Vacation photos!!!

If you're reading this, there's a 96% chance you're my mom, 3% chance you're a Facebook friend, and 1% chance you messed up your Google search. Regardless, I just got back from Australia, and folks have been bugging me for photos. There will be a slow trickle over the next few days (and by days I mean weeks). This first batch is from my first couple of days in Australia.

Day 1: Arrival and iVEC

After what I seem to recall as a 143 hour trip, I showed up in Australia.  I  was immediately whisked off to iVEC to see one of the friends I was to visit.  I got to tour the computer rooms!

I was impressed with the quality of their cabling.  A lot cleaner than I'm used to.

This is Galaxy, a ~200TF machine used for radioastronomy data processing.

Magnus, iVEC's exascale-class Cray XC30.

The  XC30 cabling is a lot more colorful and exciting than the flat black cables I'm used to in the Cray X* machines.

Pro-tip: don't get your photo taken after a longass plane flight.  Also, friends should tell friends when their clothes look terrible.

This is a sign.

Day 2: Murdoch University and King's Park

On my first full day in Perth, R. took me to Murdoch University to go on a quenda hunt.  Quenda are wee marsupials, and although it wasn't really the right time of day for them to be active, we managed to spot one!

The little buggers are fast, and unfortunately that's the best shot I was able to get.  Murdoch also has a population of endangered Carnaby's Cockatoos, but I was unable to get any shots.  However, I did get to see signs!

Watch for quendas!

Apparently it's not unheard of to hit a cockatoo in your car.

Oh, and a Magpie.

Following the tour of Murdoch, we headed to King's Park. King's Park is basically smack in the middle of Perth.  It's even bigger than Central Park in NYC.  Along with normal park things like grass, they've got an extensive collection of flora from all around.  

This is a Kangaroo Paw, the floral emblem of Western Australia.  It's the first flower we saw when we arrived at King's Park.

Unknown, but nifty.  Zoom in to see the little fuzzy structures on the blooms and leaves.

Just one of the many gardens filled with wildflowers.

Pink Paper Daisies

This sign is just funny.  It claims there's a bird named a Twenty Eight.  Who would call a bird  a 28?  It must be a joke to see how stupid Americans are.  Well, I'm not falling for it, Australia!!!

Slightly better photo of me, with Perth in the background.

A couple of bonus photos from day 3:

A gallah couple.