There are still a few, like me, that are writing code and trying to squeeze one last bright idea out of the time here. These conferences are a little like going to a Christian retreat. It’s great to remove all the distractions of daily life and just focus hard on one particular area. You feel productive and energized and capable of great things. The first timers will figure out that, when you get back to your real job, though, life is much messier. I suspect those hanging around here know all about how the return to real life disrupts that feeling and want to take advantage of a few more quiet hours. I get that.

Still, as much as I love writing software and as much as I love getting to rub shoulders with so much brainpower, I am not built for living in this environment for long. I would blame it on age, but I’ve been this way since college. Even there, I recognized the breed of student who could experiment and tinker on things until 4am and then still pass their classes. That wasn’t me. I respect those folks, but I’m not willing to neglect the rest of my life, which I would have to do, to live that way.

My wife and son are more important than these geek-outs. The family God has adopted me into is more important than becoming a high-performing social misfit that is admired by many, but friend to none. In short, I had fun, but I’m sure glad to be heading out.

Stef and David, I’m coming home.

 

During lunch, I chatted for a few minutes with a couple of guys from Fog Creek Software (this happens to be the home of Joel from Joel on Software fame). Sounds like a great place to work even if it’s in New York City. After that, I found a place to sit and catch up on email and write these entries. Here’s a few more pictures of the open areas available for folks to hang out and plug in. Power outlets are really at a premium this year. If there’s a knot of people somewhere, it’s likely they found a power strip.

 

More iPhone for the afternoon and, hopefully, some more questions answered.

You gotta love homschooling! This is David enjoying a break after his first day of school. He was back at it the next day tackling geometry, chemistry, grammar/writing, world history, latin, and Bible. We’ll be adding in vocabulary, literature, and driver’s ed soon.

Happy sophomore year, David!