In addition to the fun we had with the Ericksons (that still sounds a little strange after 5+ years of them dating ...) I also had a good time at the conference. The trip was somewhat impromptu. I had already been to two conferences this year, and will also attend another in San Francisco in December, so this one was a bit superfluous in some sense. In addition to sharing a poster of some of the work I've been doing for the last six months, however, I wanted to have a meeting with people from TSI, which is a company that sells a large percentage of particle instruments that people in my field uses. They sell (for ~$130,000) that has become the mainstay of one area of my research, and I wrote some "software" that analyzes the data and puts it in a form that is useful for presentation. I made a little (very amateur) 5-minute video to introduce the software to them via email in the hopes that we would find some way to collaborate as a result. I didn't figure the meeting would go far, but thought that meeting in person would be useful, and since the travel funding at my institute is very flexible my boss decided it was worth a trip. So I had my first "business lunch" that Wednesday with five members of the company, from a software engineer and aerosol scientist to a couple marketing managers. Several of them individually said to me that they were "very impressed" with my software, which I thought was a little humorous and even embarrassing, because the only thing they'd seen was my emailed presentation with some video screen shots and microphone voice-over done with little preparation by myself in the lab. It was a good conversation, however, and they were interested in lots of details about how the software was useful for me and what kind of things I need provided to me as an end-user of their instruments/products. One of the marketing guys said that my software was exactly the type of thing that they would like to offer with all of their instruments (since they offer no data analysis capability with anything they offer). They asked if I wanted to sell it to them and be done with it, but I responded that while that would be tempting, that it is more important to me as an early career scientist to build collaborations with other scientists and find ways to further establish myself in my research, and that by selling this to them I'd give up those rights. So after talking around different aspects of the ideas they said they'd get back to me.
Later that afternoon I went to a tour of the nearby TSI headquarters with 60 or so other conference attendees. That was another good opportunity to schmooze, and I did my best to channel Paul Erickson's suaveness in these things. I must have done a good job, because over the course of a couple hours or less at a reception in their lunch room I met several other people who came up to me and were "very impressed with my software." It kept startling me how far and wide my email had already gotten, but it was fun to talk to everyone from the perspective not of a graduate student, but as one who is granted scientific respect. I talked about the research I was doing and why their instrument helped me do that, and several people I talked to said something like "Who you really need to meet is so-and-so" and so they'd introduce me. I got passed along several people in a row, got to the VP of product development and talked to him for 20 minutes about my ideas for research, how TSI fit in the game, and how I thought they were in a unique position to capitalize on opportunities coming along in my field of science. He seemed also impressed, and asked me lot of questions as if I were the expert, which was fun for me after recently moving beyond the threshold of graduate school into a very different role. After we talked for a while he grabbed a guy in a suit walking by (side note: "lowly" scientists *never* wear suits - so I knew he was different) who turned out to be the president of the company. We also talked for a bit about all the things I'd talked to with each of the previous people, and also chatted about my experience living in Germany etc. So who knows where all that will go - maybe nowhere. The good thing is that I went into the week expecting to have a meeting, but one that would not lead to any tangible or immediate benefit for me. That may still be the case, but the meetings gave me the opportunity to meet people (both scientists and members of the company) who may prove to be useful collaborators in years to come. It was fun for me to learn to see myself in a few light as a scientist already established, in one sense, in my field and who is respected as having perspective and experience that is useful to others. Another conversation with a trusted senior scientist who I've worked with in the past said to me something along the lines of "The sooner you start thinking of yourself as a senior scientist, and acting like it, the more you'll get done, and faster. Don't think of yourself as a postdoc and you'll be much more successful and productive." It was interesting advice, and the conversations with TSI were a good case example of that.
While I was having these meetings, Cass was in Colorado visiting family, where she had flown after spending a few days in MN. While the travel was brutal, she had a great visit with her family - including Luke, Holly and the two kids, whose plans to move to Barbados are a bit on hold and so they are still in Colorado. Cass also got a chance to meet our new niece Finley Zumwalt, which was very jealous of. If she ever gets time maybe she'll write a few things about that trip.
I wanted to give some of you an update on my meetings, since a number of people had been interested in the out-come. I also wanted to give you a snapshot of some of the things going on in my professional life at the moment and from time-to-time. In parting, however, I give you a picture of our trip to the Mall of America. It truly is an impressive shrine to American materialism. We walked around with worshipers and tried not to be too overwhelmed. We were impressed, however, by the entire amusement park in the interior courtyard of the four sections of the mall. I'm not sure how to sum it all up, but it was impressive - no doubt.
Cass and the baby both continue to grow. We would be happy for your prayers as time marches on and as we have our scheduled doctor's visits that share more information about this new creature inside. Life is certainly a miracle, and not to be taken for granted.
We appreciate travelling Ryan Air. We flew round trip to Scotland for about $85 for both of us. It's pretty unbelievable. At the same time, there are some issues that cheap flights bring. For example, middle management doesn't really exist. Here we are waiting to board our flight...or what we think is our flight. We had already been on the tarmac and tried to board two other flights which were not ours. We had made it onto the plane in both cases, before flight attendants checked our tickets and told us we were on the wrong plane. In fact, we had left the airport from a gate that was not the gate from which we were departing, but given the many, many people in the small, poorly organized space, we couldn't see the dog-leg turn that took us to our gate. We had just followed the flow of people. So, we were outside in the rain wandering between airplanes looking for an indication that one would take us to St. Andrews. We didn't find one. When we returned to the gate and explained that we didn't know where our flight was, they laughed, gave us back our ticket stubs and sent us around a bend into the right room. Pretty funny and unbelievable for our American sensibilities. 
That's right, our first French cuisine was a hamburger and fries. But, the fries had mayonaisse and we drank fizzy water- I mean, we were in France. We did enjoy the Eagles reunion tour on the big screens...what a strange place! 
The area we were in was not far from Germany or Switzerland and we could see it in the architecture. However, the attention to detail and beauty was evident in every yard and home. It was truly delightful!
We enjoyed seeing people setting up camp, grilling and eating,
But, we weren't thinking. It is, in fact, the middle of summer. But, it got cold and windy. 
We had on all the clothes we'd brought. Many people were unprepared- like the 3 guys next to us that had only what they'd worn to cycle up the hill. They were shivering with goosebumps covering their bodies. So, we gave them the table cloth we'd brought to sit on.
It's fun to eat out with Germans because they order things that they want us to taste. The strangest this time was a dish that was boiled, peeled potatoes (small ones) and hard-boiled eggs (about 5) cut in half with a green, creamy sauce featuring the herbs that are currently in bloom... I ordered a salad that came with sauteed mushrooms called "oyster star mushrooms" on top.
