Attending the NAPC in Cincinnati

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the 9th North American Paleontological Convention in Cincinnati. ‘Twas a grand old time, mingling with a lot of seriously excellent scientists.

Besides the excellent science, a highlight was the panel I sat on. This session was held over lunch on Thursday, and the subject was “Countering Creationism”. I was joined by Panda’s Thumb contributors Richard Hoppe, Jason Rosenhouse, and Art Hunt.

There was also a most excellent series of talks on Thursday morning. I never knew that rodent debris could be so informative (thanks, Felisa Smith!), and I learned that Jeremy Jackson really doesn’t like Pharyngula. I was disappointed that I missed the steel cage match between Jeremy and PZ - I never found the announcement. Maybe I can catch the rematch …

I got to catch up with old friends …

And, of course, I accompanied a mob of unruly paleontologists on a field trip to some “museum”.

(Looks like the sign got run over by an out-of-control ark.)

There were hints of PZ even in this museum …

Of course, I was accompanied by other luminaries.

All in all, a delightful time. With some functional keepsakes to boot.