I had a good time in NYC, attended some good sessions, had some good food and good beer. Only one major foulup: I screwed up my presentation timing. I went over by a minute or two, even though I practiced. And I talked too fast. I think I was thinking about getting on a plane, etc. Next time, if I get a last day presentation, I’ll stay another night, and I won’t drink 85 cups of coffee beforehand.
Highlights, in no particular order:
- a hilarious driver on my shuttle ride from LGA to Manhattan, telling stories about passengers and drivers from hell (and making the hour long ride quite bearable);
- excellent barbeque from a street vendor;
- a lovely brunch at Maison: a grilled brie sandwich, a Ommegang witbier, and great mixed greens;
- usability testing and focus group work for Bedford, giving me some new examples to use in 381;
- a great meal at Thalia’s (greens, scallop ceviche, halibut) with three nice bottles of wine Thomas and I picked out, and excellent conversation with Donna, Jenny, Jeff, Byron, and some folks I hadn’t met before, Patricia, Adam, and Scott;
- drinks and conversation with Mike, Keith, and Tari;
- two nice runs in Central Park (more on that later);
- thanks in large part to some good work from Charlie Lowe, CCCC-IP and the 7Cs both approved the open source resolution, and a sense of the house motion in support of FLOSS passed (more on this later);
- 305,370 cups of coffee;
- about 18 hours of sleep over three nights (yeesh);
- a laid-back and funny roommate. All hail the Bradley Cabal!
My fished-from-the-trash laptop didn’t enjoy the trip as much as I did. The F and B keys are not working well, I now get a nasty shock if I use the machine while it’s plugged in, and the wireless card hardly works. I think it’s about the end of life for this sucker.
Today the Day of Much Grading and preparing for classes. Tomorrow Erin and Madelyn come home. Yay!