As I’ve mentioned before, I’m speaking at the AGI GeoCommunity ’09 conference in a couple of weeks.
I haven’t been for a couple of years, let along spoken or even chaired a session, despite some pleadings. So why this year? Well you try travelling to and from Nottingham with Steven Feldman and not agreeing to whatever he wants…
I also thought that the hard-to-pin-down feel of the conference was different this year. Steven, together with Christopher Osborne, John Fagan (maybe that link will make John get off his arse to actually write something) and others on the committee, have made a significant effort to broaden the AGI church. As a result the programme has plenty that I – and others if the registrations are anything to go by – want to see.
This is also the first time that I’ve submitted a real actual-written-down-words paper having previously spoken at either a plenary session or a paper-less workshop, as well as chairing a few sessions. Having to write a paper focuses the mind somewhat. Of course, in theory, preparing the presentation slides follows after writing the paper. In theory. In practice I knew more-or-less what I wanted to say, and brain-dumped onto slides.
Then, I stood on the shoulders of the perspicacious pachyderm and actually wrote down what I am going to say. To date I’ve prepared slides, gone through them repeatedly, and worked out what to say for each slide. I think that it has gone OK most of the time – you may not concur if you’ve been in the audience – but even I have been conscious more than a few times that I’m waffling. No waffling this time!
So, when I’m carried out shoulder-high by a rapturous audience, and later win the best paper award (although either one would do, I’m not greedy) then it is all down to my perspiration and inspiration. If. on. the. other. hand. it. sounds. like. I. am. reading. badly. from. a. piece. of. paper. and. might. as. well. just. read. out. whatever. is. written. on. my. slides. then. it. is. all. the. elephant’s. fault.
I could say that, if you want presentations like the latter, then go and listen to the paid-for slots at the plenary session that is also running when Andy Allan, John McKerrell, myself and others are speaking in the Geoweb stream. But I won’t.
