Mae l'ovannen! basically means I'm glad to meet you in Sindarin, one of the two fictional languages Tolkien created; it's the contemporary Elvish language of his stories. Literally, the phrase means You [formal] are well met, kinda like the way the Romans used to say it.
My name's David Batchelor. So, now that you know I'm a geek, let me specifically say that I'm a geogeek. Professionally, I'm a geochemist who specializes in meteorites and rocks from other worlds, and who teaches astronomy. One of the reasons I enjoy our Jeep runs is the chance to see places I wouldn't otherwise see. Some of you've already met me, 'cause I've come on some runs during the past couple years.I don't own a 4x4, so when I'm on a run, I'm probably a passenger riding with my work colleague Dawn Nelson, or perhaps with her friend Tom. I'll try to do my homework before each run, so you're welcome to ask me geology questions. I can generally tell you the geologic history of an area and discuss the landscape features, and sometimes the rock types. A word of warning, though; I know very little about economic geology, ores, or mining - there are folks on most runs who know lots more than I do about those things! I can discuss the general plant ecology of an area, but I'm way rusty on wildflowers, so I'll defer those to Dawn. If you catch me on a night run, you can count on me for a constellation tour. If I get to do a camping trip with the club, I'll try to bring a telescope, but they don't take kindly to bouncing around on unpaved roads.
Namárië - that means Be Well! in Tolkien's other Elvish language, Quenya. It's the older, more formal language, often referred to as "Elvish Latin".
