The first (annual) Pacific Astronomy & Telescope Show is over. Although the attendance was only about 1,400, most people that I talked to thought it was a success and would happen again next year. It was certainly nice to have the cleaner environment of the Pasadena Convention Center, as opposed to the star party at RTMC. Perhaps I imagined still finding a little sand in the display from its RTMC excursion a year and a half ago.

Kate Hutton tries to recruit some new AAVSO talent at the Pacific Astronomy & Telescope Show in Pasadena, CA, September 13-14, 2008.

I also felt that I had more influx of people interested in trying variable star observing. There were perhaps a dozen people that I thought might actually try it. Some said they had tried everything else so far, so they may not "stick". But you never know. There were a few people who had been members, who had let their membership lapse for one reason or another. There were also a handful of educators, astronomy or math instructors from middle school to college, who were looking for projects their students could do. I told a lot of people about epsilon Aur. I told a lot of people, who thought VS observing was hard, about the mentor program. I told a lot of people that, aside from the city of Pasadena, which only had a pile of maps, no live representative, we were probably the oldest organization represented in the pavilion that day. We needed some new blood.

—Kate Hutton