An "out of this world" annual meeting, and later, Jewish grimoires and "holy hardware"

The Oregon Research Institute annual meeting is always a fun and goofy event, with this year's theme being science fiction. The decor was X-Files aliens, stars, and astronauts with scientists' faces stuck on them. The food was great: I had dolmades, several exotic cheeses, and even more exotic crackers. When we went into the darkened room, we found on each seat a microfilament "flashlight," and much merriment ensued. Meeting high points: Herb's humorous presentation on highlights of recent research, a wacky video from our satellite office in Albuquerque, and the annual skit, this year a takeoff on classic Trek. which humorously addressed the perennial issue of funding and the strategy of diversifying our research collaboration. Yup. Oh, and I actually got an award for "exceptional individual contribution" -- a neat "star" paperweight and a fancy certificate, because our project's recruitment is going so well.

In other work news, I dashed off a rough idea of the paper I want to write that combines our tobacco addiction/cessation research with my personal line of research on metaphors and psychology of rhetoric, and H. was quite enthusiastic and supportive! He's off to Prague now, with our gorgeous posters.

Oh, and speaking of gorgeous, the cherry tree on Agate Street is already past its prime this year, so here comes a picture from last year, March 20th:


( Read about kosher amulets, magic alphabets, Jewish grimoires, and 'holy hardware' )