I'm blogging live from a very hot Austin, Texas, at the Netroots Nation conference!
Officially, Netroots Nation (formerly YearlyKos) "amplifies progressive voices by providing an online and in-person campus for exchanging ideas and learning how to be more effective in using technology to influence the public debate."
They're certainly right about that free exchange of ideas—I've eaten free pastries from an Oregonian who's running for Senate (thanks, Jeff Merkley!), chatted with a physicist who used to work with Carl Sagan (and yes, the legendary astronomer was apparently just as charismatic in real life), argued with an obnoxious Greenpeace worker about "simple" energy policies, and even shielded my eyes from an anti-vaccination group (paging Orac!).
Yesterday, my ScienceBlogs booth attracted the likes of bonafide blogosphere celebrities Ed Brayton, Josh Rosenau, and Darksyde.
The day capped off with fantastic keynote speeches by bonafide non-blogosphere celebrities General Wesley Clark and Governor Howard Dean.
Today I'm looking forward to Ed Brayton's panel on "Restructuring US Science Policy." And one of these nights, we're all going out for real Texas BBQ. So stay tuned for more updates!