On Site

So here I am, writing from the worksite on the tarmac of the Great Park in Irvine.  I sit, surrounded by solar houses built by schools from all over the nation, and a few from around the world!  Stanford, CalTech, and USC, along with ourselves, are the four schools competing from California.  I guess you could say we have a bit of a home-field advantage.  Can't say the same about our friends from Canada.  Our house is flanked by Teams Ontario and Alberta, and there's a stark contrast between the sunny-weather influenced Radiant House, and the very woodsy, cosy Echo House.  Not that it's a bad thing; I love seeing all of the radically different and innovative designs that the other schools have come up with.  I really can't wait to get proper tours of all of the houses during competition next week!

I'm ultra pooped from driving down to Irvine yesterday; it was the longest drive I've taken in my life, but also one of the more enjoyable!  Taking the 101 down, we passed by lots of beautiful scenery, and had the opportunity to stop at a really cool diner that served delicious pineapple crepes.  Upon getting into the LA area, things turned interesting.  I can only say that driving in LA has reaffirmed my aversion to SoCal.  Beautiful landscape.  Maniacal drivers.

I tried to write from the hotel room last night, but between a failed attempt to get the Wi-Fi password, and finding my bed to be extremely comfortable, I obviously failed.  Don't expect another post until tomorrow night, probably.  Today we get power, and with coding gurus Matt and Vincente here with us, we're going to have a lot to do.