Today DARPA has selected thirty-six teams as Urban Challenge semifinalists to participate in the National Qualification Event. And yes, we are qualified!
They also announced the site, where the competition will be held: The DARPA Urban Challenge 2007 will take place in Victorville, California at the site of the former George Air Force Base on November 3, 2007.
Yesterday I went to my first baseball game ever, which was San Francisco Giants vs. Washington Nationals. The evening was organized by our intern coordinators – thanks a lot for that guys.
Well baseball is, compared to the sports I prefer, quite boring. But although we had a lot of fun this evening. Since you’re not allowed to drink alcohol in public, but in CalTrain (the train from Palo Alto to San Francisco), nearly everybody tried to drink during this short ride as many beers as possible. I think that doesn’t need any more explanation, that this evening would become a very exhilarating evening.
And we participated in a, for Americans, important part of history: Barry Bonds hit his 765th home run, which is the new all-time Major League home run record. The ball, which was caught by the 22-year-old Matt Murphy from New York, has an estimated value of $400,000 to $500,000 U.S. Dollars.
I finally arrived here in the San Francisco Bay Area, also known as the Silicon Valley, just a few miles south from the City, as the locals call San Francisco. The weather in the South Bay is 99% warm and sunny but always with a chilly wind around, which makes you sometimes freezing when the sun sets in the evenings and nights and you’re still hanging somewhere around with not more than just a short pant, a shirt and a volleyball. But still better than 20 miles north, where it is in San Francisco usually 10°C colder and more cloudy.
Currently I’m living with a friend from Austria, as long as I don’t have my own apartment. But hopefully I’m gonna find one soon, including some nice flatmates. Read the rest of this entry »
