Sorry for the dearth of updates recently.  I flew to Oakland on Friday night, where Elaine picked me up and we drove to Davis for Picnic Day.  Picnic Day is believed to be the largest student-run event in the United States. I don't know when the last time I went was, although I know that it was during the Reagan administration.

I could tell the day was going to be warm, and in fact some people said it might have been the warmest one ever.  I was also worried about my allergies, and while I did sneeze more than usual, it wasn't as bad as I had feared it would be.  The Parade started at 10:10.  It started with the UC Davis marching band, and included many departments at UC Davis as well as groups belonging to the city of Davis, such as girl scout troops.

The parade ended around 11:15. My brother told me about the free popcorn at the Plant & Environmental Sciences building, so we went there next. Elaine and I took a quiz on identifying different plants, grasses, and legumes (given by the agronomy division), and we don't do so well.  I also found this timeline of tomato research.  If you can't read the caption, it says "Shang Fa Yang elucidates the pathway of ethylene biosynthesis, leading to many innovative ways to control plant growth and fruit ripening." The caption above highlights another Mann Lab scientist (Alan Bennett) saying "Alan Bennett's group clones the gene for polygalactouronase, a key enzyme involved in fruit softening."

We had lunch on the quad then went to the chem building, but the line for the magic show was ridiculously long.  So we went to the ARC pavillion for the doxie (dachshund) derby.

I was given two tickets to Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef's ice-cream social, so we went there next.  I saw a number of familiar faces, including Bob Kerr (my little league manager in 7th grade).  Here's E & I with the chancellor.

We went to the battle of the bands next, but I didn't take any pictures.

On the way back, I stopped by Mann Lab to see how Dad's tree is doing.  Its leaves are pretty.

Headed back on Sunday.