Last week, I received a very special honor. The Astronomical Association of Northern California gave me their Professional Astronomer award:
For his outstanding effort and continuous support in distinguishing and fostering amateur astronomy.
This was very cool. I did a lot of talks and such while I still lived in northern California, especially at amateur society meetings. Those are among my favorites! Not only am I among people who love the sky as much as I do, they also frequently have star parties afterwards, and I get to use big 'scopes without having to set them up or tear them down. W00t! We decided to do the ceremony via Skype, so I actually did the whole Sorry I couldn't make it but here's my acceptance speech from a remote location Oscars-type thing. It's now up on YouTube: Unfortunately, there's an echo, making it a little difficult to understand; plus as an added bonus Kenneth Frank, who gave me the award, is in a dark room (it's a planetarium, after all) so all you really see is his bow tie. But there you go. Again, I'd like to thank AANC and the SFAA. I'd do what I do anyway, but it's nice to get recognized for it too. Oh -- they posted lots of pictures of the event, too. Hey... don't I know her?
