train station, I went to a restaurant in the Embassy Suites and had the Reuben sandwich.  It was edible, but I could detect no 1000 island dressing.  I guess the cook layed on hands and intoned “1000 island”.

12:00:

King Street Station has no place to sit at a table and work on a laptop; but on the third floor is some kind of arts and education council office, or something, which has a couple of such places; so here I sit, one of three folks doing a bit of writing.

Train 8 started boarding about 16:40 or so and departed on time.  I’m in room D this time, so the electrical outlet is near the window where I’ll be plugging in my power strip.  I’m riding backwards this time, but that doesn’t bother me, and I’m on the fireman’s side eastbound so I won’t have the sun in my eyes going through big sky country.

Like the westbound trip on train 7, this train has only one coach.  The TA said that it’s OK during the light travel season, but they’ll really need a second coach, and probably a second revenue sleeper, before long.

We were out of Wenatchee only about fifteen minutes late.  It turns out that Wenatchee is a crew change point for the engineers, but not for the conductors.  Normally, engineers and conductors work, not particular trains, but particular sections of track.  Why only the engineers change in Wenatchee I have no clue.

We have about a two hour dwell time in Minot, which I’ll talk more about tomorrow.  For now, I’ll try to use this time to post the report for day 9.  It might not be proofread as well as it should have been.