As a newbie blogger, I still have some learning to do regarding the conventions of keeping a regular weblog. For instance, I’ve been away for the past week at the Computers and Writing conference in Hawaii but I forgot to post a “Stepped out for a bit–Back in a week” note, probably because I’m still getting used to the idea that someone might actually be reading this. So here’s a brief update for anyone wondering about the trip and when I’ll be back.

I’m currently visiting my friends Sara and Brian in the Echo Park neighborhood of LA for a few days after being in Hawaii for about a week.

The conference was probably the most productive one I’ve been to, and it now seems worth it to have sold one of my organs to get there. I haven’t had time to post anything regarding the paper I presented on place-based blogging, but it went well and I received some helpful feedback on what role it might play in the dissertation project. My thanks to all the Ecotone writers whose blog entries I used in the paper. It was great to spend time with your writing and share this genre of blogging with the C&W folks. When I get home later this week, I’ll post a version of the paper so you can get a sense where I went with things.

I’ll also post a photo gallery from the trip, including some interesting shots of the active lava flows in Volcano National Park. Stay tuned….

But for now, I’ve a got a few days in LA, so I’m off to explore the city on foot for the rest of the day.