Boston

To Boston for Biophysical Society Meeting Feb 27 - March 3.  COLD. Things started out poorly when I told the taxi driver I was at the Westin next to the Convention Center and he took us to the new Convention Center, right near the airport. I re-directed him to the Westin Copley Square, which is near the Hynes Convention Center, where the BpS always meets -- or always had. Turns out the meeting this year was at the new one, so I was stuck with commuting, $15 and 15 minutes by cab, or 45 minutes by subway...

Phone call from Phil Nelson while I was en route -- to the office, message relayed by Bee. When I called him back he told me that David Beveridge had to cancel his appearance at the Monday discussion group on the use of computers in graduate and undergraduate education, and he asked me if I could fill in. (David had told him about the tutorials in my modeling course.)

Dinner with Jack Johnson on Friday night. As always, long, good conversation, ranging over science and life. Drinks at the bar before dinner, then two bottles of a very nice Pinot Noir with dinner. I haven't had that much to drink in forever. I knew it was time to go home when I could hear myself unable to pronounce "taxi" without a slur. How hard a word is that?

Saturday night I made the mistake of meeting Burak at the Society Mixer, hoping to meet someone I know to join us for dinner, forgetting that almost none of the old farts go to the mixer. (I'd invited Phil to join us when we talked on the phone, and he'd initially accepted; he cancelled on Saturday when he decided not to fly to Boston until Sunday.) Ended up with just Burak, Anton and me at a very good seafood restaurant. I was disappointed that I failed to introduce them to anyone at all.

A few good talks Sunday morning, though there was direct overlap between the only two sessions that interested me. Spent the afternoon getting ready for my talk on Monday.

Sunday night dinner with Summers Scholl, the editor of my text, plus two of her compadres from Garland, along with three other authors; Steve White among them, but a week later I've forgotten the other two names. Legal Seafood for the second time in three days.

Monday morning slept in. E-mail etc. at the hotel in the morning, then lunch with Jason Mears before the 1:30 Ed Committee session. It went OK. Phil Nelson, Dorothy Becket and me. Then a OneToOne session at the Boylston Apple Store, followed by an interview with Eric Downes, an MIT student who visited Tech over the weekend on a recruiting visit. He's interested in stuff at the other end of the spectrum from me and came back interested in Joe Montoya among others. I left Joe a voice mail telling him that if Eric ends up in his lab, Joe owes me a drink or three.

A delightful dinner with Rami Osman at the Neptune Oyster House before Dorothy Kerns's National Lecture. I'd heard from several people what a great speaker she is and what wonderful work she does, but she had far too many slides, all far too cluttered, and it was a rambling disappointing talk.

I've not been crazy about BpS meetings for several years, and this one reminded me why...