I've talked before in this blog about what it is like being at various scientific conferences including the LIGO-Virgo Collaboration (LVC) Meetings. At the March LVC Meeting, I was able to share the exciting news about the "Big Dog" blind injection (
my blog about it |
official LIGO release) and discuss the value of blind tests in science. Last week I was at the
September LVC Meeting in Gainesville, FL and, while there was much to talk about, nothing was truly exciting except to those of us in the business. So, I decided that I would share with you what the night life is like at a meeting like this.
On the evening of Tuesday September 27th, A good friend of mine called me to ask if I had any plans. Since I didn't I asked what she had in mind and she told me that she and a bunch of other LIGO people were going out to a trivia night. I had to think about this for a minute since I am very much a homebody and was looking forward to finishing the book I was reading, but then I realized that I tend to have no life at all and should go out. So, off I went!
We ended up going to
The Laboratory which is a science themed pub/cafe. Below is a picture of me standing in front of The Laboratory:
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| Me in front of The Laboratory |
When I got inside, I saw that the place was definitely "no frills" and a little divey but the atmosphere was still fun and settled in for an evening of showing off my vast intellectual prowess (read: know a few of the answers and hope my other team mates know more than I do). I grabbed one of the few menus and took pictures for your enjoyment:
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| Front of menu (FYI: the URL listed on this menu does not work) |
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| Back of menu |
All of the food has a science themed title. I chose the Dr. Hawking chicken sandwich (the item on the left bottom corner on the back of the menu pictured above). How could I possibly order any other sandwich since I specialize in relativity? I was so hungry when it arrived that I dove right in and forgot to take a picture for you. So, here what it looked like when I woke from my hunger craze and took a picture:
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| What was left of my Dr. Hawking when I remembered to take a picture |
As I was eating, more and more people started showing up for the trivia event. And the place ended up being nearly overrun by all of the usuals and the mass amounts of LIGO people who showed up as well (I didn't actually count, but there wer about 20 of us). The lights went off, the black lights came on and the trivia started, hosted by none other than Doc (get it?). We settled into teams of about 6 people and played the night away. There were 20 questions. After each question the DJ played a song and that song usually had some kind of hint to it. Once the song was over, the team had to turn in the answer on a slip of paper and you got a seconds chance (for reduced points) if it was wrong. I'm not sure exactly where our team finished (not first and not last) but we had a great time. Below is a picture of the row of us LIGO people who invaded (and we stick together). And this isn't even everyone since some stragglers ended up sitting at their own table to the right of the picture:
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| Just some of the LIGO people who showed up for trivia (yes, all the way to the back of the picture) |
And what would a science themed cafe be without lab coats? Here is one of us brilliant specimens modeling one (with a nice glow from the black lights):
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| A real scientist in a real lab coat at The Laboratory |
After trivia fun was over, a few of my friends and I headed back to the hotel since there was another day of the meeting the next day, but I also had to pack since I left the meeting after lunch to head home (which was an adventure in itself since my plane from Atlanta to Baton Rouge was diverted to Jackson, MS just before we started our decent due to a really horrible storm. As you can tell, after hours of sitting in a closed airport I did indeed make it home. And I was glad for it since I was away on travel to Long Island, NY for an APS Executive Board Meeting just before this trip. Remember how I said I was a homebody? This body was very glad to be home!
