So I lost my original post. I had about 80% of what I had wanted to write on my update from the ASA-CSSA-SSSA tri-societal meeting and my stupid touch-pad sent me back a page. Doing so left me with nothing, and if I can't get Brian to institute an autosave feature *nudge nudge* I'm going to be supremely bummed ... and will start writing all my blog entries in Word. ;)

Anywho ... Comic-Con ended on Sunday so there was no temptation to spend the day hanging out with Stan Lee rather than attending symposia, which I guess is a good thing. I never did make it to the Keynote Address Sunday night, though from what I heard it was quite the talk. The tri-societies have made a conscious effort to bring in well-known speakers who interface with our mission, and this year they did a great job in getting Thomas Friedman, Pulitzer Prize winner, and author of The World is Flat and Hot, Flat and, Crowded. I wound up not attending because I had an obligation to participate in another meeting/workshop. As a matter of fact there were several meetings running concurrently with the Keynote Address, which I view as a bit of a problem. Since the tri-society is making a strong effort to bring in excellent speakers, these "side meetings" are going to see diminished numbers, or they are going to h . . . More

Some very interesting goings-on already.

First, they're holding Comic-Con at the same time here in Long Beach. Comic-Con is in Exhibit Hall A, ASA-CSSA-SSSA is in Exhibit Hall B. I feel the pull to enter Exhibit Hall A, but they tell me I'm too nerdy to enter ... oh, and that I don't have the right badge for admittance either. Phooey.

Second, shame on the Hyatt Regency. I arrive at 2PM, and they tell me that they were booked to capacity yesterday and they're still cleaning rooms. The lady at the desk complains that we're all arriving early. I ask her what time the hotels official check-in time is, and she tells me they don't have one. Question: If you don't have an official check-in time, how can you state that I've arrived early?

Monday is packed full. I'm going to make it a point to attend at least one "early career" talk, probably the one dealing with juggling work and home, but Monday is heavy on the microbial work (especially topics dealing with -omics) and I really want to attend as many of them as I can.

I have a meeting tonight, and it runs concurrently with the opening talk. Actually it runs an hour past the opening talk, which means I'll be attending only the last half of my meeting. Also, why schedule division meetings towards the back end o . . . More