Updated: Okay, there's a new plan. My wife is having surgery to put a screw in her foot, and the operation is two days before my panel. I really can't leave her to come to SXSW. We're going to try for me to Skype in to the panel instead. Cross your fingers.

Every so often real life catches up with you in ways you didn't expect. My wife broke her foot a few days ago. She took a unfortunate spill off a stepstool, but she's telling everyone it was a ninja fight. Those ninjas pack a wallop: she'll wear a cast for up to 6-8 weeks, and the doctor said she can't drive with her current cast. Overall, the broken foot has been a good reminder that having your bike stolen, while annoying, isn't too horrible in the grand scheme of things.

One wrinkle is that my wife and I were going to spend about a week together at South by Southwest, and I was scheduled to participate on a panel. She's not going now for obvious reasons (ninja fight). I've rejiggered my travel so I'm only away from my wife for a day but I believe I can still do the panel.

So if you want to see me at SXSW, your best chance is to come to our Q&A session: Dear Google & Bing: Help Me Rank Better! I'll be fielding questions alongside Danny Sullivan and Duane Forrester of Bing. I'm heading back to the airport pretty much right after our panel.

Here's a quick SXSW tip: I think you'd like Frank Warren's PostSecret session. I recently got a chance to talk some with Frank, and he's as thoughtful and interesting as you secretly hoped he would be.


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