Vanna presents...

Ellen is happy to show off our jack-o-lanterns, before she costumes up for the big night.

Dollhouse - State Capitol Edition

Across the street from my hotel is the dinky little Indiana State Capitol building.

Fairyland in Indy

At a conference in Indianapolis, one of the dullest cities in America. The Memorial Circle roundabout is sort of the centerpiece of the downtown area. At night, I was pleasantly surprised to find it lit up with Christmas lights and staffed by white gloved coachmen. Surprisingly charming.

Knobby little things

More strange fruit growing on our lawn. These turned out to be lychees.

We could open our own fruit-of-the-month club, like Harry & David. Anyone want to subscribe?

Golden hour

It's mid-October, and the sun is setting earlier every day. That's something I expect. But the air is still warm, the flowers are blooming, and the palm trees are ... doing their thing. I kind of like this part of living in SoCal.

Cult HQ

The center of the In-n-Out Burger cult -- the company store! It's actually on my normal route to work.

High roller

Arriving at 1 AM at my Houston hotel room, to find that this "art" hotel has upgraded me to a fancy ... make that ostentatiously ornate ... suite. Too bad I won't be here for more than six hours.

Flight time

Back in the air! En route to Houston (via Salt Lake City) to look at a database my university is considering. Arriving at 1 AM, leaving at 6 PM the next day. Seventeen hours on the ground.

It's a disaster when you run out!

Really? Yes, really. Apparently, this is the "everything" chip, the story being that all the spices got mixed up during an earthquake...

Fairly fried

The Los Angeles County Fair isn't quite as eclectic as the Minnesota State Fair, but at least the food is scary, in a familiar way. This place also offers a chicken sandwich -- in a Krispy Kreme doughnut, which is then dipped in batter and fried, of course.

Dem bones

OK, so I work at a medical school. I walk by the bookstore every day. They've decorated the windows for Halloween. However, the windows were already full of medical props and body parts. Can you guess which of these things are Halloween decorations?