AAAS 2008: Boston can be lovely in February, really it can.
I’m going to venture out on a limb and guess that February is not peak tourist season in Boston. Sure, Boston is the logical place for a science extravaganza like the annual AAAS meeting. The city can’t be beat for the sheer concentration of high quality science (both in Boston and in Cambridge, its scholarly neighbor across the river). But oh, those Boston winters! So dismal and cold.
But today is glorious: beautiful blue skies and a bit of a chill, but not so cold that I had to break out the big puffy coat that makes me look like a 5-ft tall (American) football player. The meeting has only just begun and hardly anyone is here, but surely the good weather will set an optimistic tone – if anyone manages to sneak out of the cavernous interior of the Hynes Convention Center to get a little sun.