Post BlogFest ("Here we are now, entertain us!")

Like most dyed in the wool introverts, I tend to process information to the degree that it turns into the equivalent of babyfood mush (i.e. I tend to ruminate over it until there is no real substance left, just, well, mental mush).  So it goes with the BlogFest held last Friday in the thriving city of Pittston, as now, a few days out, I have put my arms around a few things.

First and foremost, a tip of the hat to all those who work to put these things together.  Personally I'd rather pull my own teeth than be involved in the planning of social events.  It's just not me.  That doesn't mean though that I don't see the value and work that goes into this kind of stuff; quite to the contrary, the folks who have energy around this kind of thing do us all a service.  Hell, if it were not for their efforts, I'd have one less trite thing to write about.  I'm not going to mention any names, as I would no doubt forget-n-offend someone, so suffice to say that the organizers did a great job.

Second, I am always somewhat disappointed that the "blogging community" (wait...excuse...I think I just vomited in my own mouth) is so heavily stilted towards the south...as in Luzerne County.  It's not for a lack of topics, interest, or ability that the balance of local bloggers are from land down south.  In fact, while I don't think that this is an indicator of blogging ability, the percentage of adults with a college degree is actually higher in Lackawanna County (23.52%) than it is in Luzerne County (20.02%).  Reference HERE.  Anyway, after seeing this disparity of bloggers, God must have made the decision to loan Lackawanna County Justin Vacula to even things out.

Third, speaking of Justin Vacula, I had the privilege of spending some time talking to him on Friday evening.  This is a bright guy, no doubt, who takes his blogging work very seriously.  That's one of a handful of things we don't necessarily agree on, by the way, but so be it.  If we were surrounded by people that thought just like us, the world would be one big GOP Presidential convention.  Anyway, I also spent some time talking to Karla Porter, which was thoroughly enjoyable.  I really admire the way Karla thinks about human workplace dynamics "stuff" (I could use more haughty language, but it's too early in the morning for that).  If you work in Human Resources, Organizational Effectiveness or related fields it is worth your time to check out Karla's professional blog.  I would be remiss if I didn't also mention getting the chance to talk to Tom Borthwick, son of Mary, who recently was completely and totally RIPPED OFF by the political hacks that run the Scranton School Board (read THIS).  Spending time talking to Tom gives me some solace that maybe there is hope for the future.

Did I mention that the pizza at Rooney's was pretty good?

I'd share the Gene Stilp pig picture again, but I've been warned by my partner in crime not to do so.

Finally, in terms of regrets, it would have been nice to spend a few minutes chatting with D.B.Echo, but he was busy doing his host-y kind of thing.  That's okay, as these events seem to creep up from time to time anyway.  It appears that this guy didn't make it, which is too bad, as it would have been nice to shake his hand again.  I can think of few bloggers who write stuff that pisses me off and fascinates me, all at the same time.

Coda
The photographer for the Hayna Herald was snapping pictures and asked some of us if we were bloggers, what we wrote about and the like.  My answer was "whatever the hell I want to", which I confess is slightly worse sounding than being called a "quasi-political blogger".  Very well & so be it, as my answer does have the benefit of being true.  This blogging stuff is good for me, and being cajoled into attending social events is as well.  I also think that it is good for the area.  As some who are far more insightful than me have noted, this kind of information sharing, be it trite or serious, has real benefits.