Today is the third day of the four-day North American Paleontological Convention. And what a grand day it was!
I spent today hanging out in a session devoted to the origin and expansions of grasslands in the world. (There weren’t always huge grasslands, you know.) Several talks were given by speakers other than the ones originally scheduled, again because of the travel nightmare that nearly kept me from here as well.
I went to nearly every talk in the grasslands symposium before skipping over to another session with a few talks on ‘critical paleobiological transitions.’ I was particularly interested in one talk on the Paleocene-Eocene boundary, about which I have my own research project.
When the formal sessions wound down, I found myself in a group of people who had participated in the grasslands session. We went en masse (by vans courtesy of the paleobotany group at the Florida Museum) to a little mexican food place. Dinner was cheap and delightful, and the conversation was great (and not just about grasses).
I was back in my room by 8:30, with time to shower, and then watch my favorite show, The Following, before heading to bed (or actually heading to my computer to write this).
All told, it’s been an excellent day and I’m a little sad that the meeting is nearly over.
And I’m exhausted, so I’m heading to sleep now.
Penny Higgins - Storyteller • Artist • Scientist 