I often blog here about what “we” have discovered on this journey.  I promise that I have not fallen into a Gollum-esque habit of talking to myself or division of personality.  Rather, by suggesting the medium of a blog instead of a formal paper, my advisor has enabled me to be in conversation with my Word Fans.  I picture you joining me, perhaps in time for second breakfast, asking me about what I’ve learned in the last day or two, remarking about the pretty graphs, and generally encouraging my work.  Because I can write informally, giving you a tour down the stream of my consciousness, I can show you the false starts, blind paths, and outright errors of the adventure.  I hope that sharing the entire process with you will help you in your scholarly pursuits.

The rest of this weekend will be a proofreading run, to let you know what’s going on behind the scenes.