Good Food and Good conversation

Yesterday, attended a really good lecture given by William Ruddiman, an expert on Climatology at the U of Virginia. Very interesting talk, showing how human influence on global climate did NOT begin with the Industrial Revolution, which is the going belief in the field of climatology, but rather began with the Agricultural Revolution, as massive deforestation really began then. He went on to say that were it not for human influence on climate change way back then, we'd likely be at the beginning of another ice age at the moment, with glaciers covering northern Siberia, Alaska and Canada and the antarctic ice sheet extending out much further than it does now. He also made it clear that the human influence on the climate since the Industrial Revolution has skyrocketed. His book, called Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum: How Humans Took Control of the Climate comes out in August, and I'm really eager to get my hands on it once it comes out.
Someone asked him if he thought that goofballs like Tom Delay and GW Shrub (our "president",) who claim that Humans don't influence climate, would latch on to his theory, and responded that if they do, they've conceded their entire argument about humans not influencing climate, which would show indeed how feeble their analytical skills are. Which is a good point.
After the show was over, we all went to the Union and drank beer. I sat across from the table from him and had a really nice conversation with him about my academic interests, his work, and the Shenendoah Valley in Virginia, where he lives. Very nice guy - avuncular-like. The best part is that he thought I was a junior faculty, something that I've yet to be mistaken for. That was a nice boost for the ego.
Other than that, India's lab mates came over for a potluck tonight, which had some increadible food and really interesting and friendly people. We had Indian, Thai, African, and Italian food, and I think that I ate waay too much. But it was nice.
Other than that, it's gonna be two weeks of heavy typing ahead. And I'm going to Nick's class to talk about Political Geography on Monday, so that should be fun. Hail Progress!