According to Google, I am

According to Google, I am the world's 178th most important Tom. Yep, egosurfing again. Now, what can I do to break into the Top 100?

Quote of the day: "A

Quote of the day: "A polar bear is just another way of expressing a rectangular bear."

Check out this eBay auction.

Check out this eBay auction. Read the description carefully. And then note how much the poor sucker paid.

Wayport is cool.

Wayport is cool.

Good Eats host Alton Brown

Good Eats host Alton Brown becomes a petty criminal. Actually, the interesting part of the story is the point that he makes at the end of the piece; these people had an easy opportunity to keep him as a customer. Had they done so, everyone would have won: Alton, the staff of the store, and the corporation that runs the store (he won't be shooting any more episodes of Good Eats at Kroger, which will lose them some incalculable amount of good will). Stupid adherance to procedure meant that everyone lost instead. And what do you want to bet that some higher-up from Kroger will soon be sucking up big time?

Michael Barone, at USNews.com, wrote

Michael Barone, at USNews.com, wrote this article about the CA gubernatorial election in which he said:

voters don't think tactically, anyway; they vote not for the candidate with the best chance to win but for the candidate who they believe will do the job the way they'd like it done.

Well, I've got one good data point that says he's wrong: myself. I voted for Simon solely because he was the most electable primary candidate with the best shot of losing big to Davis. Not only do I exist, I bet I wasn't the only one, either.

I realized while in the

I realized while in the last session that the only thing I'd blogged in the last couple days from SXSW was negative, and I'm actually having a wonderful, envigorating time here. So, here's a more representative thought:

I've griped numerous times in the past about being the only or one of the very few women speaking at any given conference. One of the things that I've enjoyed the most about this conference is the number of women speaking and attending. I've been to two sessions where Meg talked, and I've had a good time this week touching base with such women as Heather, Rebecca, and Dinah, and meeting new women like Sooz, Meryl, and Christine. It's been a blast.

My apologies if I forgot to mention anyone, and virtual hugs to you all!

For a couple of years,

For a couple of years, I ran volunteer services at a small/medium-size trade show. I finally figured out that that's why the volunteer situation here at SXSW was driving me up the wall. If I was running it, half of volunteers would be fired, and the other half would be sent to re-education camps. Hint: someone can be handicapped without being in a wheelchair, and forcing them to climb a long staircase because "the elevator is only for film conference attendees" is infuriating, particularly when it's the last day of a conference and everyone's exhausted.

You know, I really like

You know, I really like my TV, but even if I didn't, this would be going too far: Gunman, apparently upset with his wide-screen TV, takes many hostages. I did go ahead and order a new DVD player, the Sony DVPNS700P; it's a progressive-scan player that I'd heard raves about. My brother-in-law Howard was kind enough to serve as a guinea pig for the purchase, as he got one on my recommendation a few months back. It should be here this week, but I won't open it until I'm done with my book. Next week, it's Toy Time.

Hey everyone--there's wireless bandwidth at

Hey everyone--there's wireless bandwidth at the SXSW trade show food court. C'mon down!