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AACR random blogging I

Having gone to two meetings in less than two weeks, I’ve noticed something different about how I approach meetings. Surgical meetings often reflect the truly bizarre nature of surgeon personalities. For example, the meeting in San Diego that I went to had one session that started at–I kid you not–6 AM. True, they did lure us in with a full breakfast, the only session that offered more than coffee and the occasional snack, but even for a surgeon getting up to show up at such an early session is a bit brutal. Back when I was younger, I would actually get up to go to that session, because it was traditionally about the latest advances in breast cancer treatment. Over time, I’ve come to realize that it’s not the end of the world if you miss the occasional lecture or symposium at these meetings, and I usually don’t show up anymore before the (marginally) more civilized hour of 8 AM. Unless a talk really, really–really–interests me (or unless it’s a session where I myself am giving a talk), I just won’t get up that early anymore.

That was describing a relatively small meeting where all the sessions are held at a single hotel, a meeting where I could, in essence, roll out of bed, get all cleaned up, and wander downstairs. Here at the AACR, I have the misfortune of being at the second farthest hotel from the convention center of all the meeting hotels. It’s well north of Dupont Circle on Connecticut Avenue. The AACR runs shuttle buses between all the hotels and the meeting, but I discovered that it can take close to a half hour for the shuttle running to my hotel to get to the meeting in rush hour DC traffic. I’m beginning to wonder if taking the Metro would be faster.

What that means is that I’m even less likely to make it to early sessions. The AACR runs some “Meet the Expert” sunrise sessions, some of which look fairly interesting. None of them, however, rise to the level where I’m willing to get up and be ready to catch a shuttle bus by 6:30 AM to make it to the talks on time.

I must be getting old. Either that, or I’m becoming more sane than I used to be. Maybe a little bit of both.

By Orac

Orac is the nom de blog of a humble surgeon/scientist who has an ego just big enough to delude himself that someone, somewhere might actually give a rodent's posterior about his copious verbal meanderings, but just barely small enough to admit to himself that few probably will. That surgeon is otherwise known as David Gorski.

That this particular surgeon has chosen his nom de blog based on a rather cranky and arrogant computer shaped like a clear box of blinking lights that he originally encountered when he became a fan of a 35 year old British SF television show whose special effects were renowned for their BBC/Doctor Who-style low budget look, but whose stories nonetheless resulted in some of the best, most innovative science fiction ever televised, should tell you nearly all that you need to know about Orac. (That, and the length of the preceding sentence.)

DISCLAIMER:: The various written meanderings here are the opinions of Orac and Orac alone, written on his own time. They should never be construed as representing the opinions of any other person or entity, especially Orac's cancer center, department of surgery, medical school, or university. Also note that Orac is nonpartisan; he is more than willing to criticize the statements of anyone, regardless of of political leanings, if that anyone advocates pseudoscience or quackery. Finally, medical commentary is not to be construed in any way as medical advice.

To contact Orac: [email protected]

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