I just returned home from Vancouver, British Columbia, where I attended the 2010 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM). I heard that more than 5,300 statisticians attended this year, including about 40 or so from SAS. I stayed busy. I gave a presentation on techniques for visualizing time series, gave a two-hour workshop on SAS/IML® Studio, took a continuing education course, and attended many talks on statistics.

While there, I ran into Julie Platt at the SAS Press booth. She told me that many people browsed the draft copy of my book, Statistical Programming with SAS/IML Software, and asked when it would be available. I was surprised (though pleased) by the advance interest. The next day, several people at my workshop also inquired as to the book’s availability. One gentleman told me that he’s “been looking for years to find a good book on IML.”

Well, I’m pleased to announce that the manuscript is complete and is undergoing a final copyedit. It looks like it is on track for publication in Fall 2010, which is not far away! Finally, 16 months of planning, programming, and writing are almost complete. The book contains hundreds of examples and more than 120 graphs. I think it has something for everyone: from the DATA step programmer who wants to begin learning PROC IML, to the experienced IML programmer who wants to learn to write programs more efficiently, to the SAS/STAT programmer who wants to learn about how to use SAS/IML Studio to augment his statistical data analyses.

There’s only one problem left to resolve: after the book is finished I’m not sure what I’m going to do with myself every morning. I’ve conditioned myself to get up early and write for 90 minutes before breakfast. I suppose I’ll need to find another hobby. Maybe a blog?