I'm trying to decide whether or not to go to the national math conference this year. It's in New Orleans, which makes me want to go. But, unlike the past two years, I don't really have any reason to go -- I'm not presenting anything, and I'm not interviewing. I looked at the schedule of talks, and while there are some that look interesting, there's nothing that makes me say "I've got to hear that." The timing makes it difficult, but not impossible -- it's in the few days before classes start next semester, so I'd have to do all my prep the week before, and I'd have to fly home on Sunday and start teaching on Monday, and I wouldn't have any time either before or after the conference to do non-conference stuff in New Orleans.

Your current job is not forever. All things like this are networking opportunities, but some are better than ever. If this is a great networking opportunity that is worth considering. If this is a not a very good networking opportunity, that is also worth considering.

It's an OK networking opportunity, but the smaller conferences are better for that -- at the big ones, everyone's running around so much that there's not much time for really talking to anyone.

So then it is a matter of weighing the effort, vs. wish to hear the presentations? With opportunity cost vs. time and energy to attend smaller conferences in the future as a consideration?

Thanks Dana. That helped a lot.

No problem. I'm glad my having lived through the hell that is fiscal year end helped.

They keep telling me it's supposed to slow down at work at some point. So far, they're big liars.

So far, they're big liars.

Thppbbbbt! on them. I hope you get some time off or some other way to relax.

Would it help at all to hear that I just told my Tea Party-lovin' brother that since his sole criteria for a successful government is being able to operate in the black, then Clinton must have been his favorite President of this century. I willfully restrained myself from asking if he had seen fit to campaign for Hillary Clinton on the grounds that she might conceivably share her husband's passion for balanced budgets.

My mom finally pulled out the "If we were dead, you'd be at peace" card. I didn't even get a chance to pull out the "You make me want to kill myself just to get away from you" card!

You don't want to pull that card. Very easy for jokes like that to reinforce the part of your psyche that causes depression. Or make depression worse if you already have it.

Tony Blair in running for bad sex award. Former prime minister's memoir nominated for prize dedicated to clumsy erotic scenes in fiction.

From The Guardian of course. And heh.