Back in the US

I managed to spend the first two weeks of June in Australia's official capital of Washington, DC, where I attended the American Meteorological Society's summer policy colloquium. This in an of itself was quite a treat - 10 rather intense days of digging into policy for science and science for policy, with access to some fairly senior members of the federal government. And subsequent to this, I had some free time which allowed me to pay a visit to my old stomping ground.

Meanwhile, I'd forgotten what a hot and sticky place the U.S. east coast can be. My first week there, temperatures soared up to the high 90s. Now that in an of itself is nothing by Australian standards, but throw in some God-awful humidity and being outside was rather unpleasant. Contrast this with the other thing I'd forgotten about the U.S. - the ever present chill of air conditioning. Not sure who decided 65 was a comfortable temperature. Other things I noticed about America:

1) they like plaid
2) but not as much as khaki
3) which is second only to baseball caps in terms of fashion significance
4) stuff is cheap (but they think they pay a lot for gasoline)
5) they love trucks (but not as much as they used to as a result of #4)
6) they like to talk to strangers (or yell random stuff at them)
7) the nation hasn't managed to sort out its health care woes in my absence
8) cable news has morphed into an unintelligible mess of rubbish
9) God hates the Midwest (or maybe he just likes testing its faith)

Of course, I managed to catch up with various friends and loved ones - the boys from W&M, the ATL ex-pats, former students, work colleagues, etc. Also worked out with the Washington DC Shotokan Karate Club, and even toured Mount Vernon (something I never did when I actually lived in the area).