UDC793: Travel. Leisure. Pursuits

Amtrak 148: WAS to PHL

2012-02-01T14:52:00.001-05:00

Track B11. Off for DPLA things.

Chinese New Year parade, Washington, DC

2012-01-29T14:31:00.001-05:00

Aboard the Morpho, from Gamboa to Barro Colorado Island

2012-01-24T12:30:00.000-05:00

Being based in Washington, DC, it's great to be able to go out to where Smithsonian research is happening in the field. This month I had the great opportunity to visit the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. My first two days were in Panama City where I visted our library at the Tupper Center. But on 17 January, I boarded a bus with colleagues from the Encyclopedia of Life and invited guests from around the world to Gamboa. There, we boarded one of the large contingent of Smithsonian boats, The Morpho, for the hour long ride across Lake Gatun to Barro Colorado Island (BCI). On the Lake (which is a part of the Panama Canal) our smaller boat glided past the large freighters from around the world. Coming on the BCI field station, the buildings perched on the side of the island with the docks below), was a bit like something from a Joseph Conrad novel (had he written about Central America). On the island, we had a very good and productive meeting and some great wildlife watching.

American Airlines 1476: DFW to DCA

2012-01-23T21:35:00.001-05:00

Gate 27

Creatures of the Night, a hike up the Fausto trail, Barro Colorado Island

2012-01-23T19:27:00.000-05:00

After a long day in a meeting room (albeit a wonderfully air conditioned meeting room), a great dinner in the dinning hall, and some libations and conviviality with the rest of the group, a bunch of us decided to take a night hike up one of the trails. Flashlights and cameras in hand, we headed up one of the trails in search of creatures of the night. Didn't take long to score a nice find, a pair of tarantulas. One calmly sitting beside the trail and the other nearby just poking out of her burrow. Other highlights of the walk include a small leaf frog, a metalic shield bug (my find), a small mantis, a wonderfully camouflauged spider, a millipede that seemed happy to pose for photos, and another large spider busy working on its web. I turned back after about 90 minutes, but the rest of the group carried on for another hour. More photos from Katja are here.

BHL and FBHL at Cedars Social

2012-01-22T19:01:00.001-05:00

That would be Friends of BHL

Academic housing/Field station comparisons

2012-01-22T13:05:00.000-05:00

So, a while back, I did a little comparison of some of the different academic housing facilities that I'd been too. The Academia Sinaca in Taipei, Trelease House at the Missouri Botanical Garden, and Swope Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole.

Well, now, I have to add another to that list, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute field station on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) on Lake Gatun in Panama.

The BCI facility was pretty fun; much more rustic than any of the others. I was in a unit in one of the older buildings. I shared a room with William Ulate (and a pretty good sized Huntsman spider). Rooms didn't have any A/C (but did have fans). The best part of the room though, was location. Great to be out in the jungle, Howler monkeys to wake you in the morning; the friendly Huntsman sitting on the bathroom light switch (and not in bed). The food was also fabulous. We had set breakfast, lunch and dinner times. Some really great rice and beans; various meats, tortillas, and a really picante Panamanian hot sause. Oh, and different juices all the time (tamarind, mango, papaya, even orange).

No beer in the vending machines (like at the Academia), well, come to think of it, there were no vending machines at all. How does it compare to the others? I think I'd have to bump this up to the top of my list. Only thing lacking was wifi in the room, but that gave us all a chance to hang out in the dinning hall and mingle while being online.

Dealey Plaza

2012-01-22T10:24:00.001-05:00

The comforting glow of our electronic devices

2012-01-22T09:57:00.000-05:00

In the olden days, when researchers were out in the field, they would gather around the campfire. At our meeting for the Global EOL Content Summit at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Barro Colorado Island, Panama, we didn't have a campfire. So, when the sun set and we gathered on a balcony overlooking the docks for an after dinner drink, all we had, besides our own company, was the comforting glow of a wide array of electronic devices.

Texas sized, er shaped waffle

2012-01-22T09:31:00.001-05:00

Dallas, TX

Some of the animals of Barro Colorado Island

2012-01-21T15:20:00.000-05:00

Some of the animals of Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Seen during the Global EOL Content Summit.

Agouti
Howler Monkey
Dung Beetle
Great Tinamou
Army ants
Leaf-cutting ants
Bats
Tarantulas
Hunstman spiders
Mantids
Leaf frogs

Here the EOL Collection started for the meeting.

@pilsks at #Alamw12 on #bhlib, TL2, Index Animalium, and linked data

2012-01-21T12:19:00.002-05:00

@ChrisFreeland talking @BioDivLibrary at #alamw12 #alcts

2012-01-21T11:59:00.001-05:00

Juan Valdez coffee at MIA

2012-01-20T20:35:00.001-05:00

I miss them in DC

American Airlines 1717: MIA to DFW

2012-01-20T20:25:00.001-05:00

Gate 20

American Airlines 2192: PTY to MIA

2012-01-20T18:55:00.001-05:00

Gate 25

My spidey friend ... not quite Canberra sized, but big

2012-01-19T09:46:00.000-05:00

I'm sharing my room here at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute field station with William Ulate from our BHL partner at the Missouri Botanical Garden and this nice sized Huntsman spider. Not nearly as big as the species that I met in the Atlas of Living Australia conference room in June 2010, but pretty big and speedy.

This time round, I have a scale for the people who believe that the spider grew in size with each telling of the story. As you can see, s/he is just about as big as a hotel key card. Plus, s/he is staying in the shower (at least I hope s/he stays in the shower).

Sadly, I have only William and the spider for company; the folks in the next room down had a bat sleep over last night.

My presentation for the Global EOL Content Summit

2012-01-18T21:37:00.001-05:00

Photo by William Ulate

The Biodiversity Heritage Library: One Year Update: 2011 - 2012. Global EOL Content Summit. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Barro Colorado Island, Panama. 17 January 2012.

Here's my presentation at the meeting. Thanks to William for taking the photos.

The Biodiversity Heritage Library: One Year Update: 2011 - 2012

View more presentations from Martin Kalfatovic

Global EOL Content meeting dinner

2012-01-18T18:58:00.001-05:00

Barro Colorado Island

Minimalist hotel origami for the @OuttaContext museum

2012-01-17T20:26:00.001-05:00

Hotel origami, a photo by martin_kalfatovic on Flickr.

Currently located at the Central Park Hotel and Casino, Panama City, Panama

Charge books here

2012-01-16T15:18:00.001-05:00

Part of STRI map collection, Smithsonian Libraries, Panamá

2012-01-16T14:53:00.001-05:00

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute visit

2012-01-16T13:21:00.001-05:00

Busy day at the library and meetings with research staff

Good morning Panamá!

2012-01-16T07:09:00.001-05:00

Downtown from Central Park Hotel

American Airlines 2189: MIA to PTY

2012-01-15T11:34:00.001-05:00

Martin Kalfatovic
udc793.blogspot.com

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