Observations

[rebeccmeister]

The cheap flight to Portland had an overnight layover in Phoenix, which was quite convenient for getting to see scrottie, even if it wound up feeling like it wasn't nearly long enough. My last trip to AZ was in April, and I don't know the next time I'll be back. Still feels bittersweet.

I used the airport toilets twice in Austin. The auto-flush sensors were so twitchy that the toilets flushed three times each time I went to use them.

The auto-flush sensor in the Phoenix airport toilet did not appear to work, so I had to push a small, black button.

The Portland airport toilets are equipped with dual-flush handles and placards explaining how to use them to flush less water for liquids and more water for solid waste.

The Portland airport also has a bike reassembly area. I know. The light rail went straight from the airport over to the convention center. I bumped into the prof who I'm staying with, so we went to downtown Portland to grab some lunch and visit Powell's. I'd like to know, what's up with these weird, local fast-food places? The food's just as unhealthy, but the french fries made with some truffle oil were tasty.

The Ecology meeting is HUGE! I'm glad I'm here, though I don't know how relevant it will be for me, overall. It all makes me wonder - do the ecologists worry about how the things they're working on fit into a larger framework? I mean, they must. Reading through the program is overwhelming, though, and it's interesting to look through and think about which things sound interesting and useful to me, and which things just sound weird and make me wonder why someone would choose to study that particular topic.

The Ecology meeting is MUCH more family-friendly than the other large professional meeting I've gone to, the Entomology Society of America meeting (the other ESA). Fewer people in suits and ties here, more small children, childcare facilities provided, a more even sex ratio, and many more people wearing sandals.

Portland makes me tempted to give up my career and just live in a city where the living is good.

Comments

do the ecologists worry about how the things they're working on fit into a larger framework?

[(Anonymous)]

Now there's a mind-boggling question!
I guess ecologists aren't necessarily cosmologists.
:-)
Love,
Dad

Re: do the ecologists worry about how the things they're working on fit into a larger framework?

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

Ahahahaha, this is a great discussion point, Dad! I wasn't even thinking about a cosmological perspective. I was thinking, "Does this ecologist studying decomposition in logs in forests ever step back to think about how her studies of decomposition relate to the development of the overall field of ecology?"

I got into an extensive conversation with my roommate, RH, about this topic a little while back. She claimed that there haven't been any major breakthroughs in ecological theory in decades; people have basically been spending the interim time studying specific topics in specific systems, without really making major changes to perspectives on ecological processes. Thinking, for instance, about things as food webs or as systems of cycling nutrients, but maybe not taking a step back to ask, "how important is this perspective of this system, compared to other possible perspectives?"

At some point, everyone gets narrowly focused on something, just because it's impossible for human beings to maintain a hugely broad and highly detailed perspective at the same time. I've just never had a chance to walk around and see how people explain the importance of their efforts relative to the field of ecology. Likewise, I generally haven't labeled myself as an ecologist because I haven't made efforts to fit my work into a full ecological framework (though I sure am trying at this meeting!).

In the whole realm of animal behavior, people are much more careful to explain how their particular study subject relates to the development of the overall field. For example, if C labels himself as an animal behaviorist, his work would fall under the umbrella of studies of sexual selection and sexual dimorphism. My work would fall under the general category of nutrition and foraging in insects, although it also falls under the category of social evolution/understanding of social groups.

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

I will mention you should spend two months continuous somewhere between November and March in Portland before deciding to move there. Six weeks of uninterrupted gray sunless heavy mist broke me and I came back to Colorado.

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

Ahahaha, oh honey. There's something you might not have known about me - I was born and raised in Seattle. I love the gloomy wintertime weather, and I'm actually kind of glad that not everyone can handle it, for it helps control the size of the population in that part of the world.