Symposium Update

The Dinosaur Park Symposium was excellent. All the talks went reasonably well, with only a few exceptionally boring ones, and the only significant technical glitch was that none of the speakers seemed to be able to work the remote for the projetor. Things learned: Myledaphis is not a sting ray but rather a guitar fish; the prosauropod massospondylus had basically lizard like proportions when it hatched and later developed the tiny head, huge body and long neck; there is only one interesting paleobotonist in North America; Dinosaur park bonebeds represent massive coastal flooding events (identical to what is happening to the gulf coat now) rather than flooding by rivers; therizinosaurs had huge, sharp claws even before they hatched; no matter who unlikely it seems, you will eventually encounter old nemecies, and it will be awekward. Also, a couple of the exhibits that have been installed at the Royal Tyrrell since the last time I was there look really good. Though it does seem odd that Dr. Richard Fox's picture was portrayed in the same way as all the paleontologists who are quite dead. Dr. Fox was at the symposium, he asked questions, his body is kept in animation by the awesome power of spite. I don't personally have any problem with Dr. Fox, but I've never heard anything nice about him. The nemesis that I ran into was one of the girls that I worked with at Mammoth site two years ago. We were both very polite, if not friendly, such that several of my friends remarked that I should 'make my move.' I might have if I weren't confident that her countermove would have been to tear out my liver.