diszpatch from palo alto

(Eszter and me smiling in the face of unique danger!)

Working with Eszter in her research cabana at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences near the Stanford campus. We're rocking out to the Tiffany cover of "I Think We're Alone Now," just after rocking out to the second-greatest-karaoke song ever, Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer."

While I've been here, I've been staying at the Stanford Guest House, which is located on the grounds of the Stanford Linear Acceleration Center, home of the world's first cyclotron and who-knows-what-physics-and-possibly-weapons-of-mass-destruction magic nowadays. When you enter, you have to show identification to a security guard, and immediately after there is a sign warning that: "Unique Hazards May Exist." I love the idea of staying at a site where they get to simultaneously warn you and let you know you are on grounds so special you could be subjected to special dangers unavailable anywhere else on the planet.

I'm taking the red eye back to Cambridge tonight, where I've got two full days of writing crunch time in front of me. I have a feeling the quality of those days will rest much on how well I sleep on the plane. Wish me slumberluck.

Update: Fabio correctly points out in the comments that SLAC is not the home of the world's first cyclotron. It is, however, home of the world's first web server, which has certainly proven a unique hazard in my own life.