Off to Beijing

We finished up the conference, which was quite enjoyable.  I gave the keynote last night to a good audience and filled in for R. J. Smith, who had to cancel at the last minute, with a hastily prepared presentation on libertarianism and environmentalism.  (It was fun.)  The critics of libertarianism gave as good (well, almost) as they got and the conversation was quite civil.  I managed during lunch to sneak away to a local “Target” shop to buy some stuff I forgot to pack (it happens) and a case of huge cans of powdered infant formula, which I will take to friends in China.  (The tainted milk scandal has made people understandably wary of Chinese milk products, especially for babies, so for now it’s a good gift to take.)  I’m now waiting in the Air China lounge, catching up on correspondence, pondering what a strange place southern California is, and thinking of what direction I should be taking in future.