Eric was here.

My brother was here.

Whoops, wrong photo, sorry: Eric enjoys the view at Blouberg Beach. Eric, Sila and I checked out Shipwreck Trail in Cape Point National Park.


Unfortunately Eric had to ruin it by stealing a sandwich from a nice lady.

Visitors are Fun.

For those of you considering a visit to Cape Town, get on with it already! Visitors are Fun! When Visitors arrive I go out to Eat! I see the Sights! and I do ridiculously short field trips to Far-Away Turbidites!

I have had three "reunions" recently as a result of the AAPG meeting - two with blogosphere "colleagues" (Jeannette and Chris), and one with an an actual real-world acquaintance, the notorious Daniel Minisini. These visitors are very intrepid - Chris circumambulated Cape Town to see the Sea Point Contact on his own, and gave an excellent talk in our department. Jeannette found her way (taxi-wise) to campus on her own for Chris's talk, and brought me an amazing and unexpected present without sticking around long enough to be compensated by a trip to above-referenced turbidites. Come back Jeannette! Anyway, watch your mailbox.

Daniel materialized a few days after the meeting was over. Daniel is one of the "crazy Italians" who held court in my grad school lab at UC Santa Cruz - there were always one or more around during the 5.5 years I was there - We were part of some Appeninic exchange program! Daniel probably inspired the most mayhem during his tenure (excepting our RESIDENT Italian, Stefano, the undisputed Maestro of Mayhem).

I won't tell you what happened on Friday because... um... it's blurry.

On Saturday we made lots and lots of food and went swimming with penguins. Can you see how this photo is weirdly funny?
On Sunday, we drove to Laingsburg to see turbidites. Yes, the Laingsburg, which is 3.5 hrs away from Cape Town. We spent an hour or so pondering weird sedimentary structures in the Laingsburg Formation.

We also visited my favorite folds at the "LilyPad Pond". Can you see how this photo is also weirdly funny?
We had the chance to follow up on rumors from past students that there was a cave on the "Whale Back" doubly-plunging anticline that had Bushman paintings. We found them. Small and perfect (but potentially NSFW).
You be the judge.

We stopped at Matjiesfontein for a beer on the way home and arrived in CT at 11pm.
On Monday Daniel and Sila went surfing and hiked all over Cape Point and we cooked another HUGE dinner.
On Tuesday Daniel and Sila are climbing Table Mountain (via Platteklip Gorge) and then ALSO climbing Lion's Head.
On Wednesday I need a nap.

Landmarks

Next week my first generation of advisees (BSc Honours students) will turn in their theses. In keeping with the tradition in which I was raised, I'm having a dinner party for them. Tacos.

In another, perhaps more poignant benchmark moment, when they say:

"Hey, what's the time?"

and I say:

"It's time to get ILL!"
"Hey what's the time! It's time to get ILL!"

They don't get it.

They are all getting CDs for graduation presents. You know, to make me feel younger.

Anybody hear me on this one?

Lazy post - funnier than me anyway

FSP I love you. That's Female Science Professor to those of you who don't currently substitute her in your mind into the vacuum of lady-scientist role models at your institution.

FSP has written of a recent search to fill a tenure track position as her cat in the fall of 2007.

FSP has just announced that happily Kitten X has been awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Cat X.

For those of you involved in/subject to either of these processes I think you will enjoy this.