It is a beautiful morning in Atlanta. The mockingbirds are singing; the cherry trees are in bloom; small children are running around in the fountain in the park. Too bad there are so few chemists here to appreciate it.

As I checked my suitcase into rolly daycare this morning (the bag check that minds about 800 bags over the conference) I realized the atmosphere had changed. Most food outlets are closed. Those that are open are practically stockless, and superintended by bored-looking people flipping the pages of novels. The exposition is now a landscape of wooden crates. The conference center as a whole is filled with the voluminous hush of the Death Star on a government holiday. I do feel sorry for those who give their presentations today.

Just once, I would like to see an ACS conference end with a bang. Why not group the hotshot presentations together at the end and then throw a huge open-bar party with a cocktail recipe contest? I can only imagine what marvelous and strange drinks chemists could come up with.