Michi’s blog » AMS-MAA JMM 2008 Liveblogging, day 4 – final day

## AMS-MAA JMM 2008 Liveblogging, day 4 – final day

• January 10th, 2008
• 8:41 am

Today, the congress ended.

I bought one book – Adams’ Knot book, with free shipping, for $22. And I drooled over one more – Kozlov’s Combinatorial Algebraic Topology. The hardcover was down from$99 to \$70 at the congress stand, but still was WAY outside my own budget capabilities.

Now, this book does algebraic topology on simplicial complexes. It does everything I’ve wanted a reference for with simplicial complexes. And at some point, I’ll REALLY need to get it.

I listened to a bunch of talks on Mathematics and Arts – including one on knitting hyperbolic pant crotches for toddlers – and one on an analysis of a combinatorial game on graphs: “Flee from the Zombies” – very entertaining.

I also spent an hour talking about the historical background of -algebras and bialgebras with one of Ron Umble’s students.

Once all talks I wanted to hear were done, I went off to San Diego old town, visited a yarn shop, and bought a skein of a deep navy blue wool yarn and a pair of bamboo knitting needles. I’ve started a project where I intend to knit myself a scarf with garter knit in alternating directions. At each row of prime index, I change the direction of the garter knit. We’ll see how it turns out.

Tomorrow, I’ll just be touristing; and possibly doing some thesis- or application-work while I’m at it. I’d go see Balboa Park, the Museum of Unnatural History, and possibly go down and look across the border on Mexico. After all, it’s less than 20min by trolley from my hotel to Mexico…