IEEE down under

Yesterday I attended an IEEE lecture in bedford street north melbourne. It was evening, i was hungry, and it was raining. When i turned up, i was the youngest attendee, the average age being at least 50 ! I was mentally prepaered for an hour of boredom, reminising about food. The speaker is a certain Dr. Robert Hill, a very senior IEEE member having served in US army and navy as a radar specialist. "what the hell are you doing here on a monday evening in such a beautiful city? When you should be chasing women, or having a glass of wine, You chose to attend a seminar on the autocorrelation function !! the autocorrelation function for gods sake. Well, All i can say is that you all seem to lead pretty boring lives !!"
What ensued then on, was one of the most intersting and lively seminars i had ever attended. Starting from what his 14 year old grandson asked him at the breakfast table, at the end of 60 minutes, we were talking about binary phase coding, and the best ways to use radar systems to identify fast moving targets. In the process, i noticed that some of the portion was basic sophomore stuff : but each and every member in the audience had eyes and ears only for the speaker. Each one of them , so senior - probably knowing the autocorrelation function from the back of their palm, are so eager to take a fellow researchers perspective, and to revell in the basics of the subject - it became clear that these were men who loved every bit of what they did. The lecture also reaffirmed my belief - in the power of the instructor.
Having an immensly short attention span, it requires instances of such magnitude to stir me into action and fill me with a hunger that only the subjects that i love can satiate. There are several things that can be better at my college, but if at the end of my undergraduation - i can sustain an iota of the temperement and curiosity that i witnessed this day, i will be very highly satisfied. A toast to knowledge ! and all those who seek it !
Amen

PS: The melbourne journal is in the process of being written, readers are advised to keep checking this space :)