Got back from attending the SAIMM 2005 conference. It was a good conference, with some really great papers.
I gave my paper on Thursday. It went remarkably better than when I gave it at the Centenary of Flotation conference. I think I still looked a bit nervous, and didn’t really sell the work as well as I could. It was suggested that I perhaps go for some coaching (Occupational Therapy, or breathing / self-confidence). I think this is a good idea, and will definitely look into it.
The conference dinner was great. It happened on Thursday evening @ Moyo at Spier. It was the first time that I’ve been to Spier, and my feelings are that could come across as a bit kitch, me being a ‘local’, but I think the atmosphere still holds it together and it did come across as classy.
Wine tasting
The evening started out with some wine tasting. I was lucky enough to be able to volunteer as a wine pourer. This had it’s own benefits :). My favourite wine that we poured was the Anura Pinotage Reserve (2002). It was a bit young, and hence quite tannony, but once you get past that, it felt very smooth and rather fruity. Other wines that we poured were the Cordoba Crescendo (2002), a 70% cab franc, which is an unusual wine for SA, and I really don’t see what all the fuss is about with it, and a Boschendal Cabernet Sauvignon (2002), which is an outstanding Cab Sav. I’m not much of a Cab Sav person though. I can’t remember the whites, as I’m not that much into them. That being said, there was one that I’d happily drink any day :).