It’s kind of funny that only ten days ago I wrote a post about “Living the Just in Time Life”. This is why.

This morning at the Computers in Libraries Conference in Washington, DC, I went down to the International Ballroom here at the Hilton Washington near Dupont Circle and helped myself to some breakfast. The day’s keynote speaker, James Crawford from Google, would soon be taking the stage. After settling in to a chair shortly before it was to begin, the conference chair spotted me and came over to say that Crawford was hopelessly delayed at Dulles Airport. Could I maybe participate in a librarian panel on Google Books?

Now if you had read my earlier post you already know my answer. I may not do a lot of things, but I definitely do fast and loose. We quickly rounded up the usual suspects (Stephen Abram, Marshall Breeding, and Dick Kaser), two of whom I have worked with in just this way before, and we started to work up a set of issues or questions to discuss. Before long we were on stage being introduced, and I stepped up to the microphone to ask the questions and serve as M.C.

In their usual style, the panelists did an excellent job of raising important issues about the topic, providing their opinions, and entertaining the large crowd. I was proud to occupy the stage with them, as not everyone would be willing to jump up in front of hundreds of their peers and try to talk intelligently about a topic on a moment’s notice. But those of us who are accustomed to playing it fast and loose can, and sometimes do.

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