BioQUEST is over. Everyone presented their 
white papers this morning. Buzz began his presentation with a blank white screen, which he left up for severeal seconds and then said, "We were asked to produce a 'white paper'..." This drew a huge applause. Pat and I presented right after a group that had run long. Our presentation consisted of the title slide and then a slide with the URL to our project, and our presentation simply asked people to contribute stories. (Note: You can contribute stories too.) Having a such a short presentation drew a round of applause too.
Few of the presentations showed much synthesis: there simply wasn't enough time for the participants to integrate their ideas and present a common vision. This was an undesirable aspect of the shorter format. Normally BioQUEST workshops are 9 days long. Next year they are returning to the longer format and the topic will be systems biology.
Now I look forward to the long haul home. I catch the shuttle bus in an hour and then take the subway back to Chicago and catch the Lakeshore Limited back to Springfield. It will be good to get home, finally. I should have enough to read and think about to keep me busy for a good bit of the time. I have the new story that Phil wrote that I need to critique, my Robin Hobb book, and several papers that were in the BioQUEST packet. Plus I need to confront the Elite Four.
I'm sitting on the Lake Shore Limited waiting to roll out of Union Station. A single mother is on the train with two children, one of whom is an ornery 9 or 10 year old boy. He makes noises with his mouth and squirms. She wheedles and threatens. "You'll have to go live with your father! I'm serious this time!" He seems unfazed, "You're not the boss of me on the train."
The first seat I selected didn't have an outlet, so I grabbed my stuff and looked for a different seat. The one I found seems to be near someone who used some hair-care product with an unpleasant odor. It wafts over the seat every so often and I wrinkle my nose.
The trip down from Beloit went as smooth as silk. Buzz, Tom, Peter, and I were deposited in South Beloit and chatted until the bus arrived. Buzz, Tom, and I were able to chat in the bus on the trip down to O'Hare. Tom is cutting his ties today and is beginning his summer road adventure. We chatted a bit about our on-going projects and reflected on how our collaboration has worked. It was my first experience trying to mentor someone and I learned a huge amount -- hopefully enough that I won't repeat the mistakes I made. But, who am I kidding here.
We're rolling out of Union Station at 7:29. I finally finished reading Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, watched Lilo and Stitch, and read Phil's new story. I'll need to think about it for a while before I write my comments, but it's a powerful and gripping story. Now I think I'll pack up the machine, get up and move around a bit -- go get a bite to eat -- and then try to get some sleep. It's going to be a long haul.