Yes, I was there on Friday and Saturday, when more than half of the present complement of ScienceBloggers (a.k.a. "SB'ers" or "Sciblings") gathered in New York to meet, greet, and talk science, that is, between bouts of heavy drinking. (Fortunately, I was wise enough not to show up for the karaoke; if PZ's description is any indication, I wasn't nearly inebriated enough to enjoy it.) I didn't take nearly as many pictures as certain others there, one of whom bought a rather snazzy camera from a store on 42nd Street (something I would have cautioned him about, had I been there before Friday), but maybe I'll post a few after I get home from Chicago, which is where I had to go to on business the day after the SB conclave broke up. And, oh, yes, I am somewhere in that group picture that Mo posted. Somewhere.
Oddly enough, I didn't get to talk to as many of my fellows as I would have liked, although it's always good to meet up with my blogchild Mark, and I did finally get to meet the other Mark who writes about the same sorts of things that I do. I also met Dr. Signout, who, it just so happens, knows an academic surgeon who's a friend of mine. Heck, I even got to meet PZ, although Mark's right about him striking me as rather shy in person. I got to say "hi" to everyone who showed up. At least I think I did. My wife and I also had a pleasant time hanging out at the Met with the Mungers. And then there was Mo, whom I might run into again sooner than expected when I travel to London at the end of the month.
Chicken that I am, however, I decided, however, not to sit at one of the tables being filmed talking science on Saturday. Those of us sitting at the kid's table (the non-filmed group) had a perfectly fine, stress-free time.
Did Rob "Galactic Interactions" Knop get your autograph for me? Or did he not, because he thought I was joking? Because he assumed I have, like, a real life? :-)
Not picking on Orac -- sorry, O; it's just that you're one of the Science Bloggers whom I read regularly and respect, so this comment goes easily here -- but....
Is it just me, or does it seem a bit... I don't know... crass, or something like that... for the SciBlog crowd to have a little private party and then blog about it? Really, you're all saying, "Hey, folks, we had a nice party, and you lot weren't invited, but, gee, we had a good time and met each other in our own little closed, closed gang. Don't you wish you were among the "cool" crowd?"
Maybe it's just me. Carry on.
Just some respectful insolence, is all.
barry -- it is possible that we look like we are being smug regarding this party -- sorry about that. but really, we were hoping to build a collective sense of purpose for the blog community and warmth for each other that will (hopefully) show up in our writing on the blogs.
and we actually DID invite the public to the party, but not many showed up, probably because they didn't learn of the location until the day of the event. next year, though, i suspect we will let the public know the location where we all will be with enough time that they can make plans to be there well in advance.
I would have been game for a visit with the SciBloggers. Next year I will go, after having 8X10's made of Orac's pic...and sell them as a fund raiser for something.
re: "The Probe's" comments - good idea on the 8 x 10 shots as a fundraiser; fans could buy them as a tribute and nonfans as a dartboard (I am in the former camp) but either way the money rolls in.
I swear Orac looks like Anthony Edwards' brother in one of those shots. Alterntatively [ouch, bad pun] maybe we can all spread the rumour that Orac's "true identity" - the source of endless obsession to some unhappy fiskees of Orac - is in fact the former ER actor himself...