Panorama -- poster session, can you find where my poster was?

Sorry for not getting something to write yesterday, I went to the banquet in the evening and had no time for the blog.

Everything went rather fine. Great people, great talks, great discussions, although it takes time for someone to intergret into a group, I feel I have learn much lots of things. I still get a lot of things to do and have a long way to go, but nevertheless I have a good start, all are good.

There are a number of brilliant youngests in America, I met some during the poster session, and there was an undergraduate named Melissa Haegert who gave a talk about her YORP study and receive quite a clapping from the big-names. Woo, simply brilliant there. With a lot of brilliant guys similar to your age around you just get more energy to work hard.

Hanging around

Coconut trees and the moon

There were a couple of people came to my poster and interacted with me, it's my fault that I didn't prepared a well-organized oral presentation for them. My presentation must be somewhat scrappy, but the conversasion generally end up with "nice job" and "thank you" so I still feel fine. Prof. Bobby Bus, a big-name scientist who had a poster a few steps from mine, received a lot of attention, I planned to step forward and ask him questions, but he was so popular so I didn't even get a chance to speak! Instead I drifted around and continuely paced myself into the professional world by talk something with the poster authors, generally every conversasion went pretty fine, I was even talk something in-depth with professors from Cal Tech, MIT and JPL since I was doing something very close to them, that's great. Although still quite far from native students, my oral English for serious acadamic discussion had greatly improved. I was even lucky enough to have lunch with Dr. Alan Harris and Dr. Petr Pravec and sitting next to Dr. Peter Jenniskens during the banquet -- and have a great discussion with them!

Dr. Alan Harris illustrating how asteroid light-curve works by showing picture of ox

Marek Kozubal (left) and Dr. Peter Jenniskens

It's sad that time flies quick, we are approaching the end of the meeting, but tomorrow I would like to listen to some talks on TNO -- and try to arrange a time to a nearby small island for sightseeing and then move to Fajardo Inn since there are no spaces at El Conquistador in Friday night. I have signed up the tour to the famous Arecibo Observatory (yes, the "huge disk" which has been appeared in a number of fiction movies!). Just when I was hanging from poster to poster, Michael Nolan (chair of this meeting and one of the heads of Arecibo) step to me and ask if I would like to be listed in a limited-number platform tour waitlist. "You are coming long-way from China and certainly I'll try to arrange you a better trip!" Wow how good you are, Dr. Nolan!

Okay, my days at Puerto Rico are approaching to its end -- great day around. I will still have a week around New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, these big cities are said to be dangrous (thanks for warm-heart American friend Randy to  advice me on this) and I will take care. But most Americans are really nice people!

Stay tuned for updates.

Panorama -- El Conquistador sunrise

I woke up at 6 a.m., the sun was about to rise and everything's quiet. As there were some cumulus at the horizon I didn't get the sun until it's high enough, but I still wait at the balcony until the sunlight reach my face. It's nice, although not yet spectacular. I'll manage to get every sunrise while at El Conquistador.

Then I went to the restraut for the complimentory breakfast. I did have problems though, since I'm neither familiar with the customs nor with the food's name. It's, actually, funny, but I finally find way to work everything out and get myself fed.

I finally got into the oral talks session. Thankfully I'm getting myself used to listen to complex and speeding English now. Although I cannot understand every word them say, but at least, no problem for understanding what they want to express without paying too much attention, so I'll not be too tired.

Working in the lobby -- great Carribean scenery just out of the doors!

Panorama -- lobby of the meeting (the talks were in progress so there are few people)

I went to the Pluto session in the morning and listen to two talks about the occultation of Pluto, but they didn't interest me much. I had wish there would be free lunch supplies, but unfortunately, no... instead there were sandwiches at a price of $15 @_@ so I ate nothing.

I was highly anticipated the 2008 TC3 session in the afternoon, it indeed turned out to be an interesting one. Dr. Peter Jenniskens -- a big-name scientist which I had heard of for many times -- served as chair, and gave a report about the recovery of TC3 meteoroids. After the session I went into front and had a nice acadamic chat with Peter and other big-name scientists, everything works great, it seems I had overestimate the difficulties.

Talk of 2008 TC3's discovery, given by Andrea Boattini from CSS

The only problem might be eating. As the price is terrible here, I'd rather to bear hungry. But there are still ways -- since the breakfast is free, I can eat as much as I can in the morning, then take some biscuits and coffee at the break, then it should work fine. Anyway, tomorrow will be a busy day, with several lectures by prize-holders, and dozens of posters and talks, I must get myself well prepared. Nevertheless today is a good start.