For Shame

I’m not sure what’s worse, how much I laughed at this list or how many of these have come out of my mouth in the past three years (I don’t think I’ve done any of them recently, but I’ll leave that for other people to decide – I surely don’t remember).\
I know I’ve done 1, 6, 17 and the last one. Shame on me…

Driving Grandma’s Car

I made it to Austin, and Avis was all out of Monte Carlos. That means I’ve got yet another Grandma car – the Buick Century, with it’s grandma-hand sized steering wheel, and soap-like handling. The only good thing about it is that I’m sure I can get everyone’s luggage in it next Thursday.\
Had a lovely lunch at Moonshine, and am looking forward to going to dinner with the Browns and Mr. McNally’s posse at Threadgills.\
I love Austin. It’s 75 degrees outside, little humidity and the sun is shining. I can’t wait to see everyone, and geek out for a week. I also remembered to bring blank cd’s, and am working on a soundtrack for this week (at least for the car).

The Thing I Keep Forgetting

Favorites From Last Week

I wanted to get these down before they completely got away from me. Last week was tiring, but well worth it. Boston was frickin’ freezing, but I learned a lot, actually contributed this time, and met some great people. So, here are my favorites from last week:

  • Favorite Meal: Meeting Frank Wilczak and Betsy Devine for dinner at Atasca. It was a fun evening, with good food, good conversation, and some good laughs. I’m sad that Betsy won’t be joining us for SXSW this year…
  • Second Favorite Meal: Bella Vista with the CSS WG. It started snowing while we were inside this cute little place in the North End that only took cash or American Express. I sat between Markus and Tantek, and had dueling conversations, about business travel and how to semantically markup the menu. The grilled veal was amazing, and the strachiatella was homey and rich.
  • Favorite Joke: We were doing introductions at a group meeting, went around the large table saying our names, and who we worked for. Then, we went around again so the minute taker could write down everyone’s first names. Then I suggested we go around one more time and give our initials. Ok, it was funny at the time. The runner up was, “It’s Bert, spelled C-S-S.”
  • Favorite TV Show: Top Gear!! I watched the rest of the episodes I’d downloaded, and it’s the best car show ever. It’s funny, smart and a great way to get reviews of new cars without getting bored by the minutiae. My favorite bits are the challenges: car olympics, historic people carrier (minivan) racing championship, the Ferrari vs. British Airways and Public Transport race, the 1,500 pound Porsche challenge, etc. They’re all funny, and better yet – fun. These guys love cars like little boys love cars, and it’s fabulous.
  • Favorite Moment: Coming home to shouts of “Daddy!”\
    And I’m off again on Thursday… looking forward to more favorites.

Downtown Boston At Night

Wicked Lava Lamp Jellyfish

The New England Aquarium

Green Jellies

I went to the New England Aquarium this morning and had a good time dodging field trip kids of all ages, their harried chaperones, and wild strollers of death.\
The jellyfish exhibit was awesome, and gave me a chance to play with my new mini tripod (thanks, sweetie), and some long exposures.\
The only downer of this morning (yes, I’m at the W3C conference, but my group isn’t meeting again until tomorrow, and the group I was auditing wasn’t meeting until after lunch) was waiting for the Harbor Express boat for the trip back. I stood outside in freezing temperatures and wicked cold wind (see, catching on to this whole Boston thing) for forty-five minutes until I gave up and got a cab.\
Boston… it’s wicked cold.

Oscars Impressions (Cuz Everyone Else Is Doing It)

I think the Academy should make a new rule: the music starts playing when the lawyers get thanked. Nothing good ever comes after the lawyers get thanked. Really. The same could be said about publicists. Nothing against either profession, but after an award winner’s gone through family, the director, co-stars, producer and studio it all starts to get sketchy and people stammer, trying to make sure they go through the litany of people who had some effect on their career. Send them flowers.\
And is it just me, or is Chris Rock the best host the Oscars have ever had? He’s not overly reverential and says a lot of the stuff we’re all thinking. And Jamie Foxx? He wanted this so bad. You could see it on his face while Charlise Theron was reading the names. His speech was so much better than the one at the Golden Globes. The bit about his grandmother was great.\
And wow, the show tonight is really moving. I skipped an hour to watch Carnivale (I mean, didn’t you?!), but it’s moving right along. We have what, two awards left?\
Thank You and Goodnight!

Kickball, Baby

Another Travel Tip I Should Have Known Already