Past Emails 2024
These are some important prior emails for Duck 2024. They are ordered from newest to oldest. Click the subject line below to scroll to the email.
Email topics (most recent to least recent)
Two more announcements
Dear 2024 Duckees,
1) Would you be willing to reschedule your talk for an earlier day? One hallmark of Duck is that we try to be flexible in scheduling, so that we can optimally take advantage of weather conditions on the Outer Banks. The current forecast (which may or may to be correct, of course) predicts rain all day on Sunday and Monday, with temperatures in the low 60’s. In contrast, late in the week is supposed to be sunny with temperatures around 70.
So, we may be looking for volunteers to move their talks from later in the week to Sunday or Monday afternoon. This would then give us more time to enjoy the (predicted) nicer weather in the latter half of the week. Such rescheduling will be decided collectively, and possibly at the last minute. But it won’t be an option unless some folks are prepared to move their talks up. So, if you can finish preparing your talk in advance, and you are amenable to rescheduling, please let me know. I will keep track of your offer and then we will play it by ear.
2) Having trouble keeping track of all these emails? Just in case you are, Michael has been collecting them (or at least the more recent ones) in a section of the “For Current Duckees” tab on the Duck website. Just click on the link labeled “Past emails.”Once Michael posts this, there will be an email hidden on the Duck website about where to find emails hidden on the Duck website.See you all soon!
Don
Duck Covid testing details
Hello 2024 Duckees!!
I'm SO excited to see all of you this weekend at Duck, where I will be serving as your Public Health Officer. Please make sure you have 4 Covid tests on hand now, or email me if you haven't been able to get enough and I can help. We would also ask that you bring at least 2 high-quality masks (N95 or similar), in case masking is needed at any point during the conference.
As you know, we need everyone to test just before leaving for Duck. Once you've tested negative, please enter this happy news in our Covid testing google doc and you're good to go (no need to email me). Of course, if you get even the faintest glimmer of a positive test line, please get in touch with Don or me (778-891-2243) right away. If you have some covid-like symptoms but test negative, please also reach out to us, so we can come up with a plan (which might include masking for a couple days or other precautions).
When you arrive at Duck, you'll need to test again. As in previous years, we plan to have an outdoor "testing lounge" with refreshments, at least during the prime arrival times (if you arrive late at night, please just test in your car, on the porch, or at ORF). You MUST test on arrival and enter your result in the Google doc *before* entering any of the houses.
Finally, everyone will test Monday morning (or 2 days after arrival, if you don't arrive Saturday). That should be it, but if you have any symptoms during the week, please test right away (which is why everyone should bring 4 tests). And if you have any questions at all about any of this, feel free to ask me anytime! Here's to a week of covid-free, dolphin-packed fun!
:) liz
Parking at the houses
Dear 2024 Duckees with cars:
We have a lot of people bringing cars to the conference this year, which is likely to make parking a problem. Please adhere to the following guidelines:
1) Please do not fill every available parking space at the main house, Ten Broeck Dunes—we need to have room for chefs to unload supplies and for new arrivals to check in before being directed to their houses. If you are assigned to a different house, please move your car from the Ten Broeck Dunes driveway as soon as you are checked in.
2) I customarily park inside the garage to the left of the front stairway as you face Ten Broeck Dunes. As I regularly need to run errands, please do not block this garage, even when the door is closed or my car is out.
3) There may be room to park one vehicle in the garage to the right the stairway—I’m not sure because I don’t remember anyone ever trying to do so. One reason for this is that this garage will certainly be blocked much of the time. However, if you don’t intend to use your car during the week, and you are able to park in this garage, you are welcome to do so.
4) In general, please do not park so that you box in other cars, either at Ten Broeck Dunes or at the other houses.
5) The other two houses have limited parking, but are close to a community parking area near where you turn from Orions Road onto Columbia Road, where our houses are. You can see these lots, labeled “Limited Community Parking," on the housing Map in the Houses and Maps section of our website. You are welcome to leave your car there for the week. (Word of warning: One year when we had torrential rains the 10-20 feet of the parking lot closest to the ocean flooded—you may want to park a little higher on the slope, just in case).
6) Life’s a Beach shares a driveway with an adjacent house. Do not park on their side of the driveway. IF someone from there parks on our side of the driveway, please inform me.
7) Parking on the roads, the grass, or the sand is strictly prohibited and may result in towing and/or fines.
8) Given that our houses are in a gated community, Buck Island, your cars should be relatively safe wherever you leave them in this neighborhood. Nonetheless, I don’t advise leaving personal items where they may be visible in your car.
Thanks for your understanding and compliance.
Don
Misc info and the Duck web site
Dear 2024 Duckees,
The 37th annual Duck Conference is one week away! I hope you are as excited as I am! (If not, I don’t want to know.)
If you haven’t already done so, I strongly encourage you to take a look at the information “For Current Duckees" on the Duck Conference website:
Welcomeducksocialcognition.org
The Password to access this section of the website is Duck37. Michael and I have worked very hard to get this new website up and running, and we will be sooooo disappointed if you don’t go have a look.
On the website you will find lots of useful information and reminders, including what to pack, how to behave, how to structure your talk, and what to do when your audience suddenly jumps up and goes to the window because of a dolphin sighting (Hint: join them!) And, as you presumably know, this section of the website is also where we have posted the schedules and assignments for this year’s conference.
Just a couple of things to pay extra attention to:
1) Maps and Houses. Photos on this page show you exactly what our houses look like and where they are located in Buck Island. Come to the main house, Ten Broeck Dunes, when you arrive. There is also some guidance regarding what address to plug into your phone or GPS and a picture of what the entrance to our community (Buck Island) looks like from Highway 12, to help you know where to turn. You will need a gate code to enter Buck Island, and when I get it, I will either email it to you or post it on the website, or both.
2). There is now a section of the website describing a typical daily schedule. It indicates that talks begin at 8:30 AM. However on Sunday morning we will actually start at 9:00 AM to give those from the west coast a little extra sleep time. (We’d prefer that noone wake up cranky on the first day).
3) There is a section of the web site on riptides, which you have probably not bothered with. You should. Especially if you plan on swimming in the ocean. Riptides are real and really dangerous and with all the storms we’ve been having here in the Southeast, could be especially severe this year. We haven’t lost any Duckees to riptides yet, but we have actually had people get caught in them. Please read what to do if this happens to you while swimming in the ocean. (If it happens to you while swimming in the pool, you’ve probably had too much to drink, and should just get out and sober up.)
4) If you need to refresh your memory on our Covid precautions this year, there is a section that details these, and will remind you what supplies to bring. Also note that you should try to avoid risky large group gatherings this week if you can. The newest Covid variants in the US right now are called FLiRT and they are 20% more contagious than those from just a few months ago. (Nice of the CDC to come up with an acronym that is ambiguous as to whether these variants are really interested in you or just teasing.) In any case, they don’t appear to be any more dangerous than previous variants.
5) There is a section of the For Current Duckees pages on proper conference behavior. It doesn’t describe exactly what such behavior is, but I suspect you can figure out for yourself what it isn’t. Suffice it to say that we expect everyone to contribute to a positive, supportive atmosphere. No smoking, no drug use, no bullying, no harassment, no drinking to excess, no soliciting, no hostile questions at talks, no service without shoes. Ok, scratch that last one—shoes are definitely optional.
Not included on the website, for obvious reasons, is the weather forecast for the conference. As you can imagine, the weather on the coast is both variable and difficult to predict. The current long range forecast for our week in Corolla is for high temperatures of 74 to 79 degrees, and low temperatures from 64 to 67 degrees with a 31% or greater chance of rain or thunderstorms every day. This forecast could be way off. In fact, predicted temperatures have dropped several degrees since just last night, and the odds of rain are diminishing as well. So at this rate, by Saturday we could be dealing with below freezing temperatures and a negative probability of rain. In other words, take weather forecasts for the Outer Banks with even more grains of salt than you do most weather forecasts.
Just keep in mind when packing that coastal temperatures can range from quite chilly to quite hot and you will want suitable clothing for both possibilities. And, apparently, also for rain. Sorry folks, but this is one aspectt of the conference that even the Duck Advisory Council can’t help with.
Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Don
Covid protocol for 2024 Duck Conference
Dear Duckees,
The Duck Advisory Council has now looked over your responses to the Covid questionnaire, which revealed quite a range of opinion about the seriousness of persistent Covid and the precautions we should take against it.
However, it was clear that we have a number of attendees (almost a third of those coming) who have health issues personally or at home that could make exposure to Covid quite serious. Out of concern for this group, we have largely decided to adopt the same precautions as last year.
We have made a few minor tweaks in the wording of our Covid protocol, which is posted on-line and appended to the bottom of this email. For the safety of those who are vulnerable, we would greatly appreciate your adherence to these prescriptions.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me or one of the other members of the Duck Advisory Council.
Don Carlston
COVID PRECAUTIONS
Our recent Covid survey suggests that this years' Duckees have as broad a range of opinions about Covid as does the general public. Some of you feel we needn't take any precautions whereas others feel we need to adhere to the same protocol as last year.
The deciding factor for the Duck Advisory Committee is that just under a third of this year's Duckees report having health issues personally or back home that make Covid a continuing concern. Out of concern for this group, we have decided to maintain those precautions that don't impose much of a burden on other attendees.
So the Duck Advisory Committee would greatly appreciate your cooperation in helping to prevent Covid from being introduced into the conference by adhering to the following protocols:
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We ask that all attendees be vaccinated and boosted with the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZenica and/or J&J Covid Vaccines. Our understanding is that the effectiveness of vaccines wanes after about 6 months, and so unless you have had Covid recently, your booster should be more recent than that.
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We would like everyone to test themselves for Covid within a day of departing for the conference. If you test positive, we expect you to cancel. (False positive Covid tests are extremely rare, but if you are concerned, leave yourself time to verify test results with a PCR test).
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Please bring four Rapid Covid tests with them for periodic testing during the week. We will test everyone on arrival and additional tests are likely to be needed only if someone tests positive or develops symptoms.
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While we should take reasonable precautions at Duck, we do not currently anticipate that masking will be necessary there. However, just in case circumstances warrant it, we request that everyone bring at least two N95 or equivalent face masks with them. You may want to have one on the airplane anyway.
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We are requesting that all attendees take reasonable precautions to avoid exposure to Covid during the week prior to the conference. This includes taking whatever steps you can (e.g. masking) in high risk settings such as large groups and public transportation. The annoyance of masking when others aren't will be more than compensated for by having a worry-free Duck Conference.
Yes, we know all this is a pain. But we suspect that some of you would feel awful if you were responsible for the untimely demise of the conference organizer. Or anyone else, for that matter. So let's all do what we can to make this a fun and relaxed conference, where we can safely assume that everyone is safe from Covid!