Hello, Blogosphere. It's been a busy couple o'weeks...

No, Blogosphere, I didn't forget you. It's just that I've been kinda busy the last couple of weeks. You see, I was off last weekend at the annual American Society for Indexing conference in Minneapolis. Yes, Blogosphere, that's the one that my mother once called "The most boring conference ever," after she looked at the list of sessions and workshops.

I did, however, have quite a good time at the ASI conference. Alas, that I only seem to make it once every four years because I always learn new and interesting things, and it's always a good recharge of the ol' indexing batteries to spend a few days around people who take the organization of information seriously. Honestly, so few people genuinely understand what I do professionally that it's just a relief to spend three days not explaining it to people. Or, as I said on a Facebook post last weekend: "I just heard somebody use the word 'polyhierarchical' in casual conversation. Nobody batted an eye. These are my people."

(Now that I think about it, though, I did spend a lot of my weekend explaining indexing. You see, we shared the Minneapolis Marriott with this big series of organizational meetings for some Army and National Guard training exercises, and some of the Army folks were bemused to discover that such a thing as "indexers" existed. You would not believe how much computer-generated camouflage clothing I spent my time with last weekend. I felt I had been embedded somewhere overseas.)

Interesting co-hotel tidbits aside, I had a couple of very nice evenings with friends old and new, picked up a few nifty Cindex tricks, and took a very nifty walking tour of the falls and the Mill district, which I shall try to immortalize in a photoblog entry this weekend.

Yes, I had a very good and full three days in Minneapolis. But it was a long drive out and a long drive back. And other than that I was scrambling last week to wrap up enough loose ends to go to the ASI conference, and this week I've been scrambling to catch up with everything that didn't get done whilst I was away with the indexing elite.

And really, Blogosphere, do you want the administrivial details of my past few days? I think not. I could report on the K12 primary portal indexing XML extract format, the APG pre-publication capital allocation timecards, and the introduction of the village's new revisions to the electrical code compliance building ordinance. But I rather suspect the The Blogosphere doesn't care.

Thus, instead of typing more, I think I shall enjoy a nice Manhattan, turn on the ballgame, and kick back on a rainy Friday night in Wolverine Lake.

Oh, what's that you say, Blogosphere? You want at least one photo from Minneapolis?

Okay, here I am with the ever-spunky Mary Tyler Moore. Enjoy!