So, I'm going to Vegas for NAB. By myself. For a week.
Okey, it's not as bad as it sounds. I'll be spending the last couple of days in the San Diego / Los Angeles areas visiting my friend Dave, and as far as Vegas, a lot of people I know are going out for NAB as well. Plus, I've been tasked by various people to look at new video items while I'm out there. Plus I'll likely be going to a few shows, possibly free of charge.
I'm sure I'll keep busy.
Thankfully, I was able to use my Vegas connections (a.k.a. "AAl's Mom") to get a great rate on the room, and she even said that her casino host, Harry, wanted to meet me on Saturday, and give me some comp tickets to their show(s). As I understand it, they have a resident comedian and some sort of burlesque show at the Tropicana, so I may end up with tickets to one of those. Keen!
Anyway, so far, I've gotten as far as BWI airport, and I'm hooked up to their wireless. I'm just a connecting flight in Charlotte, NC away from Vegas. Wish me luck!
P.S.: My PowerBook just announced "YOU'VE GOT POST" to the entire waiting area for the flight, and most of the people here just turned my way to see what the fuss was all about. Note to self-- keep laptop volume turned down in public areas. 😛
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No wireless access in the Charlotte airport, so no updates there. I got on the flight to Vegas and finally had an aisle seat. Ahhhh... I pulled out my PowerBook to watch a movie, when the guy next to me started asking questions about it. Turns out, it was Tim Bono of Bono Film & Video, and we talked about video and High Def and Macs for at least 2-3 hours. That was a really nice addition to the flight.
Eventually we ran out of steam, he went for a nap, and I went to start my movie. The flight arrived in Vegas a little early, so I didn't get to finish it, but I grabbed my carry-ons and went out to the waiting area where Tim and I traded numbers. He says he knows a guy that'll be in his booth later in the week who'd really got the 720p HD video thing nailed, which is exactly what I need to figure out for my current employer's new TV series. I hope we'll be able to meet up. Anyway, I managed to get outside without gambling anything away. Yay me!
Well, let me take that back, I didn't quite get all the way outside because the line waiting for a cab extended back in the door. I heard it would be a long wait, but I figured it's only maybe a hundred feet to the sidewalk-- how long can it be? Well, once I got out the door, I saw that the line wasn't just straight out to the sidewalk-- it wound around and around like a line for a roller coaster at King's Dominion. I pulled out my magazine (the latest Rolling Stone which I picked up because it had Uma and Quentin on the cover), slowly inched up and made it to a cab two hours later. Honestly, I think I probably could have walked to the Tropicana in less time... assuming I knew where it was, and had the energy to carry my bags, neither of which were true at the time.
Anyway, checked in successfully, made it up to my room without gambling (cha-ching!), ordered a shrimp cocktail from room service, finished watching the movie on my PowerBook I started on the plane (Minority Report), and made it to bed (looking at myself in an inordinate number of mirrors placed strategically around same) by 3am local time... which is 6am at home, so I was pretty dead.
Zzzzz...