Does you notify the US consulate or embassy of your presence in the country you are visiting for several weeks? Is this good practice?

Oops, should be Do you....

No, I've never done that. I don't know wif it's good practice or not, but if everyone did it, how on earth would the consulate ever be able to get any work done?

Now, if I were going to a country considered to be dangerous or under a State Department warning or something like that, I might consider it prudent.

The consular advice note for any country tells you whether the consulate asks you to tell them you are in the country. Such notes appear thus
from Australia on http://www.dfat.gov.au/consular/advice
from Britain on http://193.114.50.10/travel and on http://www.fco.gov.uk/travel/countryadvice.asp
from Canada on http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/menu-e.asp, under "Research your trip"
from France on http://www.dfae.diplomatie.fr/voyage...s/alphabet.asp
from the USA on http://travel.state.gov, under "travel warnings".
In other countries such registration is needless

[email protected]

God forbid we ever read anything official when hearsay is so much better.

Page 4 of a US passport:
1. Register with the US Embassy: When traveling to remote or volatile areas, visiting a foreign country for a prolonged stay, or residimg abroad - register with the US embassy or consulate by telephone, fax or in person.

The State Dept site is a wealth of valuable information. Try it at no additional cost. Your taxes have already paid for it.

http://www.state.gov/travel/