Is anyone interested in the So Cal area possibly interested in having a gathering to talk ceph stuff?

Is anyone interested in the So Cal area possibly interested in having a gathering to talk ceph stuff?

count me in!

Whoa, when? where? Can it be somewhere I can get to by public transportation, and sometime when I'm not in class or away?

My spies tell me Erich might be back in SoCal more in the near future, too...

It seems like the recipes of visiting public aquariums, research labs, and going out for beers works reliably for the TONMO crowd... The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach seems like a fairly likely target, although I think there are some smaller ones I've never visited that might be fun. I guess you work on Catalina, right marinebio_guy? I'd love to tour your lab, but I bet the time and ferry issues would make it harder to get people together...

I hear that the Nova Express pizza place is where the plush Cthulhu costume lives when Erich isn't borrowing it, maybe that's a possibility, too.

My lab would be hard as the public ferry costs $60 round trip so maybe some other time. I was thinking the Aquarium of the Pacific 1. because it's educational :grad: 2. I get in free:wink: because I volunteer there on the weekends. The cabrillo aquarium is also nearby but is a lot smaller but I'm open to suggestions. As far as time any weekend works for me.

I haven't been to the Cabrillo aquarium, so I'd be up for that, but the Long Beach one is also good.

I also really like wandering around tidepools, and haven't been to that many tidepool sites in SoCal... These sound promising:

http://www.greatoutdoors.com/published/camp/pacific/explorewhitepointtidepools/

maybe that would be fun, too.

They are all within 10 minutes of each other. I've been to those tidal pools collecting sea urchins they are about 2 minutes from where I stay when I'm over on the weekends.

I've been a member of a couple of differrent fish clubs in the past that had monthly meetings. At these meetings they talk about the particular fish species, etc. and have auctions, where members who breed the fish sell them. There is usually pizza and sodas (sometimes for sale by the club) and depending upon location (like at a pizza joint) beer.

I would love to attend something like this for cephs. The best days for me would be a Sunday (but depends on which one), as I happen to work on Saturdays and every other Sunday. I'm in the IE now, but would be willing to travel to any coastal town for such an event.

We'll if we can all agree on a time and place we can get things going.
Any of the above places work for me and any weekend is good but I would prefer to do it by this month as I might be moving.

We'll if we can all agree on a time and place we can get things going.
Any of the above places work for me and any weekend is good but I would prefer to do it by this month as I might be moving.

Sundays are probably best for me. I'm actually not doing anything for Labor Day tomorrow, either, but I doubt we could get organized that fast.

As things stand now all my Sundays are open for September, and I could probably make Saturdays work if need be, but I have a few possible out-of-town things that could come up unexpectedly.

I suggest we try to do tide pools + aquarium + dinner/pub or something like that, but I'm open to other options, too. Hallucigenia has mentioned a cool fossil shop in Santa Monica (?) for the fossil ceph experience, too.

I think Erich & Rebecca are going to be in town sometime in September, but I have the impression it's a whirlwind tour, so it's quite possible that they couldn't work it into this trip... but maybe they'll speak up on that topic? If they can join us, that would probably lock us to whatever weekend that is...

Sounds good sundays work for me.

Youch! Whirlwind tour would be an understatement. Other than our 6th anniversary dinner, most of our time is going to be spent on Rebecca's business needs! Still, clue me in as to dates and times. I'll be in town from the 20th through the 23rd!

ok, in the spirit of action, I'll throw out a strawman plan:

on Sunday the 23rd, we'll rendezvous somewhere near Long Beach.

A random site I found with google says the tides will be thusly:

Long Beach, Terminal Island, CA
23 September 2007 - 24 September 2007

33.7517° N, 118.2267° W

2007-09-23 01:45 PDT -0.20 feet Low Tide
2007-09-23 03:02 PDT Moonset
2007-09-23 06:41 PDT Sunrise
2007-09-23 08:14 PDT 4.52 feet High Tide
2007-09-23 13:27 PDT 2.00 feet Low Tide
2007-09-23 17:07 PDT Moonrise
2007-09-23 18:48 PDT Sunset
2007-09-23 19:28 PDT 5.89 feet High Tide
2007-09-24 02:14 PDT -0.36 feet Low Tide
2007-09-24 04:11 PDT Moonset
2007-09-24 06:42 PDT Sunrise

So the 1:30pm low tide sounds like a great time to be mucking about in tidepools. Maybe the folks who enjoy such things can meet in the morning and look under rocks for a while, then we can meet any less adventurous folks for a late lunch, go to the Aquarium of the Pacific, and then go out for beer somewhere or something...?

I'm assuming we're more going for "casual" than min-con with talks and panels and stuff, although I'm all for any show-and-tell we can come up with...

whaddaya think?

That sounds great. :smile:

Of course that's a wrong Sunday for me, but I'll try to switch my day with someone and try to make it too.

Of course that's a wrong Sunday for me, but I'll try to switch my day with someone and try to make it too.

Note that the only reason I chose the 23rd is that there's a chance Erich could make it... I'm happy to try a different Sunday (or even another day) if that's better, particularly if we find out Erich can't make it. Although seeing Erich is always fun, so if we can get him there, I'll be psyched! Anyway, anyone named Eric, Erich, Erik, or Erica, be extra sure to let us know your schedules!

Of course, we don't know when Hallucigenia is away or not, so even though you're not named Eric(h) let us know if the 23rd works for you, too...

Anyone else interested? I haven't seen Rona post since TONMOCON I, but I know there are some other SoCal folks about....

Another coastal (although not so close to Long Beach) possible destination is http://jurassicgallery.com/

I just visited there on Friday, and they have a number of cool ceph (and other) fossils... I confirmed that they are open on Sundays, but that it's best to call ahead, since their hours are irregular.

Just a thought... of course, there is a danger; I spent $100 I probably shouldn't have on something I think is a nautiloid...

The 23rd might work for me. I was supposed to work that weekend (our grant renewal deadline is the following tuesday, which makes that "panic weekend"), but I think we decided we're trading off on shifts and such. Maybe I can take Saturday and my coworker can take Sunday. I'll find out more later this week.

Speaking of rock-flipping (http://cephalopodcast.com/blog/2007/09/04/cephalovlog-3-60-seconds-of-rock-flipping/)...

Is this still a plan? There's been resounding silence lately... I'm still "all systems go" for the 23rd.

If I ask nicely, will people RSVP "yes, no, maybe, sorry-I'm-in-Auckland?"

Any chance of getting behind-the-scenes tours at the aquarium? Should we schedule some time for show-and-tell? Do people have favorite restaurants or pubs around there? I don't want to exclude underage folks by going to pubs or vegetarians by going to Bob's House of Meat (http://www.greenfieldchurrascaria.com/longbeach.htm) or anything, of course.

I've also wondered if it's worth PMing some of the SoCal folks who haven't chimed in, or if that's more pushy than helpful... so I'm bumping the thread instead for now...

23 still not great for me, but maybe I can try something. Rebecca has made plans for that night. I'd really like to make this, but it's ultimately going to come entirely down to my better-half.

I'm still in for the 23rd, It might be possible for me to show you around behind the scenes if you are interested but there really isn't anything that special back there.

I will be a maybe up until the 22nd. I just don't know how badly I'm gonna be needed around here that day. As far as places to eat and such, Shoreline village is just a short walk away from the LB aquarium and has a restaurant/bar or two, and it can be kind of fun to stop by the frozen yogurt place, grab a cone, and watch rich people crash their boats into a downwind dock.

Downtown and the Pike are real close too, but I've never eaten around either of those places. I usually just hit the McD's on the PCH on the way in, bring a sandwich for lunch, and grab dinner at Shoreline village. Don't know what's in the San Pedro area across the bridge as far as food goes. I've only ever been there long enough to spend an hour or two at the aquarium or maritime museum, then head back over to long beach.

BTW: if you don't plan to leave long beach and you find some cheap parking somewhere, they've got an excellent free public transportation system (Pine Ave Link and Passport busses). Google it if yer interested.

In case anyone's wondering, the weird "unprecedented" unseasonal storm that's supposed to hit us on Friday is also supposed to be cleared up by Sunday. I wonder if that'll cause big waves that will make more interesting stuff in tidepools? Or it might wash everything that doesn't have a good hold on the rocks out to sea, I guess...

edit: I fergot ta scribe this post for talk like a pirate day. There's a mighty gale a-blowin' that'll rattle yer cutlass on Friday! Batten the hatches and reef the sails! But we'll have clear skies and fair seas come Sunday for our shore leave.

Where are ye mates planning to go tidepooling? The nearest good tidepools are in the San Pedro/Rancho Palos Verdes area... I don't recall much in the way of life (except mussels and an occasional sea hare) near Long Beach.

White Point in San Pedro is a good choice, there is a parking lot, and the walk to the tidepools is not too far. If you take Western Avenue to the end, turn left and then turn right on Kay Fiorentino Dr. There is a parking lot and a path to the tidepools. Wish I could join you...

Where are ye mates planning to go tidepooling? The nearest good tidepools are in the San Pedro/Rancho Palos Verdes area... I don't recall much in the way of life (except mussels and an occasional sea hare) near Long Beach.

White Point in San Pedro is a good choice, there is a parking lot, and the walk to the tidepools is not too far. If you take Western Avenue to the end, turn left and then turn right on Kay Fiorentino Dr. There is a parking lot and a path to the tidepools. Wish I could join you...

White Point is the ones I was thinking of trying, but I'm open to other suggestions...

If you are up for a bit of a hike, you could try the tidepools at Paseo Del Mar. You park along Paseo del Mar and then follow a long dirt path, take the left branch at the top of the cliffs down to the tidepools. It is more isolated than White Point (fewer people), but definitely not for the faint of heart, it is a rather long hike back up... I have found fossils (mostly pieces of whale bone) there too.

er, although the response has been underwhelming, I'm at least coordinating with marinebio_guy tomorrow morning... have any of the other "maybes" decided anything?

I guess since my phone #s are on the web anyway, I'll post them here:

home 626-798-1692 (try this first, 'cause I have no cell reception)
cell 626-695-1280 (for coordinating on the road)

I have marinebio_guy's cell #, but I don't have permission to post it, but I'll be coordinating the details in the morning (I'm guessing around 9 or 10am)

Take pics!

So jealous.

Well, I managed to rendezvous with marinebio_guy, but we didn't get any of the "maybes" to show... I did flip a lot of rocks at the tidepools, though, and we collected some food for MBG's bimacs... the tidepools weren't all that exciting unless you really like hermits, snails, limpets, and chitons. But even boring tidepools are still pretty fun... we stuck with the plan and went to the Aquarium of the Pacific, where there were some octopuses... mostly hiding except the juvenile female GPO, who was quite active, but that made it crowded around her tank, too. I didn't want to flash her (although she didn't seem annoyed that others were...) so all my long-exposure pics came out very blurry... however, here are a few shots of me and MBG:

5541
5542
5543

All in all, a fun time, but a bit sad that we couldn't manage to round up a bigger group... but we're hoping for a "next time"!

I was hoping for more pictures :sad: since I have never even been to CA or touched the Pacific Ocean (I have done two dives in the Bay of Bandaras though). We thought about it during one trip to put a foot in the Pacific but we were not up to 300 mile round trip just to say we had truly driven across the country.

Great pics, thanks for sharing!

I was hoping for more pictures :sad: since I have never even been to CA or touched the Pacific Ocean (I have done two dives in the Bay of Bandaras though). We thought about it during one trip to put a foot in the Pacific but we were not up to 300 mile round trip just to say we had truly driven across the country.

I'm afraid I was rather lax in that sort of thing, but here's a scenery shot from the tidepools:

5544

the aquarium itself was so crowded I didn't get any decent octopus or seahorse/see dragon pics, but there is a pic of a bonnet shark:

5545

Monty,
The tidal pool pic shows someone else mucking about. What do other people collect in the pools?

Yeah, sorry about that. I was on call on weekend and couldn't leave the area. We just printed 12,800 pages over the weekend for our grant renewal application. Amazingly, nothing broke during the process.

Next time we might try to have it closer to S.D. so that its not as far as a drive for the people down there.

Monty,
The tidal pool pic shows someone else mucking about. What do other people collect in the pools?

Legally, no one is supposed to collect anything without a permit (which marinebio_guy has) so hopefully they weren't collecting anything. But they seemed to be enjoying showing each other starfish they'd pulled off the rocks (I hope they didn't force them, since that can hurt their tube feet, but I was mostly asking marinebio_guy about his research, so I didn't really interact with the other folks at the tidepools.)

These pools had a different topography than the ones I've played about in in northern California and other areas, there's a very large, very flat expanse with a lot of rocks, so it didn't seem to have the wide range of "how much of the time is this covered by water" micro-habitats; it looked like it's all one big zone that's either underwater or exposed (although we did go out a bit to the next zone, where there were more anemones, some sort of sea hare, and more urchins, but also more danger of getting my camera and cell phone soaked by a wave and a lot less of the octo-food that MBG wanted to collect...) At least on Sunday, which had relatively light surf, it seemed like wading with a mask, snorkel, gloves, and booties might work without too much getting pounded by waves or not being able to see in the foam. Maybe I'll try that sometime...

How close is this to the wreck of the Dominator?