This week I'd like to share a few poignant moments which took place during the past few years in my encounters with the "male species" of science. I can absolutely attest to their dedication to their work.

I am after all, a woman, and of course now and then I try to act like one. But knowing how to work with the public and their expectations I learned a long time ago to "dress for the event" and so I tried my best to wear the most appropriate attire during my conversations with our men of science.

One day on a call to see someone in Menlo Park at the USGS I decided to adorn myself in "bimbo-wear." You see, I thought I'd get more mileage in discussion if it seemed that I wasn't very bright. So what is bimbo-wear? It's a very tight tiny white t-shirt, a very short khaki mini skirt, tights and sandals. You know, perfectly cute.

So I was sitting in the office of one scientist and he paid no notice at all to my appearance. During our conversation another one enters the room and starts talks about sports and he never even noticed I was in the room. I was really starting to wonder if I had gone invisible. But as they say the "third time is the charm" I found much better results when visiting with scientist number three. This guy really had it altogether. Not only could he speak coherently on the subject at hand, but about every minute or two looked back at me. Not in the eye, but at my chest. I learned a lot from him, far more than with the initial people I spoke with.

But being in a quandary as to how to meet a scientist who might spend some quality time with me discussing the issues that I feel are important seemed difficult. After my first day at the AGU a few years ago I wrote to another scientist who knows me personally and asked him how it might be possible to capture someone's attention. He said to wear a very large, highly rare rock around my neck and I might find someone who would notice the rock and engage in conversation. Well, I didn't have any large, rare rocks that year, and decided no matter what, "rock-wear" was not for me.

So as to how "this woman" may ever meet a scientist who wants to discuss earthquake prediction over a cup of coffee, a beer, or a glass of wine, I haven't got a clue. But I do know one thing, when they go to conventions, they are there to visit their friends in "the club." They don't go to socialize with the natives. If you seem like you to know to much, they don't want to talk to you and if you know to little, you get the same results. They don't have the patience to give you the ABC's of understanding geo-physical data. Sometimes it's hard to be a woman.

But along the way I did have one true revelation. I knew Don from Hollister from the computer for quite some time. But not where we would talk on the phone. So on my way home from my first Parkfield trip I realized as I drove past one city to the next, how many people I had contact with from message boards who lived in those cities and yet I had no way to call them and invite them for a cup of coffee so we could say hello. Well I wrote Don when I got home and that very day he called me and gave me his phone number.

Actually I thought he was rather a home schooled country boy, but I was really wrong about that. The next trip to Parkfield he gave a mutual message board friend, my daughter and I the courtesy of driving us to Parkfield from Gilroy. We had the usual casual conversation and enjoyed his company, but it wasn't until he was talking to Duane Hamann, the Parkfield school teacher that suddenly, without any advance notice, I realized this guy was no country bumpkin. It was like he was speaking in a whole different language. Suddenly I had the revelation of some modicum of what he knew as he continued this conversation. His years of study showed he was far more intelligent than I ever imagined.

My adventures in seismo-land have proven to be most interesting. While some percentage of scientists do have the time to speak to we lay-people, most of them are far to busy. I doubt I will ever meet one who wants to have that friendly discussion on earthquake prediction, as the word prediction seems to be a word that is taboo to them in public.

From bimbo-wear, to haute couture to geo-wear, clothing doesn't seem to be of much help at all.

Petra