sxsw

First night at SxSW

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My first night at SxSW, and I receive this at the end of dinner. Yes, this is going to be a great conference.

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Grammatical peeves

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I'm sitting in one of the last panels of the day, and I have to say my hunger is contributing to my annoyances with the speakers' grammatical errors. I know that English (and all languages) are ever-changing, and when I was kid, you didn't say bad when you meant good or have run on sentences or non-parallel sentences. No really.

But these two peeves have reared their ugly heads, and they're annoying me.

One panelist said something like,

"it's not about me abandoning one service for another..."

The correct use of the personal pronoun is not the objective case, but actually the possessive case when referring to a gerund. Specifically, in this case, the speaker should have said, "MY abandoning," not "me abandoning". The "me" refers to the "abandon."

Not 10 seconds before that statement, a different speaker made the comment

"It's about sharing data between different networks..."

when referring to a group of six or seven networks. "Between" is referring to a connection of two objects. "Among" refers to a connection of more than two objects. The speaker should have commented about sharing data AMONG different networks.

I'm pretty sure that very, very few people noticed these, or that anyone notices them much any more. As the language evolves, grammar will also evolve, specifically when the common usage because the rule. We don't use thee or thou or, sadly, the subjunctive case in common speak anymore. It happens, the language changes.

Doesn't mean I'm going to stop complaining about it.

So close

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Okay, so, I'm drying my hands in the bathroom, and turn to see a woman in front of me walking out with toliet paper stuck to her boot. This is quite humourous to me, so I hurry to run out behind her, whipping my backpack off my back to get my camera. Why, oh, why did I put my camera into my backpack? Why is it not in my front pocket and easily accessible?

She's out the door, and I'm grabbing the pack handle, hurrying out behind her, a few steps behind.

The woman makes it 10 steps out of the bathroom, and I have my hand on my camera, when another woman taps the toilet-paper-on-the-shoe woman on the shoulder, pointing down to her shoes.

DAMMIT! I was going to tell her about the toilet paper, but only AFTER I had a picture of it.

I crack me up

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Have I mentioned how much I hate this game? Probably not recently.

Thoughts from the last two days

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Okay, anyone else think it's cruel to make a person sing if they're getting kicked off American Idol? I mean, hell, all I'd want to do is cry. WTF?

My hotel room doesn't have a refridgerator. Or a Tivo.

Or even a box of kleenexes. What kind of hotel room doesn't have kleenexes?

Is it a rule that you have to be cute to work at PFChangs in downtown Austin? Because, I swear, each and every guy working there tonight was adorable. At home, when my local P.F. Changs says the food will be ready in 25 minutes, I show up 15 minutes later, because I'll have to wait those 10 minutes at the take-out counter before anyone bothers to catch my eye (despite my staring at each waiter who walks by me), stop, and ask if I need help. Contrast that to this evening where I was approached by not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE cute male waiters (and one cute female waiter), asking me if I'd been helped. Holy crap, did I tip well. On take-out no less.

Clearly at a party conference. It's 10 PM and already there are drunk people running up and down the hall. I wouldn't notice, except the wireless is so bad, I have to sit next to my room door to get any signal. If this keeps up, I'm going downstairs to the Starsbuck and jumping on the T-Mobile Intarweb connection.

Austin drivers are crazy. They don't have the excuse of Boston's crappy road system, either. Walking four blocks, I was almost hit three times, even though I was wearing my yellow boarding jacket.

I wish the drunk people would STFU already.

Hmmmm... sitting on the floor isn't so bad. Time to stretch while I work. Should have thought of this ages ago.

I'm surprised at how much I wish I were here with a friend. As much as I enjoy my solitude, I think this conference would be more fun with someone to share it with. On that note, I really wish Kris enjoyed the same projects, interests, and activities (outside ultimate) that I do. It would be nice to share this with him.

Do I type as loudly as the person next to me? If so, geez, I need to practice quiet typing. So should the woman next to me.

Armstrong power! Activate!

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OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG.

Okay, time to cut and paste....

OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG.

You will never guess who I just met!

OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG!

So, I was sitting at the Austin airport, having just made hotel arrangements for tonight (yeah, yeah, I messed up my travel arrangements, but hey! I recovered), when I stood up to gather my bags. A guy walked across my field of view when I turned around to pick up my bags. I paused to look at him. I recognized him, but couldn't quite place him. Damn, the man was tall...

And then it hit me who it was.

Jon.

That Jon

Oh crap.

I turned to look at the woman next to him.

Oh shit.

It was Heather.

OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMG!

Oh, what do I do? Crap, do I go up to them? You're not supposed to just go up to celebrities, even Intarweb™ celebrities, and fawn all over them. I knew in passing they were coming to SxSW, but I wasn't planning on going to the meetup.

Oh, what do I do? Walk up to them now? Write this up as yet another missed opportunity? Crap!

I made sure my bags were all okay, and walked up to them, walking around Jon.

"So, do people walk up to you and, 'OMG, I totally recognize you?'" I asked.

Jon laughed. "She does all the time."

"But, it was you I recognized first!"

And then I started babbling. Oh, to remember what I said. I said something about how I'm never sure if I should say hello, that I love her writings, or just let you be. How I went to Blogher to meet her, and chickened out. I must have made some good chatter, as I managed to get at least a chuckle out of them. I must have been excited, because I started talking in the full body sort of way that Paul laughs at me about. I just just so happy to have finally met these two.

After a few moments of talking, Heather stuck out her hand. "Hi, I'm Heather."

Oh, fuck.

You know, my friends do this to me. I write here, and they read this, and they keep up with my life, then send me emails or ask me about things going on that I certainly didn't tell them, or reference something that in my mind they have no right to know. It used to freak me out (and, depending on the friend, still does), but now I have to ask people, "Have I told you this already?" before I start telling a story.

And I just did the same thing to them.

I introduced myself, slightly embarrassed, then started wrapping up the meeting, thinking "OMG, I've met Heather and Jon Armstrong. This trip is already way worth it," the whole time.

As I had gathered up my bags to go catch a cab, I heard Heather ask, "So, was it his clogs that you recognized first?"

"Ah, no. But I was surprised at how tall both of you are."

"He's 6'4"."

"Really? Wow! Is that with or without clogs?"

No, I didn't take a picture. I figured that would be just TOO MUCH. Yeah, I can't believe it either.

Eric conveys Celebrity Flinching

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Back when (and I mean waaaaaaay back when) I played on Special K, my teammate David Bailey (that's Mr. David W. Bailey to you) showed me the site of his roommate, Eric. Eric's site Eric Conveys an Emotion had me laughing for a long time, and some of the images still make me laugh. Some time later, David moved out of his place, both of us stopped playing for Special K, and neither of us ever talked about Eric again.

Fast forward five, six, oh crap I'm getting old, seven years, and at the Yahoo Hack Day, I passed Eric standing at the registration table talking to someone I was waiting to talk to. I smiled, became all excited, and asked, wait, wait, are you Emotion Eric? He looked at me sheepishly, almost embarrassed, and said yes, he was. His body language was very clear he wasn't exactly excited about being recognized, so I introduced myself, said I was happy to meet him, and continued on my way.

Well, tonight, as fate would have it, our paths would cross again.

I left the plane in Las Vegas, and found myself strangely overcome with incredible joy at seeing not only the one food I was craving on the flight from Austin (that would be yogurt), but also a row of Odwalla juices, which I had been craving the entire time I was in Austin. I thought about walking to the nearest Whole Foods (which was a mere 1.2 miles away from the hotel), but hadn't found the time. To think, here in Vegas-baby-Vegas, I would find both items available not forty feet from the exit ramp and 20 feet closer than the nearest restroom. Clearly Vegas-baby-Vegas is a haven for, well, I can't finish that sentence.

A few moments later, I was happily downing my yogurt, Starbucks Chocolate Creme Frappacino in hand (not the double chocolate one with the annoying chocolate chips in it that taste like little rocks, and not the coffee-chocolate one that makes me want to vomit, no, the chocolate one, and this one was chocolate), an indulgence I partake on each and every trip I take (and very rarely at other times, it seems), watching something bad on television, might have been American Idol. During some Diana Ross commentary about some large dude completely bastardizing her music, I turned to see Emotion Eric sitting four seats over from me.

I couldn't resist.

I reached into my bag, pulled out my camera, turned off the flash (must not startle the celebrities now, even Intarweb™ ones), and, doing my best to suppress the gales of laugher trying to escape my lips, snapped a picture of Eric.

Just before the click, he looked over at me. In the same expression he had done months before, he looked embarrassed. By the time I caught the look, however, I was laughing too hard. I introduced myself again, and we talked for a while about his site, the Yahoo Hack day (and the buttons I made, which he remembered), David Bailey and his Intraweb™ celebrity status. On the plane, we sat in the same row (there being only about 25 people on the plane, we were the only two not to have three seats each) and continued talking. The flight was entertaining, with a mad dash to finish the intermediate level sudoku before the plane landed.

Happily we finished.

I wonder if Eric will recognize me the next time I giggle and pull out my camera. Or if next time, he'll run away in terror of the crazy stalking lady...

Being a consumer

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I cannot believe how much of a consumer I am at this moment. I'm a consumer of the style I detest, and it's frustrating.

I was heading home, flying out of Austin in about ninety minutes, and was hungry. Since the adventure to Salt Lick was so entertaining, I sought out the Salt Lick at the airport. Sure, the experience wasn't going to be quite the same, but, well I was still in Texas, and when in Texas, the only food worth eating is the barbecue, even if it's airport food.

The meal was handed to me oversized. The portions were gigantic. The meal included the bread I requested not to receive (since I wasn't going to eat it), cold potatoes (which were tasty when hot at the original Salt Lick, but not cold at the airport), more cole slaw than a starving rabbit could eat in a weekend, enough extra sauce to drown said rabbit and a pile of incredibly tasty sausage.

When I was done eating, I think I ended up throwing away more trash from that one meal than I'll normally throw away in a week at home. First to go was the large styrofoam container that I used for all of 15 minutes, which seemed like such a waste. Also went out the bread (see, I didn't eat it, just like I wasn't planning on doing so when I ordered "no bread"). The potatoes went out, sadly not as tasty as the ones two nights ago. The plastic fork, knife and spoon went, too. I'm still at a loss for why I even received a spoon. Four napkins went out. The cup went out. The bag the whole thing came it went out, too. The whole pile felt like six pounds of trash.

Six pounds of consumer trash, multiplied by the hundreds of people who go through there a day?

That's a lot of consumer waste. A lot that I'm embarrassed I contributed to.

Transition

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On this last day of SxSW for me, it's interesting to see the transition from Interactive to Music attendees.

Walking back and forth between the convention center and the hotel, I've seen many people with a green neckband, rifling around in the bags for all the advertisement and conference goodies.

At least they didn't have to wait in the lines we did for the interactive registration:

Journey to Salt Lick

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I really should be writing about my adventures at SxSW. The feel of this conference is way different than most tech conferences are about technology with a little fun in the evenings. This one has a very entertainment focus: multiple parties scheduled each night, with technical sessions thrown in so that you can submit the conference and tickets for company reimbursement. I think because of this focus, people come to the conference expecting to have fun, which is why I think every does have a good time.

Continuing that expected good time, Dylan organized a journey for twenty four of his closest friends, and me. Cal invited me in passing, and Dylan agreed he had space for one more person, so after a nap, I joined the group in the lobby to shuffle into cars.

I really, really should have clued in that this was going to be a rough trip when the driver admitted she had lost her parking ticket for the car. The one she had received less than two hours before.

I think we missed five of the first six turns on the way to the Salt Lick. We missed the first turn onto the 1. We missed the next turn onto the 1. We turned around and came back and missed the next four turns to recover our way. We spent the first forty five minutes of our what-should-have-been a-thirty-five-minute trip driving out from downtown Austin then back to Austin, before we were finally back on track for our journey.


(Cal's photo)

Best quote of the drive?

The driver commented, "I'm in Texas so I rented this big car, thinking it would be a comfy ride."

The response?

"What? You couldn't get one with horns on the hood?"

The barbecue at the Salt Lick was worth the drive (though, the extended drive, I'm not so sure). The food was amazing. Stef recommended we leave room for the blackberry cobbler. She was right, though not completely stuffing oneself at the Salt Lick is really difficult.

Admittedly, the drive out was compounded with thunderstorms and heavy rain. At one point, someone asked, "It's this how all horror movies start?" Nervous laughter. The drive back, though much quicker, was just as rough: we had full stomachs and the erratic driving continued. "Watch out for the guard rail!"

So, I'm two for two on Texas barbecue.

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