Congratulations, Dr. Cook!

After successfully defending his document (available here) in October, Mark is graduating this semester! The graduation ceremonies actually happened last night/this morning, but he decided not to walk. I thought it was important, though, to do something to celebrate, so I talked Mark into letting me throw a little party. We dreamed up a big menu and he invited his friends who are still in the area as well as a few of mine that he's interacted with, and we had a really good turnout. As I usually do, I managed to get pictures of the food, but forgot all about taking some pictures once the guests started arriving. Anyway, here's what we ate:

Also, this is what I made for Mark for his graduation gift:

Next time you see Mark, I hope you'll greet him with hearty congratulations for this huge accomplishment. Also, feel free to call him Doctor. :-)