Mac on the road

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I can’t remember who made the first “portable” computer I owned but the bastard must have weighed 15 pounds. Connecting to the web wasn’t an issue in those days because it didn’t exist (in any way that mattered to me). I can’t even remember what I did with the laptop on the road.

This is my first outing with a Mac and I couldn’t be happier. The hotel charged me $10 a day for cable access but I just plugged it in and was up and running. Wifi was very slow at the conference but the Mac found the signal with no fiddling or port futzing.

I’m posting this from the Seattle airport where $8 buys 24 hours of really fast net access. Nobody needs 24 hours but what a great way to pass the time (or do bidness). And, again, so easy. This is the way mobile computing was meant to be.

Gnomedex: Day Two

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Heading out for Day Two of the annual geek-fest. Roger is on his way back to JC. Wish you could have been with us last night when he got his first explanation of Second Life (“They’re not talking about real islands, are they?”). If you’re remotely interested in following Gnomedex, there is no shortage of blog posts and this guy has a nice flickr set. And here’s a good piece on John Edwards’ keynote, which was mostly Q&A. I was skeptical about having a pol speaking but I kind of enjoyed the session.

Northwest Hospitality

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Captain RobWe wrapped up our first full day in Seattle with a delightful boat ride (do you call a 54 foot yacht a boat?) on Lake Washington, courtesy of Rob Harris and his buddy Rich. Rob is a friend and business associate of Roger and Clyde and owns a little company called Pacific Market International (they make Stanley and Alladin containers).

Rob gave us a look at Bill Gates’ lovely home (“Wave to the security man with the binoculars.”) and the houseboat where Sleepless in Seattle was filmed. The Seattle skyline at sunset was gorgeous…the weather was perfect…and Rob and Rich could not have been nicer. Not hard to see why people who live here love it so. [flickr set]

Roger visits Starbucks #1

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Roger’s efforts to get us bumped up to First Class were unsuccessful and the flight was packed. I sat next to Ma and Pa Kettle and the lady in the seat next to Roger had a chicken in her lap. Got all checked in at the lovely Marriott Waterfront (hi-speed net access for $10 a day. Given the room rate, you’d think they could throw in the broadband) and headed over to Starbucks #1 to get Roger a cup of joe.

Beautiful weather here in Seattle. Like the song says, “The greenest skies you’ve ever seen.” Had a great meal…walked along the waterfront…and traded stories from Learfield’s early days.

Gnomedex Vacation

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Three or four days at Gnomedex plus two weeks of vacation adds up to the longest time I’ve taken from work in…forever? Vacations have always been something of a “forced interlude.” You get it out of the way and then get back to what you do. This one feels different. On the other hand, I’m certain to spend a good chunk of time online every day so the lines between work and non-work grow ever more blurred.

But I need change my physical space, if not my virtual space and hopping back a few times zones (Seattle) will be a good start. And I’ll be with 300 people who eat, sleep and breath blogging, podcasting and all things digital. I’m looking forward to being the dumbest guy in the room. (Insert joke here)