Dinosaur List Breakfast - fast and friendly, SVP thoughts (2nd attempt)

[MKIRKALDY@aol.com]

(This never showed up in my mail (thanks AOL), so I am sending it again.  
Apologies if you have received this twice.)

Many thanks to Steve Jackson and Peter Buchholz for their kind comments on
our successful breakfast at SVP.  Attendees were Deb Boaz, Mike Brett-Surman,
Peter Buchholz, Jim Farlow, Tracy Ford, Tom Holtz, Judy Horan, me, Daniel
Lipkowitz, Ralph Miller, George Olshevsky (Dinogeorge), Greg Paul, Luis Rey
and his wife Carmen, Darren Tanke, Allyson Tumarkin, Matt Wedel, and Lois
McMillan.  We did brief introductions and ate quickly, since the first
dinosaur talks were scheduled for 8:30 a.m.  Still, it was great to meet the
people behind the posts, and it helped to establish a basis for conversation
and friendship at subsequent meetings.  I too would like to see this turn
into an annual event.  

I took pictures of our group, and of those on our list who could not attend,
and Mickey will post them on a special web page to be announced.  Attendees
who wish reprints may contact me directly.

SVP was great fun--interesting and exciting.  Thumbs up for the Archaeopteryx
specimen on display, the sometimes stunning talks and rebuttals, the posters,
new books on sale (with authors present), the well-run activities which kept
attendees as busy as they wanted to be.

Thumbs down for some aspects of the over-long auction.  Particularly
bothersome for me were the inflatable sheep, the suggestive comments during
the auction for the services of the matronly cook, and the second of two
Paleontologist Barbie dolls offered, in which two young ladies pranced around
on the stage with the Barbie packages.  Fun is fun, but this was a scientific
convention, hopefully promoting the positive image of the female scientist,
and perhaps these segments could have been rethought for appropriateness.
 Funniest item was the People magazine featuring beautiful person Paul
Sereno, which he had autographed.  Bidding started at two cents.

Mary
mkirkaldy@aol.com