A nice picture of "mountain glow":

   And here is a picture of me with a drink that Katariina forced on me.  Believe it or not, I was _sober_ when this picture was taken.  :)

   Fee. Fi. Fo. Fum.  -Here is a picture of Fred.  (I really "caught him off guard with the camera.  :) )

   And here, finally, is a picture of some wooden chick, on one of the "gondola houses."

   Hmmmm. -Fairly pointless series of pictures, that was.   (Said in "Yoda voice." :) ) Telluride is located at 8,750 feet--and I was _dyin'_ from the altitude, 'n stuff.  :P

Here is something that someone (who wishes to remain anonymous) had to say about the conference:

      I recently attended the 2002 GEM (Geospace Environment Modeling) Conference. It was very interesting (and sometimes surprising) to see just where the state the of field was. We stayed in Telluride, Colorado--at an altitude of 9,640 ft. (!!) (I got a shirt that said "Screw Milk--Got Oxygen?" :) ) No joke--they had an "oxygen bar"---$1 per minute, $20 minimum.

      For the most part, the conference was really good. But, Telluride was a positively _textbook_ example of "American bean-counting diseases"--and the "captive market economy." :P For instance, they "put us up" in $600,000+ condos--but nothing was maintained--everything was broken. There was never enough coffee--as they didn't want to deal with a $10 "coffee differential" per day. (**** and I joked about a "coffee riot" being started by irate scientists. :) ) And the restaurant we ate at--they threw out over 100 pounds of quality food---rather than let anyone have seconds, without paying an additional diner's fee.

      One of the really cool parts, though--was the fact that I apparently looked old enough, and asked inciteful enough questions, to be treated like a scientist--and not a student. That was cool. :) Yes, I think you do know what I mean. :)

   Well, I hope you enjoyed this link.  :)