Blogfest 2/Blogger U. in the Works

In the belief (right or wrong, you be the judge) that 1). a thousand small community-building seeds which have since sprouted wildly were planted at our mass Blogfest in May, and 2). that those wildflowers, beautiful and awesome as they are, have only scratched the surface of what's possible for our rapidly enlarging cohort, and 3). that we could all use a fall energy refresher for our late-spring mind meld, I'd like to kick off the notion of doing Round 2. For a number of reasons which I'll go into soon, the last week in October seems perhaps the best possibility. The same venue, Flannery's Pub, seems as good as any. But we'll be listening closely for a group consensus on both the date and venue issues. So please send along your ideas, suggestions, enthusiasms, simple (or complex) rants about any or all of this, and we'll be sure to set the wheels in motion before getting out of the way of the wildly careening wagon, lest it crush us like a bug on the windshield of Lebron's stylishly appointed Hummer...

And Speaking of Community-building Events. Two upcoming events NOT to be missed. One is tonight, the long-awaited coming-out/coming-back NEOSA Nett Thursday. Let's just say that we ALL need to rally around our Moses, Jim Cookinham, and tell him (and any foolish doubters, if there still be such dinosaurs) in the loudest possible fashion (namely, our attendance) that NEOSA and Jim Cookinham are simply irreplaceable gems of the community. So find your way to the Riverwalk Cafe in the Powerhouse in the Flats by 5:30 this evening, or sometime soon thereafter. Let your voice and body be heard. And while you're at it, make sure you sign up for a bracing talk down in Canton next Tuesday evening, where a guru of a different but no less influential type, Tom McNamara (about whom I've enthused in the past), is set to speak to an IT group on the subject of "What is it they haven't told me about IT?" Cost is a pittance, 20 clams (a bargain at triple the price!), and you need to register by tomorrow, at 216.750.6674 or by emailing lisle@ferro.com. It'll be at Malone College, wherever that is. Thank god for Mapquest, no?...