My Personal TAM4 Report

The picture is of me, Daniel Dennet & Mulan with Eddie, her companion elephant.

I guess I'm breaking my own self-imposed rule about pictures of Mulan on my blog, but since so many people took pictures of her already this weekend, I was thinking it's sort of moot.

I had, just, the most wonderful weekend in Las Vegas at the TAM4 convention. I can’t decide what the biggest highlight was, there were so many great moments. Best of all, is that I’ve been to three TAMs in a row now and I have a group that I have become friends with and it’s really nice to be reunited. Hal, Phil, Ray – I see them during the year here and there, but it’s nice to hang at TAM together.

Hitchens had a good speech to start. The thing he said that’s stayed with me is the allowing the Creationists to call their theory Intelligent Design was a major win for them. Just the name is brilliant in itself. And I think he’s right. ID is hard not to cozy up to if you don’t understand science well.

Daniel Dennet was brilliant too. I can’t wait to dig into his book, “Breaking the Spell.” He’s thinking about religion in ways that I am wondering about – only he’s just a billion times smarter and farther ahead than I am. How awesome to hang out with him.

Murray Gell-Mann was fantastic too. Oh dear, I am going to end up using too many superlatives.

And I’m falling asleep. Drove back from Vegas today. Mulan watched, “Cheaper By The Dozen” on my computer as we drove back. Her tenth time watching it, I think.

I will try a stab at this tomorrow.

But I’ve decided (as far as I can decide anything) one thing that has caused my mind to really settle down. And that is, that I’m going to move to Spokane in three years. That means, when Mulan starts fourth grade. That may seem so abstract as to be not worth deciding, but you have no idea how that changes the hour to hour drama that occurs in my head daily.

I figure three years more allows me more time to make my career Spokane-friendly, it gives me time to make more money and save it, and it still means Mulan would essentially grow up in Spokane.

Also, while driving back, I decided that I just couldn’t send Mulan to the Catholic school in Spokane. I just…couldn’t.

All those things means that I am of a more happy and calm mind. And just how I contructed that last sentence shows me that I should be going to sleep right now.