A little of this and that...

so tonight i had the honor of attending chicago's hyde park historical society's annual dinner, in which dr. larry hawkins - the man in charge of the u of c's office of special programs - was awarded with an achievement award for his work providing low-income students with the opportunity to finish high school, pursue a college education, and be good citizens in their communities. doc hawkins is a spectacular human being who has a tremendous presence and charisma wherever he goes. the south side outreach program that i teach - kicp space explorers - is managed by the office of special program, hence my attendance at this event. well, a few more interesting things happened. first, in discussing the achievements of hyde park citizens, one speaker made the prediction that at next year's dinner, we'll be celebrating the future president of the united states BARACK OBAMA who, as most know, has spent a big part of his life here in hyde park. everyone, of course, cheered at that. secondly, i was fortunate to sit next to professor john carlstrom, one of the absolute nicest people in the astro department (well, after my own advisor, of course). well, john informed me of two very important things. first, the south pole telescope is going to be collecting real data "any day now," the weather has been miserable but apparently hopes remain high. secondly, i of course asked if he was a fan of house, since there had been a recent episode featuring a doctor getting sick while at the south pole without an opportunity to be evacuated. he confirmed a story i had heard recently, that a number of years ago, a female doctor diagnosed herself with a breast tumor, and was forced to perform a biopsy on herself! fortunately, the doctor was able to eventually receive treatment and is now fine, but these days there is a doctor, a surgeon, and a surgeon's assistant down there, so that these sorts of crises may be evaded. interesting stuff. overall, a good night with good food.