JMM
It occurs to me, as I prepare to join my panel this afternoon on Public Facing Math, that I’ve been to more Joint Math Meetings in the 7 years since I left academic math (3) than I did in the 17 years I was actually in math (2). I include my undergraduate years in that count because when I was a junior in college I went to Vancouver for the JMM and I met Cora Sadosky, which was probably my favorite conference ever.
Anyhoo I’m on my way to one of the highlights of any JMM, the HCSSiM breakfast, where we hang out with students and teachers from summers long ago and where I do my best to convince the director Kelly and myself that I should come back next summer to teach again. Then after that I spend 4 months at home convincing my family that it’s a great plan. Woohoo!
Besides the above plan, I plan to meet people in the hallways and gossip. That’s all I have ever accomplished here. I hope it is the official mission of the conference, but I’m not sure.
mathbabe 
Btw, I followed the link to Alice T. Schafer and found her educational experiments fascinating. Thanks for it.
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Kelly and the program (at UNH then before Hampshire) changed my life. He does that a lot, and the world is so much better for it! Back in the day, the federal government footed a lot of the bill via the NSF (because Sputnik). It’s so short-sighted of the US to not have that funding in place now. Krugman is right – we need an alien invasion.
Happy (antipodal?) Yellow Pig day!
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Indeed, having been involved in the organization, ABSOLUTELY the purpose is to stand around in the halls and gossip!
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Phew, I’m doing it right! 🙂
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