Electric Monk |
After the session broke up, Julia Sweeney asked if I would look at the outline of her talk, since she was trying to condense it to 30 minutes from 90, but still retain the best and most effective parts, so we talked for a short while. Julia had been invited to the Pajama Party organized by the women of the JREF Forum (known affectionately as the Skepchicks). Unfortunately, she was feeling too tired from the drive in to attend.
Now, as a donor to a last-minute scholarship fund which allowed another forum member or two to attend TAM 2, I was to have an signed Skepchicks Pajama Party t-shirt, provided by KittyNH, and had been invited to pick it up at my earliest convenience. As it happened, this was during the party.
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| The Scene On The Couch - Who Let Bigfoot In? |
Well, sometimes there are mixups and misunderstandings about these things. When I got to the door, Renata was unsure of my intentions, and a debate ensued as to the role of the security force. Things were looking grim for my employment opportunity.
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| Oooh, Silk! - Pesky UFO! |
Then, a miracle occurred: I found a use for The Bad Astronomer.
Behind me I hear, "Hey, have I stumbled on the Skepchick's Pajama Party?" I turned, and there was Phil Plait. Surely he could straighten all of this out. And he did. Soon after that we were pulled (pulled, I tell you!) into the party. After some discussion, it was decided that we could return at midnight, following Rick Maue's presentation, providing that we did not invite any other guys. Right. And how would it be in our interest to invite other guys?
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| Back To The Couch - Hey! Down In Front, Nessie! |
Our return was permitted, and we stayed to answer the door and screen out troublemakers. Or at least unfriendly troublemakers. Unfortunately, due to some serious camera difficulties, no unobstructed images of this event are available.
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| Commemorative T-Shirt - Don't Look For It On eBay |
As for the events of later that evening, I will only say that in my opinion, the finest, most wonderful women on the planet are skeptical ones.
