aha! you ARE speaking and you ARE teaching a class! good. Wish I could be there to cheer you on. Work on getting a gig in San Diego.

I'd love to be there...damn tyranny of distance....and cost...and the fact that it's not work related. So keep us non Americans appraised!

As much as we'd love to be *elsewhere* at times, there are a lot of us who aren't in graphic design or illustration jobs where we would be hard put to get our boss to finance a trip to the HOW conference.
I imagine there are many in the field who can't finagle their way to all the conferences that exist.
But that shouldn't stop any of us from still participating. HOW, you ask? (pun may or may not be intended)
By using the time to ACT as illustrators and graphic designers. The only way to get there is to do the job as if we already were.
I go to many of the sketchbook sites daily to learn from and be inspired. Not as caloric as candy, but just as sweet.
As Danny indicated one time, "No books, no teachers, no system can teach you as much as practice".
If we keep at it, maybe by next year more of us in non-graphic fields can get there because we'll have improved our illustration abilities and perhaps changed jobs.
I'm willing to give it a go!

IDEAS:
Sketch portraits of HOW conference speakers (see website for photos).
Create new logos of HOW conference sponsors (see website). Who knows what uniqueness any of us could come up with?
Download a trial version of a graphics software you've never used and try to create something.
Illustrate one of the sessions (any perspective) you might give at a HOW conference.
Create an assignment and realistic short schedule as if you were a freelancer: Redesign a record cover or a product label, create a new poster for a theatre or museum show, design a new business card or dustjacket, {your own idea}.
Create a new ad using either a single or multiples of a line (curved or straight), circle and a triangle with minimal text.
Illustrate one week of work as a calendar.
Illustrate one pen technique in 4 steps (e.g. crosshatching).
Illustrate one watercolor technique in 5 steps (e.g. drybrush).
Draw one instance (equipment, player, action) of a favorite sport or outside activity.
Draw one child's game any way you want (hopscotch, jacks, rock/paper/scissors, etc.).
Take one favorite quote, add a drawing to it to illustrate its message.
Take a news event and draw it in a way that still tells the story. (think back to newspapers before photography)

By the way, I look foward to seeing what you bring back from the conference, Danny!
You're a good inspiration and illustrator!