Last night I gave a lecture to the Santa Clara Valley chapter of the IEEE EMC Society. After working all day, I really wasn't in the mood for it. I kept wishing for some horrible health issue that would relieve me of my obligation. Of course, no such issue arose, and I drove over the mountains. I parked and walked to the meeting place. I went in and made a pitstop at the restroom. I then began psyching myself out. That is often necessary when I do these things. Everyone mingled, ate, had a few beers (except me), and generally had a good time. Finally, it was my time to talk. There were about sixty people there, and I was ready. When I present, I look like a mixture of fire-and-brimstone preacher, self-help guru, and stand-up comedian all while staying grounded in the relevant physics.

I got home after nine last night. I had already made arrangements for Annie to stay at a friend's, because I wasn't sure when I was going to get home. Unfortunately, I was completely wired from being "on" for so long. It was 1:30 in the morning before I finally fell asleep. I'm running a little slow today. At any rate, I took the time to go through my evaluations, and was very pleased with the comments that were written. Not everyone makes comments, but I like it when they do. Here are several:

Great combination of very complicated subjects and simple examples.

Excellent speaker and topic.

David is the kind of speaker who fills meetings - we need more like him.

The speaker is very knowledgeable in the topic and able to present in a very interesting manner. The audience is very attracted and paying attention during the presentation.

In my simple life, these kinds of comments make me keep going... It really is nice to be appreciated every now and then! Heck, I even got a consulting job offer!



Feeling pretty good professionally... at least outside work...