I was excited to hear he'd be at the Boulder Bookstore tonight, but then bummed when I realized it conflicts with my daughter's soccer practice (I coach)... so I'll watch for an update tomorrow if there were any insights.

I wish there were more writers like Stephenson, mixing quality fiction with high-tech and scientific topics. I'm halfway through Anathem now and it's picking up speed nicely. The vocabulary takes some getting used to, but it's worth it so far. Cryptonomicon is an all-time favorite, particularly for the diversions into prime numbers, encryption, and other geeky topics.