I returned today from the ScienceOnline 2010 conference. It was a jam-packed few days of talks, talks, and more talks. By the time I arrived home, I had to decompress from all of the chatter. One thing I didn't do at the conference this year was blog or tweet. Indeed, with 365 days out of the year to spend online, it was a treat to actually put down the computer for a couple of days and speak to people face-to-face and even share a meal or a drink. In the video above, Anton Zuiker, who co-founded the conference with Bora Zivkovic, talks about ideas behind the creation of the ScienceOnline 2010 conference (originally known as the Science Blogging conference). This year's conference only fit around 250 attendees and left behing a long, unhappy waiting list. According to Bora, the conference will very likely grow next year and have additional financial support. The list of sponsoring organizations for this year's conference is already quite impressive. Thanks to Anton and Bora for creating this amazing event.

Apple's iTunes has hundreds if not thousands of university lectures available for download from such top schools as MIT, Harvard, UC Berkeley, and Stanford. Last Spring, I came across a wonderful survey course called Quantitative Aspects of Global Environmental Problems taught by Professor John Harte at UC Berkeley in the Spring 2009 semester. The videos are available through the Berkeley Webcasts website as well as iTunes.

In his last lecture of the course (#32), Dr. Harte presented his Eight-Fold Path to Personal, Professional, and Environmental Happiness. One point, which I found particularly relevant in this day in which climate change research has reached what one friend of mine called "bubble" proportions, is what Dr. Harte calls The Tyranny of the Most Important Problem. It's recommended listening for anyone who has wondered if their research is "important enough" in the face of the next great global calamity. It could be the one lecture that saves you from ditching your favorite area of belly button research in favor of running climate models for the next ten years--that is, of course, until the next Most Important Problem comes around. I transcribed a part of his discussion here, which occurs 43 minutes into the video.