There's always something you forget to take on a trip. For me today, it was my camera's USB cable. (Why don't all cameras come with bluetooth by now?) So, I won't be able to post daily photos from Tucson. Luckily, my 2GB mem card should be enough for the next three days. ;-)

That said...

I survived my flight, though I was squeezed in the center seat between Old Lady with her murder mystery novel, and defense contractor EE named Hal ("H-A-L." Yeah, thanks for spelling it out for me. That's a real toughie.) with his God books and notes. Nice enough guy, really, but ideologically about as far away from myself as one can get. Kind of reminded me of my grandfather. It was weird, but I managed. Getting drunk at 10:30am just before starting that leg of my trip probably helped.

Anyway, I'm in Tucson now, and holy fuck the weather is nice here. Damn near freezing when I left the house this morning, and it was in the upper 70s with clear skies when I arrived in Tucson. Had an instant jonesing for my bike. Flat terrain, sunshine, warm temperatures... sure would have been nice.

Got my rental and checked into the hotel. Registered with the conference and immediately went back to my room to finally take care of the daily three S's, minus the shaving, that I didn't have time for this morning. Tried for a few minutes to take a nap, but figured I shouldn't miss out on such a beautiful day in a new place.

Went to buy some unfamiliar beer (Trader Joe's rocks!) and had a hard time limiting myself to just six 6-packs. I need to drink about half of that while I'm here so I can fit the remainder in my suitcase to bring home. Also got a few bottles of framboise ($9!). Apparently Arizona, or at least this county, allows not just super beer, not just wine, but also liquor sales in supermarkets. Whiskey is expensive here—a 750ml of Dickel was something like $19 (white label, granted, but still...)—decided to pass.

Had dinner tonight at a weird little vegetarian/all-natural buffet run by some Krishna worshippers. It was actually a pretty cool oasis of sorts. They have an aviary on the grounds with some peacocks, parrots, and other birds I didn't recognize. I ate outside on their awesome patio next to a fountain, and it would have been really sublime if not for the goddamned parrot squawking every 15 or 30 seconds. I'll definitely post some photos of the place when I get home.

I still haven't talked to anyone from the conference yet, including the couple of people I know. Gah. Tomorrow is field trip day—these are ecologists, after all—but I'll be doing my own thing at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, so I guess I will remain a recluse until I have to come out for my talk on Thursday. Of course, tomorrow's forecast calls for afternoon "patchy blowing dust" (or "gusty and dusty" in the local public radio DJ's terms). Not quite sure what that entails, but I think I will head out early to do my sight seeing, just in case.

Anyway, time to down a few beers and maybe head out to the pool for a few minutes before passing out for the night.