October 18, 2002
The Program & Abstracts of the 68th Meeting
is now available as a PDF download from the AMS
Web Site.
August 16, 2002 - Wrap up, odds and ends
The Charleston meeting is now ten days in the rearview mirror, and I’ve heard many nice compliments regarding both the social program and the scientific quality of the presentations. Thank you all for your participation. You’re a great group of folks.
If you’d like a copy of our group photo, mail a blank CD and a stiff envelope to Paul Callomon, Department of Malacology, Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Ben Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195.
Paul writes, “I have jollied up the picture a bit (trimmed it and balanced the color), and will send both shots on a CD to anyone who wants them. For people who went to Bull Island, I will add a folder of shots from there too.” Thanks Paul!
This afternoon I’m placing a fresh batch of AMS 2002 shirts in the mail to those of you who’ve ordered one. Let me know if problems develop.
The Program and Abstracts of the meeting should be available as a PDF download from the society web site before too long. The meeting website will continue active until this, and a few other loose ends, are tidied up.
It was an honor and a pleasure to host you all here in Charleston.
Keep in touch!
August 1, 2002 - Arriving by Car?
Charleston is located at the southern terminus of the US interstate system. So almost all incoming automobile traffic arrives via I-26, which ends and splits in several directions as it approaches the heart of the old city. Go down the right fork of I-26, Exit 221A, marked “U.S. 17 South, Savannah.”
One light after you merge with U.S. 17 you’ll see signs indicating a right exit to Rutledge Avenue and the College of Charleston. Look sharp - it’s just a couple tenths of a mile.
Take the Rutledge Avenue exit and jug-handle around to the left, under two lights and south on Rutledge. Drive down Rutledge about 0.7 miles, following College of Charleston signs.
Turn left on Van der Horst Street. It’s the fifth stop light (counting both the two jug-handle lights.)
Drive east on Van der Horst Street about 0.4 miles.
If you’re staying in the dorm, turn right at the second light on St. Philips Street. (There’s a lot of construction - sorry.) Look for a parking space in the College of Charleston Y-lot, directly to your right. See campus parking notes below. The Joe E. Berry Residence Hall is across St. Philip Street from the Y-lot.
If you’re staying in the Francis Marion Hotel, do not turn on St. Philip Street. Continue one block further east on Van der Horst and turn right on King Street. Park in the municipal garage to your right, adjoining the Hotel.
Campus Parking notes:
1) If you can’t find parking in the Y-lot, turn right on Calhoun Street,
go back west one block to the K-lot, and hike it.
2) Both the Y-lot and the K-lot are open to visitors on nights &
weekends ONLY. Sometime before Monday morning, you’ll need to purchase
a parking pass at the registration desk ($15) and move your vehicle south
to the O-lot.
July 30, 2002 - Bull Island Notes
Those of you going on the Bull Island trip: Please bring a day pack, book bag, carpetbag, large satchel, or some similarly convenient method of toting gear. Everybody will receive bottled water - you'll probably want to drink a large volume before the day is over.
In your satchel, I'd recommend you also include bug repellent (with deet) and/or sun screen. Strong bug repellent will be essential for those of you wishing to bird watch and otherwise explore the interior of the island. If you're planning to spend the entire day on the beach, however, the sea breezes generally keep the bugs at bay.
Maps will be provided. Other personal items you might include in your bag include rain gear, first aid kit, snake bite kit, alligator bite kit, collecting gear, binoculars, knife, compass, and flare gun.
Our current plan calls for Dr. Julian Harrison (all-round naturalist of the first rank) to lead whoever wants to follow him through the island in the morning when it's not so hot, reaching Boneyard Beach (at the north end) for lunch. Then the group will walk back down the beach (low tide at 1:36) and return to the ferry around 2:30 or 3:00. This will be a round trip of about 3 - 4 miles, I guess.
A great variety* of non-perishable food will be available for lunch. So if you'd rather not walk the 3 - 4 miles with Dr. Harrison, or want to spend the entire day on the beach (for example), you'll need room in your satchel for your share of the food.
*Feel free to email me with your own suggestions & preferences regarding
the menu.
July 29, 2002 - Committees, Dorms, Attire
My wife Shary, the first lady of malacology, has instructed me to describe the attire for the president's reception Saturday evening as "dressy casual," and the attire for the dinner cruise Tuesday evening as "sport coat and tie suggested."
I'm aware of four committee meetings presently scheduled for the week of AMS2002: the AMS Council will meet at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, the AMB Editorial Board at lunch Sunday, the FWGNA Group at 7:00 p.m. Sunday, and the Publications Committee at lunch Monday. If there are any other committees or special groups who wish to announce meetings, please let me know. The annual business meeting of the full AMS will take place over lunch on Tuesday.
Those of you with dormitory reservations take note: the front
desk telephone at the Joe E. Berry Residence Hall is 843-953-3253.
Check in begins at noon on August 2, and extends from 7:00 am to 11:00
pm through the rest of the conference. The dorm must close at noon
on August 8 to prepare for the fall semester. Regarding transportation
to the dormitory, review my message of July 3 below!
July 20, 2002 - Audio Visual Needs
The conference will provide lap top PC-compatible computers with digital projectors for the meeting. The computers run Power Point 2000, and have ports for both zip-disks and CD's. Sorry, we don't have Mac's available, but you're certainly welcome to bring your own. If you are aware of any (other) compatibility problems, let me know.
Our 35 mm slide projectors are the standard (American) carousel-type.
As far as I can tell, only one presentation (A. Kohn) requires a TV/VCR
set up. Am I missing anybody else? I don't want to rent the
set up for extra days if it's unnecessary.
July 9, 2002 - Accommodations
It appears as though the Westin Francis Marion is booked up for the first night of AMS 2002, Saturday Aug 3. There are several other hotels nearby. The Holiday Inn Historic District (125 Calhoun) is moderately priced. There's also the more expensive Embassy Suites Historic Charleston (337 Meeting Street).
Rooms are still available, however, in the Francis Marion Sunday through
the remainder of the meeting. And in fact, if we don't fill the rooms
we've reserved Aug 4 - 7, the AMS will be liable for 90% of the "slippage."
So if you can work The Francis Marion into your travel plans, we'd appreciate
it.
July 5, 2002 - To Poster Presenters
We now have a much firmer idea of the number of posters to expect in Charleston next month, as well as the space available.
Previously, poster size was limited to 46 x 46 inches (or 120 x 120 cm). I'm happy to report it now appears we'll be able to accommodate posters up to 68 inches (173 cm) wide and 46 inches (120 cm) tall.
It might be better to aim for 44 inches tall, however, to avoid overlapping the margins of the bulletin board.
The bulletin boards should be in place in the West Hall of the Lightsey
Center when registration begins Saturday afternoon the 3rd. Feel
free to hang your posters at your convenience. Bring your own thumb
tacks. A floor plan of the Lightsey Center is available at the bottom
of this page:
http://lightseycenter.cofc.edu/services.htm
Authors should plan to attend their posters during the formal poster
session, Monday afternoon 3:20 - 5:00. Please have your posters removed
by the end of the day Tuesday.
July 3, 2002
1) A draft outline of the Scientific Program is now available.
2) Today is the last day to reserve a room at reduced rates at the Westin Francis Marion Hotel. A phone call to their local number, 843-722-0600, seems to work best. We’ve been having a bit of trouble with the reservation system at the Francis Marion - feel free to contact me if you have problems.
3) If you have reservations at the dormitory, don’t forget that you must bring your own pillow, bed linens, towels, soap, and everything else. A can of bug spray wouldn’t hurt. These are modern facilities, but Charleston is Charleston, and palmetto bugs are everywhere in the summer. What do you expect for $20 per night, The Ritz?
4) Ground transportation from Charleston International Airport is very easy. After retrieving your bags from the carousel, turn around and you’ll see doors marked “Parking/Ground Transportation.” Outside there’s a booth labeled “Taxis and Shuttles.” If you’re not in a hurry, take a shuttle van for $10. If you don’t want to wait, a taxi ride for one or two people is about $19 - $22. The ride downtown takes 20 - 30 minutes. The driver should be familiar with the Francis Marion Hotel, corner of King and Calhoun. If you have dormitory reservations, ask the driver to drop you at the Joe E. Berry Residence Hall, on the College of Charleston campus at the corner of Calhoun and St. Philip Street. That’s just one block west of the Francis Marion.
5) If you are driving into Charleston, parking can be a challenge. Those of you with reservations at the Francis Marion should take advantage of the reduced rates charged by the Public Garage on Marion Square. If you’re staying in campus housing, you can park in Faculty/Student Lot K on the corner of Calhoun and Coming Streets, one block west of the dorm. No permit is required on nights and weekends in the K-lot. But you must purchase a Visitor Parking Permit, available for $15 from the registration desk, before Monday morning.
6) Don’t forget to bring books and interesting items of a malacological nature for our endowment auction Monday evening. Or feel free to mail stuff to me ahead.
7) The brand new South Carolina Aquarium is at the base of Calhoun Street, about a half mile east of The Lightsey Center. There’s a “DASH” bus that’ll take you there, albeit via a rather circuitous route.
8) The CSS Hunley is currently undergoing conservation at the old Navy base in North Charleston. Tours of the facility are available on weekends only, and you must call ahead to reserve tickets.