Welcome!

This is the conference blog for "40 Years of Pulsars: Millisecond Pulsars, Magnetars and More", held at McGill University, August 12-17 2007.

The blog provides a forum for discussion intended for conference participants, to enhance and amplify the experience at the conference. Topics can be of a scientific, administrative or practical nature.

This is a group and unmoderated blog, with contributions welcome from any conference participant, or from scientists with an interest in the conference subject. Contributers must be easily identifiable in their posts, by their username, or at least on their publicly available author-page: anonymous authorship is not permitted.

Not all participants will have contributed to a blog before, or even read one. Generally, this is an informal setting, like the waiting area in front of an elevator in your building. You can talk informally, free-wheelingly even.

Usually, people who haven't used a blog are over-cautious about contributing. They think the blog is "run" by the organizers, and therefore is a place for official and important information ("it's on the web! must be important!"). Actually, a blog is more like getting drinks after work -- someone may organize it, but anyone present can talk about whatever they like. So, speak up.

Graduate students are especially encouraged to post. In particular, as the conference begins, documenting the talks -- either though liveblogging, or perhaps we'll set up a wiki page -- would be extremely valuable. Bring your laptops, the WiFi is open and free in the conference room.