ABLE Bioblog

OK, I just have one final (I think this is my last…) post from the 2009 Delaware conference. It is a good one!!

–The conference pictures are now online (http://www.ableweb.org/conf/able2009/images/index.html)!  Thanks for all your contributions. (Sorry, the captions didn’t post with the images; I’ll fix it if I have time).

–Have a listen to this PODCAST — interviews of first-timers’ impressions of the ABLE 2009 conference. (a production of Marielle Hoefnagels and Mark Walvoord prompted by Paul Hyde’s major workshop)

We promise there won't be snow.

Mindy and I (Jendy) discussed whether it would be bad PR to post this story or not, and agreed that since we were going to warn you about this sort of thing anyway, the warning would carry more weight if it were backed up by an actual reference:

Woman rescued from water at Peggy’s Cove

You may recall from our presentation in Delaware that Peggys Cove and surrounds is on the itinerary for one of the Saturday field trips. The area is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Nova Scotia (and deservedly so), but due caution is required – the landscape consists of little else but giant granite boulders and crashing waves.

Now it’s also true that thousands of people visit Peggys Cove every year without getting swept out to sea, but it happens, and when it does it happens fast. The happy outcome reported in this story is unfortunately not the usual one.

So in addition to your layers, pack some sturdy shoes with good treads…

Yours in due diligence,
Jen

Aren'tchya glad you're not here this year?

Thanks again to Mark for sharing a little bit of his blogosphere; this first post will be quick and timely.

My first ABLE meeting was at Virginia Tech in 2005.  I’ll  never forget arriving at my first workshop, feeling ever so pretty with the sweat rolling down my back, and overhearing Ann Lumsden cheerfully remark about how “refreshing” the weather was.

Well  if you find Virginia refreshing, you’ll probably find Halifax downright bracing…

I’ve posted a screencap of the forecast for this week (highs in red, lows in blue, POP in black if less than 100%), the same week that we’ll reunite next year.  To be fair, the rain hasn’t been continuous, and the local weatherfolks report that we’re about 5 degrees (Celcius) below seasonal temperatures.  Plus,  we’re  enjoying 90-100% humidity even on days that it’s not raining, so it really feels much milder .

Our other saving grace is that our local forecasts are notoriously dynamic, and not to be taken at face value for more than 24 hours out.  So, in a follow-up post I’ll let you know what the weather was really like this week.

The take-home message is that most of you will probably find Halifax to be a little on the cool (and quite possibly wet) side, so we recommend that you pack accordingly – bring layers!

Nice if you’re a duck,

Jen

UPDATE (29 June 09):  Well, that wasn’t so bad after all.  Contrary to the forecast for last week, we only got rain on two days (Monday and Tuesday), for short periods each day.  Wednesday was overcast and foggy, Thursday and Friday were foggy in the mornings and evenings and sunny in the afternoon, and Saturday was sunny (out at the Tidal Bore Rafting Park anyway, if not in the city…).  Temperatures were probably about as forecast, although I didn’t note them.  I usually grumble if it’s cold, though, and last week I only grumbled about the fog…

Nice if you’re fog-philic,

Jen

I’m happy to report that you won’t have to just hear from me on this blog anymore!  I may still post occasionally, but JEN will be doing more leading up to the 2010 conference in Halifax. That is because JEN is half of JENDY (JEN + MINDY), the conference hosts for the 2010 Annual ABLE conference.  I look forward to seeing periodic updates about what is to come, and I encourage you to either subscribe to blog updates via email or check this site often. Thanks Jen!

Mark

First, a big thank you to the conference hosts. We said it at the banquet (pictured here), I’ve said it on this blog, I’ve told them in person, and I’m saying it again. What a great meeting!!  I really enjoyed my sessions (podcasting, stream ecology, bean beetles, and all my mini-workshops come to mind).  I’ll get some pictures posted by July (ah-hem…that means I need yours!).

It was also great to have so many new people there. I enjoyed talking to and meeting some of them (I think we had around 45? We’re producing a video/podcast with interviews of some). Having so many eating places, fairly close, on Main Street was nice (so many more I wanted to try, but you can only eat and drink so much in 5 days!). Oh, and all the hype (and rightfully so) surrounding our push to next year’s conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, kept me excited also.

ABLE is a great bunch of folks, even without their biology expertise. Now, I’m just trying to find a way to come off of my high from the conference. I mean sure, I could go out every night this week and drink until 2 am, or immerse myself in trying new labs from previous Proceedings, or try to find free food and friendly faces on campus while wearing a name tag…but I think I should just get back to my real job. Perhaps next year I’ll run a debriefing session as a final mini-workshop to help myself and others come down from our mountaintop biology experience. (Better yet, I’ll just stay in Halifax a bit longer and enjoy myself!)

mark