So, the epic voyage begins. Striding out into a brand new world (well, not entirely, I'll explain later), Zebo and I have made it to the Transmitting Science course on Geometric Morpohometrics. The course was being held, as with many of Transmitting Science's courses and workshops, in the picturesque surroundings of the Pyreneean foothills, beneath the shadow of Montserrat, at the Centre de Restoracio i Interpretacio Palaeontologic (CRIP). Before the relatively brief, if rather sleep-inducing, voyage from Placa de Catalunya to the field centre/hostel at CRIP, Zebo decided he would like to taste some local ale at a friendly (if rather American) tapas bar. Unfortunately, Catalonian law dictates no alcohol is to be served to convicted golf club covers, how ever much they bray in protest. In light of this, we shared a Coke.
On arrival at the field centre in the mountains, 15 humans, two equids and a child converged on the labs of the CRIP - a fascinating place, most famous for the local legend Pau (Pierolapithicus catalunicus). We were lead by co-founder of Transmitting Science, Dr. Sole Estaban, without whom we would not have been able to attend such an informative course. The scientists at the Pierola site have discovered a wide array of fossil material, including turtles, rhinoceros, a wide variety of primates, and even the odd dinosaur! Due to the mountainous nature of the landscape, one occasionally found oneself above the clouds - not something Zebo was entirely familiar with! For more information on the centre, and the great restoration and preservation work they do there, find them at www.crip.cat.
Over the ensuing days, it can be said that a great many things were learned. On the academic side, our multi-cultural, multi-lingual group discovered the many delights of applying geometric morphometrics (method for analysis of shape, independent of size and orientation) to 3D scans in Landmark Editor - a free software package that can be used to visualise and place landmark data onto scans, such as horse bones. This software is the product of the Institute for Data Analysis and Visualisation at the University of California, and is being used dramatically increase the options biologists, palaeontologists and even mineralogists have at their disposal for assessing shape data in three dimensions. More info on the program can be found at graphics.idav.ucdavis.edu/research/EvoMorph.
Throughout the course, we also dabbled in Morphologika, MorphoJ, PAST (which since its renovations has become rather odd!), Meshlab, Checkpoint - the list goes on. It can safely be said that much knowledge was gleaned from our excellent instructor, the effervescent Dr. Melissa Tallman, and that no matter what organisms we are planning to study, we will now know how to apply the programs to answer our question...well, for the most part!
It must be said that these computationally intensive skills were not the only things learnt on this excursion - the conveniently located bar not 30 seconds walk from the classroom provided the setting for a diverse range of discussion topics. Subjects included (but were not limited to):
1) the orientation of the swastica, and how it would be so much easier if the Nazis had taken the mean average shape of the symbol so as not to confuse dyslexic graduate students in the 2010s (points clockwise, for those still unsure);
2) the incontrovertible fact that a yard of ale is nothing more or less than three feet in height;
3) the reenactment of 18th Century naval battles by hermaphroditic sea slugs, firing sperm at one another a'broadside, presumably in order to minimise foreplay and get on in life;
4) various and nefarious regional songs, including Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey, which lead us on a greasy slope, past Nelly the Elephant, to the subject of Christmas. Frankly, I must say that a quail inside a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey inside a goose inside a swan is an inspired idea for Christmas dinner...but Turducken will suffice for the moment;
5) and finally, the apparent confusion and utter division of opinion as to whether one should or should not apply phylogenetic corrections to ones data, resulting in a 2hr debate with no tangible outcome!
At one point, Zebo became so frustrated with the utter futility of one conversation (something about a siege and a carrier pigeon...) that he was driven to fags and booze:
All in all, the course was a roaring success in my eyes, and I hope for the rest of the participants also. Both Zebo and I would like to thank Sole, Lissa and the fine people at the hostel for their organisation, their patience, their culinary expertise respectively...and, of course, their coffee. It has been a memorable trip, I have made many good contacts and hopefully some good friends, all of whom I hope to see on the academic circuit in the near future.
That's all folks. Until the next instalment of Zebo's Adventures, it's goodbye from me, and its *neigh-neigh* from him.
