Growing up, I lived in Eastern Kentucky "for a spell". Rural Rowan (pronounced like "round" without the "d') County, in fact, where the valley I lived in was called "Quail Hollow". As in, a snake bit me and I had to "holler". I lived right next to a "crick" (creek). I only lived there a little over a year, but the accent can come back on demand.

Another beautiful Appalachian spot to give me a holler is Blacksburg, Virginia (http://www.blacksburg.va.us/) if you're on the road in November. A nice little city where the student population is on a par with the town's population. OK, I guess you can get that in Manhattan, Kansas, too, but you might have to drive farther. And you won't have those Appalachians.

So, if you are in the neighborhood, please drop by to catch my talk at Virginia Tech's ICTAS, or Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (http://www.ictas.vt.edu/index.shtml). Here's the brief:

ICTAS Seminar Series – Fall 2009

 Date:    November 12, 2009

Time:   3:00-4:30pm

Place:   310 ICTAS

Speaker:  Steven Simske, Hewlett-Packard Labs

Title: “Consumer Safety in a Rapidly Changing World: Security, Identity and Anti-Counterfeiting”

Bio & Abstract:    http://www.ictas.vt.edu/pdf/seminarseries_simske.pdf

Cheers,

Steve