The second day of the conference has been eventful. One speaker went horizontal – fainted dead away – in the middle his talk. Apparently he is fine, but it was hard to tell as the paramedics took him away in a stretcher. It could have been nerves coupled with jetlag, or some bad tuna, or too much sake. I think, though, that he was done in by trying to make EUV masks work.

At lunch I was invited by some of the conference organizers to provide English lessons. As background, the conference, in Japan and run by Japanese, is carried on entirely in English. Now I am a typical American – unable to communicate in any language other than English, and just barely so in that language – so I have immense respect for anyone that is brave enough to commit to another language for an important endeavor. The people running the conference take their responsibilities very seriously, and asked for help in learning appropriate English phrases needed for conducting the business of conferencing. Is it better to say “In the interest of keeping on schedule, please see the author during the break if you have questions”, or “I’m tired of listening to this guy talk – let’s move on to the next paper”? I did my best to encourage authentic and appropriate phrases.

The day ended with a panel discussion from 6 – 8pm. The astute student of time might note the conflict between the timing of a such a technically fulfilling event and the emptiness of my stomach. Fortunately, the conference organizers anticipated this conflict and provided chips and beer. Less than fortunately, the beer was gone within nanoseconds of its availability – only the fast movers in this business reap the rewards of success. What did I learn from the panel? That panels always go better with beer.