Where Is Everybody? Sick or at SXSW

It's been a crazy couple of weeks here at the JIST world headquarters. Half the office has been out sick. And we're not just talking a day or two. Our production manager was out four days last week with a near-death fever and cough. He said the thought crossed his mind, "I'm going to be one of those elderly people who dies from the flu" (even though he's only 50-something).

The entire sales staff has been coughing for, I kid you not, six weeks. Even my little girl had a touch of the flu (although we caught it early and got her on Tamiflu). I'm not sure why I haven't contracted it myself--I didn't get the flu shot, and she did. We're kind of going on a day-to-day assumption around here, wrapping everything up every day and leaving instructions for others just in case we don't make it back the next day.

Meanwhile, everyone in the blogosphere is in Texas this week for SXSW, a festival of media: music, film, technology, the web, social networking, blogging, gaming, etc. The sheer number of speakers is dizzying. Among the attendees are some people I have blogged about and/or who have read this blog at some point:

• Pearson Web designer Steph Mineart
• Wiley marketing director Ellen Gerstein
• Brazen Careerist Penelope Trunk

So have fun, folks, and don't worry about all us poor technology-deficient slobs stuck in Indiana hacking our lungs out.