Oh boy, have we got things to write about! We were already backed up with need-to-get-to material (court hearings, telephone conversations, permitting processes, advertisements, Indiana matters– and more). But we learned and experienced so much at our first Pipeline Safety Trust conference that now we’re really in the woods. It’s going to take us a while to sort through our notes and say all that we’ve got to say. Which means, of course: a new series!

In lieu of a first entry in that series (coming up, we hope, right quick), here’s a quick rundown of some (not all) of the highlights of our conference experience (in random order):

• Mark Rosekind of the NTSB reminding everyone of how Enbridge ignored their own 10-minute rule
• Ben Gotschall (brilliant) on milk
• Kim Savage (cutting and wise) on minding your manners
• Beth Wallace (with aplomb) brooking no nonsense from TransCanada execs
• Anthony Swift on rhetoric versus reality
• Legal confabulations (way out of my depth) with Sara Gosman and Rebecca Craven
• Sharing fried alligator with Mike Watza
• Hearing Glenn Archambault’s horrifying story over a stiff drink (the only way to endure that particular tale)
• Learning about whales’ olfactory sense from an actual whale hunter, Rosemary Ahtuangaruak
• Gabe Scott reminding us that differences matter
• Deb Miller and Sue Connolly nearly exploding when Enbridge’s Denise Hamsher got defensive about Marshall
• Breakfast with fellow Hoosier native Nate Pavlovic
• Terrible Bourbon Street daiquiris with Mike O’Leary (and others)
• Carl Weimer with a face full of beignets
• Kim Savage’s (extraordinarily well-behaved) 9-year old son asking me, “Mr. Jeff, did you ever study chemistry?”