It would seem that someone, or some people, last week was interested in some confluence of me, the Louisiana Digital Humanities Lab, and the grant I helped to write to get it set up:

I have no idea who it was, or is: no one has written or called. The grant narrative itself is available [here][], because, despite my recent experience of having my research program copied, that’s how I think we should proceed. (The copier is a local scoundrel, otherwise, apparently, devoid of creativity. Nothing can be done for/about him.)

As for the Lab, it is still there. We put it together in a kind of “there’s a few of us interested, and maybe we can build some momentum” moment, but a change of administration later, and a new dean, and a lot of the good will, and the tee tiny bit of support, on which such early efforts depend, dried up. *Sigh.* It takes so much energy to nurture a seed, and so little effort to let a sprout wither. It’s amazing really.

What the Lab needs is a refresh: new versions of both the Mac and Windows operating systems as well as an update of the Adobe Creative Suite. (What’s installed works — heck, I still make all my illustrations with AI 5 — but it would be nice to put latest tools in the hands of students.) We could also use an update of the hardware: grab a 3D printer, maybe some micro controller boards like the Arduino or the powerful Raspberry Pi and a variety of electronic components to get students hacking on things.

Could I write that grant? Yup. But not right now. I got books lining up right now, and the American academy still prefers books to anything else.

[here]: http://johnlaudun.org/20081017-louisiana-digital-humanities-lab/