The planning committee for INANE 2015 in Las Vegas has spoken.  The conference will be August 2-5, and the hotel is the Tropicana.  The overview presented this morning at breakfast was full of comedy and presented a wonderful picture of the host location.

The conversation with Charles Graeber and Diana Mason has attendees sitting on the edge of their seats.  Who needs coffee with the discussion about The Good Nurse, a story about a nurse serial killer.

INANE, full of information, networking, laughter and intrigue.  

Altthough we’re having a great time in Maine (I know I sure am!!) our Maine purpose is sharing and learning about excellence in editorial practices. To that end, we’ve enjoyed some great sessions today, and had a productive annual meeting at lunch. Here are a few photos I snapped of some of today’s action!

Jackie

COPE presenters Charon Pierson and Geraldine Pearson = Pearson (or Pierson!) squared!

Charon and Geraldine

Our morning session on predatory publishers/journals.

A lunch time welcome visit from the mayor of Portland!

COPE discussions

The COPE sessions are always full! 🙂

Cindy Peternelj-Taylor introduces our COPE speakers.

Well Attended!.

The morning sessions are underway, and the room is full!  Here in the Atlantic room, they have had to add chairs to the morning session.  The discussion about open access and predatory publishers is lively and informative, with a little humor in the mix.

Sitting on the balcony of our hotel room this morning at the Portland Regency and contemplating a dilemma.

I am an adventurous girl. Since I turned 45 ten years ago, I have zip lined multiple times, pedaled a recumbent bicycle in the treetops, parasailed several times, paddled a kayak and an outrigger canoe, and a few other things suitable to a chunky middle-aged girl with no athletic skills. But, that adventurous spirit does not include my palate and this brings me to the Maine dilemma. In the land of fresher than fresh seafood, I likely won’t eat any of it. Not a bite.

Yesterday at the Maine Lobster Festival, my husband, Ed, ate a lobster roll. Check out the photo below and you will see that the only lobster that I consumed was a lollipop shaped like a lobster! A little hungry (remember, it was a LOBSTER festival) as we headed for the return train trip, I bought a “to go” order of corn chowder (read that again, CORN chowder). It looked absolutely delicious, brimming with chunks of corn, potato, and bacon! One bite in, I could taste the seafood. No full ingredient menu disclosure here.

What a lovely bowl of corn chowder Ed enjoyed as the train headed south from Rockland…

Here is my dilemma – should I, can I, try at least one bite of lobster while I am here in the lobster capital? Not a dilemma with the serious implications of those we will discuss in our sessions about publishing ethics. But, a dilemma for me because I like to identify as a person who will try new things, all except food that is. On one hand, I may never get back to Maine. I need to grab the brass ring. I am here. On the other hand, although my palate has expanded considerably since my childhood, I have very definite opinions about what I do and do not like. Eating something that I don’t like, frankly, makes me gag. It’s not like there’s not enough other good food – delicious food – in the world. I have already enjoyed fresh Maine blueberries several times, and I had a popover, a regional favorite, with my dinner. Furthermore, it can be said that all of my height goes side to side. Does a chunky, postmenopausal girl, who battles weight every day of her life, REALLY need to possibly cultivate a love for something one dips in butter to eat? Perhaps not!

My Maine men, Marley and Longfellow (hopefully you met them in my first post), have already spoken. Marley (a moose) says, “Carpe diem, old girl! Dip that lobstah in that buttah and give ‘er a try!” Longfellow (a lobster) understandably dissents by noting, “You are clearly a true lover of all the creatures of the earth, Jackie. And, Maine blueberries in August are absolutely delicious, nutritious, and low in calories. Just saying…” Never mind the fact that I have already chowed down 2 steaks in Maine, obviously negating my status as a lover of all living earthly creatures, and one scoop of sinfully delicious blueberry ice cream, jeopardizing any possible calorie watching of yesterday!

Alas, what’s a girl to do? As you see me around the conference, feel free to “weigh in” with your thoughts about my decision.

Jackie

P.S. If you share my dilemma, feel free to let me know that, too. We can support one another!

Good evening my friends,

I am sitting on my porch enjoying this beautiful early summer evening and thinking that exactly 8 weeks from now–Sunday, August 3rd–I will be downtown at the Regency Hotel and beginning to welcome my colleagues to INANE 2014! It is hard to believe that after three years of planning, the conference is only 2 months away!

While I know I will have millions of details to take care of between now and then, overall, the conference (planning, registration, and everything else) is in great shape. I am hoping for an event that meets and exceeds everyone’s expectations.

As of this minute, there are 136 people registered for the conference. There are lots of familiar names on the list as well as quite a few newcomers (who won’t be new for long!) but I also know of folks who will not be able to attend, due to travel, family obligations, or other schedule conflicts.

Which brings me to the point of this post–call for live bloggers! If you recall, when we started this blog back in September, one of the intents was to have a cadre of live bloggers who would be posting regular updates from the conference. Last fall (nine months ago), “live blogging” was a vague idea. Now it is time to make it a reality!

If you are interested in participating, send me a message via the Feedback Form. If you are intrigued but want more information–basically, this is a way to communicate what is going on at INANE 2014 to our friends and colleagues who aren’t able to join us in Portland. Live blogging–or reporting–would be via this blog. Posts can be short and frequent. The more live bloggers we have, the more updates we can have each day of the conference. Live bloggers can share their impressions of the sessions they attend, the meals, sights in Portland, friendliness of the hotel staff–really, anything at all. The idea is to make those who are not at the conference feel like they are at the conference.

This blog (and website) are hosted on WordPress so if you are familiar with that platform, you are ready to be a live blogger. If you aren’t–it is easy to learn. You can post from email, a tablet, or a computer–the process is simple. Plus, if you volunteer now, you have two months to learn (and I will provide inservice education!).

Give us a hand!

INANE members are great at volunteering and helping out so I am counting on you once again to jump in and give us a hand. If you would be interested in posting updates from the conference, let me know via the Feedback Form and I’ll get you started!

Thanks in advance to everyone for your help. I look forward to hearing from you!

Leslie

for the Planning Committee: Peggy Chinn, Margaret Freda, Shawn Kennedy, Lisa Marshall, Jean Proehl and the memory of our friend Suzanne Smith.