It can’t be two weeks since I was fretting about Faculty Academy on Instructional Technology 2005. I could have spared myself the anxiety. Once the Academy began, it took on a delightful life of its own, hardy enough to survive every one of my mistakes. All I had to do was get out of the way, which I was very glad to do. UMW faculty, students, and ITSs contributed excellent presentations and poster sessions, while our three guest speakers–Diana Oblinger, Bryan Alexander, and Brian Lamb–challenged our assumptions and enlarged our vision with wonder, delight, and of course information. (Information technologies, after all.)

I’ll be reflecting on the experience in more detail in the days ahead, but I want to begin with a photo to complement Brian Lamb’s shot of the In-N-Out Burger where he, Bryan, Kevin Creamer, and I ate on the night we all met for the first time, at the NLII meeting in San Diego in January, 2004. This photo shows Bryan, me, and Brian at Carl’s, a Fredericksburg landmark that serves extremely tasty soft ice cream made in vintage mid-1940s “Electro-Freeze” machines. Note Bryan’s new cell phone, a recursion device he used frequently during Faculty Academy.

A theme emerges: exotic local dining spots. What will come next? (Or: where shall we three meet again?)