We were supposed to arrive in NYC at 2, this afternoon.

The plane was diverted because La Guardia was socked in with storms. We spent the afternoon sitting on a runway in Allentown, Pennsylvania. An hour passed. Another, and another, and another. We got vague promises over the intercom, always saying our departure was sometime in the near future. We stopped believing the captain in the early evening.

We had just killed the fat one, the one whose glasses we used to start the bonfire in first class, the one we called “Piggy,” when the captain came on again and told us to fasten our seat belts and be sure our carry-ons were stowed. Woo-heee, were we ever abashed.

We put our shirts and pants back on and finally landed in the Big City around about 8.

You may be thinking that Pharyngula is going to be awfully quiet this weekend, what with the proprietor gallivanting off to that liberal hotbed of iniquity, New York City. Well, yeah, I probably am going to be rather busy, but I think I’ll be able to squeeze in a few things, especially since this tendinitis I’ve got is going to restrict my mobility a bit. Also, if any New Yorkers want to meet up, my schedule is little bit tight, but I might be reachable at a few times. I’m staying at the Grand Hyatt New York, Park Avenue at Grand Central Station, at (212) 883-1234. Late Saturday morning I’ll be at the AMNH (of course!) touring the Darwin exhibit, and that evening at 8 we’re going to be on Broadway, attending a musical…but late afternoon and early evening are free. I’m also probably going to be hobbling about the Bronx Zoo on Sunday, before my plane whisks me back to the desolate plains of Minnesota.

My day has not been off to a good start. I’m supposed to fly off to New York tomorrow morning, and just to inspire worry in me, my car had a flat this morning. When just getting to the airport is a three-hour drive, hints of unreliability in the vehicle are not reassuring.

Worse still, I’m having a flare-up of Achilles tendinitis. Every step sends piercing pains shooting up my leg, and unfortunately I know from past experience that not continuing some gentle stretching and exercise will lead to my whole ankle seizing up and rendering me immobile. So, I’m going to be hobbling about New York City in pain this weekend. If any of you New Yorkers notice a guy who reminds you of that irascible gimp, House—only shorter and pudgier—that’s me.

Creek Running North has a guest blogger this week, and she has asked for inspirational stories to help her get started. So here’s a little motivational tale from my undergraduate days about my love for animals, and how I learned to overcome self-doubt and appreciate myself.

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On a warm and lazy holiday afternoon, determined to avoid any exertion and relax in my easy chair, I was contemplating something easy on the brain: beauty. I have no idea what makes something beautiful, but I could at least approach the subject empirically and catalog those things and experiences the I have found beautiful…so I put together a list. It’s nothing definitive, it’s merely personal, a set of memories of moments where I have been awestruck with beauty.

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I’m not a particularly attractive person. I’m your typical middle-aged schlub, someone you wouldn’t look at twice on the street. But I have a secret: there’s a part of me that is spectacularly beautiful, and every once in a while I get to take it out and admire it.

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I believe in making things easy for my stalkers, so here’s where you can find me in the near future.

• Our good and gracious Seed overlords are flying me in to New York next weekend, June 2-4. I’m going to be wrapped up in a little bit of a social whirl, but I might have a few scraps of free time in there—and I know there is a plan to turn me loose in the Bronx Zoo for a while. I will be attended by my trusty batman, Connlann, so if any young NY ladies want to meet a hunky midwesterner, let me know—I’ll have one with me. I, of course, will be more interested in the non-human organisms, and am not hunky.
• The week after that, my wife Mary and I will be at YearlyKos, June 8-11 (it’s filling up, so if you’re thinking about it, act soon!). If you can’t make it, apparently everyone there, including me, will be liveblogging the various events.
• On the 18th or 19th of July (the dates are still being arranged), I’ll be speaking at a meeting of Atheists for Human Rights on “Science & Secularism in a Demon-Haunted World“. I’m following Barry Lynn, who’s speaking there in June, and preceding (tentatively) Gloria Steinem in August. I feel a little out of my league.

The rest of the time, I’m hoping I can just stay quietly in Morris and get some work done.

My daughter has turned out to be a hippie. How could that have happened?

Oh, wait. It’s been a long time, so I forgot. I guess maybe she just bred true.

Peace and love, baby.

My smarty-pants daughter got accepted to UMM…she’s going to be starting at the university at the way too young age of 16 15^*.

^*She insists she’ll only be 15, which is technically true…but her sixteenth birthday will fall in the first week of classes.

Take a look at the guest list at next January’s ConFusion—there I am! It’s cool that they also mention Chris Clarke’s pulpy turn (maybe they should have invited Chris to attend). This is going to be great fun!

Not so fun is the way I spent my day: grading. I can at least say that one class is completely done, and my physiology students can now look their grades up, if they want to. I’ll be putting in another long day tomorrow to wrap up the second class.