There were several items in the mail pouch that you needed a response form me
on. Here are the responses:

Marchris forwarded a request to attend a conference on Aug 19 and 20. I
think the original invite when to Ken and Jeff. I will attend, subject to
them getting some reasonable response rate from the commissioners they
invited and provided that I get a speaking or similar participation
opportunity.
SMU professor and student asking for Astros tickets - yes
CERA conference on July 10-12 in Scotland -- decline