Rob’s World

I am in Chicago to present my work at AAAI 2008.  Chicago is larger than Philadelphia.  According to Wikipedia (which is sort of like saying, “according to my cousin’s three year old daughter), Philadelphia has half the population of Chicago.  Interestingly, Chicago’s rank in the list of world’s most populated cities is half that of Philadelphia’s (25th and 50th, respectively).

Chicago has skyscrapers with large grassy fields in front of them, which seems very strange to  someone used to crowded East Coast cities.  It is as though someone built clusters of high rises in the middle of a farm.

I also do not understand the housing market here.  There are condos for sale EVERYWHERE, and they are relatively inexpensive.  Our hotel is in the South Loop, which has almost no restaurants, grocery stores, or retail businesses, and there are tons of condos for sale near here.