Conference update

Six hours until I present, and my speaking notes are only half done. The more I write, the more I become aware of the weaknesses in my work. Well, it's only the first day of the conference--maybe people will be too busy finding their way around to show up. I'll be glad to have it out of the way. At the CSAA conference last June, I presented on the very last day and consequently spent the entire conference worrying about my presentation. This time, I'll get to enjoy the rest.

Yesterday's NetLab tour went well. Almost fifteen people showed up, which I thought was fairly impressive for 10 am on a wet, grey, windy day. The day before the conference begins, no less.

Back to work. Only 4 1/2 more pages to write. This evening, we're off to see Lost in Translation, which gives me something to look forward to.

Done! Done! Done!

The presentation is over! I didn't have time to finish writing up my notes and thought I babbled incoherently as a result, but three people asked for copies of my paper, so they must have found something of value in what I said. I'm finding that one of the advantages of attending a relatively specialized conference is there's a much greater chance of encountering people who are interested in what I'm doing. If only I were still interested in it.

The other two presenters in my session were both quite good, particularly the second one, whose work I've read (and liked and used) before. It's rather odd meeting so many people whose work I'm already familiar with. They're just distant names on a page; I wasn't expecting to learn about them as people. But I haven't been disappointed yet.