I am still trying to sort out how much of the difference with this conference was due to the Hawai’ian setting as opposed to the presence of my kids. Obviously it’s configurational, and in that way it makes little sense to try to distinguish the independent impact of either of those factors in anything except a purely analytical sense. But having some sort of ideal-typical specification might be helpful for planning purposes, and this won’t be the last conference where my family comes along; hence the exercise seems worthwhile. —Conferencing with kids (This Academic Life)

The photocopier is churning out the handouts right now.

In a few hours I’ll be packing the wife and kids in a car and heading off to deliver a talk. Nowhere as exotic as Hawaii, though.

I hope I’ll get some sleep in the car, because I’ve got sick kids, and my own immune system is strained from a bug that I haven’t shaken since last December (I’ve been sick since the very day I turned in last term’s grades, and midterms are due in a week).