I decided to get out of town on Christmas and went birding around Corpus Christi (strange name for a city). I camped on the beach under a full moon at Mustang Island State Park. Quite spectacular. Fog slowed the early morning start. The fog cleared as I drove up to Port Aransas. I spotted a Merlin on the power lines along the way. The community park was slow. All the usual suspects (Stilts, Avocets, Teal, White Pelicans, Neotropical Cormorant). I then headed inland across the ferry to Port Aransas Pass. The inner bay was entirely filled with birds.
Blogs
The Netherlands adopts open document formats
The Dutch government has taken a step in the right direction by mandating electronic documents be stored in open formats. Data formats are important for archival of public documents. Technology changes over time and documents can become orphaned when the software that created them is no longer available.
Back home
NCEAS was great. Met some cool folks. Renewed connections. Man, I miss the intellectual atomsphere at NCEAS. Lots of fun. Of course now I'm way overcommittted for the next decade or so...
Quintessential NCEAS moment
Overheard at dinner: "Hi, nice to meet you. Where are you from.... You know, I think we're coauthors on a paper together!"