Dear dialists: I can't tell you what a pleasure it was for me to finally put faces to the names of some of the wonderful people who I have met on this list over the past year. And thanks to the organizers who managed to squeeze a great deal of speakers and activities into such a short amount of time.
At the end of the conference during the general meeting, I made two suggestions that I think are worthy topics to pursue as articles in the Compendium and maybe at the next conference. First, I noticed that several people complained that the Compendium contained too much higher mathematics. I must admit that I too get frustrated reading some of the articles. However, I don't think that we should limit the publication of these articles as they are indeed important to the advancement of dialling. There are two things that we could do to make the Compendium more useful and enjoyable to the average dialist. First, someone could write an article or series of articles on basic beginning trigonometry as it applies to dialing. The definition of the sine and cosine laws, the properties of a right triangle, how to use a log table, how to use a scientific calculator, examples of how to use the formulas to calculate hour lines for different dials and Roger Bailey's sun position formulas are a few topics which come to mind. I know that when I first started, I had to buy a trig textbook and try to teach myself the math. This was very difficult and not much fun. If I had only had a little help.... Maybe people would complain less about the math if they understood it better. But please don't ask me to write it, as I think there are people more qualified than me for this project. Secondly, I was surprised by how few professional full-time dial makers attended the conference. Maybe they weren't there because they don't exist. I saw a lot of dialing hobbiests with paper, plastic or wooden sundials. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I really think that sundials should be built to last. I think it is a pity that more of the wonderful designs that we saw aren't being built out of more durable materials such as metal and stone. For this reason, I see a definite need for more articles, written by craftsmen and artists, on the practical aspects of sundial construction using metals and stone in particular. More in depth coverage of this sort should be considered for the next conference and future Compendiums. I think that people like Tony Moss, Kate Pond, Robert Adzema, and myself have a great deal to offer along these lines. Thanks for letting me spout off. Please don't get the wrong impression, as I really did enjoy the Conference. But it's like I told those of you who offered to proofread my Sundial Owner's Manual: Tell me what's wrong with it, not what's right, so I can fix it. John Carmichael
