The Net Monkey

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The trip was great. This diary barely scratches the surface on my experiences and the whole feeling of just being in San Francisco. It is truly a unique place and so very different than the Midwestern lifestyle I live here in Indianapolis.

I’m not sure what else there is to say. I don’t want to bore you with a long, boring introspective about how I hold myself back socially and technically. I will basically say that I discovered that when relaxed I can really let loose and become comfortable in situations that would have normally made me feel insecure and closed to others. That’s something I really have to overcome.

To conclude, in a nutshell, I had a great time. Thanks goes out to Mark H. and his boyfriend Peter, and my friend Matt S. for shacking me up. Thanks also goes to my good friends Jason S. and Chris H. Thanks also to Geno (Jason’s boyfriend) and Greg (Jason’s roommate) for coming to dinner on my birthday. It was a lot of fun, especially going to Fry’s. Lastly, thanks goes to Steve Jobs for turning me into a Macintosh whore.

My next trip should hopefully be H2K2 in New York City. Hope to see some of you there!

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I arrived back in Indianapolis yesterday at approximately 3:00 PM. I came home and chatted on the computer a little bit and then crashed for like eight hours. I woke up around midnight and jerked around on the computer for a while before finally falling asleep again.

I was exhausted. I only had two hours of sleep on Saturday and had to catch my flight at 6:25 AM.

Note to Self: Airports suck at 6:00 AM on Saturdays.

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After a morning of e-mail, IRC, and music listening, it turns out that we will be returning to the Moscone Center to get more free stuff. I also have to buy souvenirs for the family.

I need to do laundry.

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Last night was not as eventful as Wednesday evening, but I had a good time.

Matt S. and I went to MacWorld again yesterday. Didn’t really see much of anything interesting except for this network sniffer utility that looked cool.

After that, we went to the Metreon and met my friend Chris. We talked for a while and then went drinking to yet another Irish pub. (There are tons of Irish pubs in and around San Francisco.) After eating dinner and all, Matt had to go get his car from his friend. Chris and I went to Twin Peaks and looked out over the city for a while. He then dropped me back off at Matt’s where I just checked e-mail and hung out with Matt.

Not sure what I’m doing today. I might go to MacWorld and check out more stuff, but I might just stay here. I don’t know. Tonight is also undetermined, but I think Mark and Peter will be in The City and I’m sure I’ll wind up doing something with them. I will at least wind up in San Jose tonight since I need to catch my flight in the morning. I should be back in Indianapolis tomorrow afternoon.

I may or may not write anything for the rest of my trip to California, but I may add some final notes when I get back to Indiana. We’ll just have to wait and see what I feel like doing.

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Yesterday, Wednesday, I came into the city in the morning. While on the CalTrain (which took me to San Francisco from San Jose), I ended up chatting for quite some time with this woman who was from Iran. I learned that she is of the B’Hai Faith and that she has two masters degrees. She’s a corporate trainer and the such. Turns out she is looking for a company to do web design and hosting; and, of course, I’m the guy to give it to her.

After the train, she and I ended up going to the Moscone Center to see some of the exhibits for MacWorld. She was interested in that, too. After walking around and explaining things to her, she left to finish her site seeing.

I then ended up eating some pizza and a sandwich (no breakfast) and went to this conference on working independently (for yourself), working from home, etc. It was the only non-technical conference in all of MacWorld. The guy who presented it was great, too.

I then sat around the Moscone Center and waited for my friend Matt S. to call me. Heard from him a short while later and gave me directions to his place in Upper Haight. I got to his place and we immediately went to meet up with some friends of his for margaritas.

After margaritas, we went to this one Irish bar and had Guinness (though I stuck with my fruity drinks). After that Matt and I came back to his place to check e-mail. We then went out to another bar and continued with Guinness and fruity drinks. Very eventful. The night ended with pizza and television.

Today we’re going back to MacWorld. I’ll be meeting up with my friend Chris from Davis, CA, this evening.

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Happy birthday to me!

Sorry about no update yesterday.

While driving around on Sunday we stopped and tooks pictures of Apple’s headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino. A security guard approached us and told us to stop taking pictures because aparently Mr. Jobs sees it as a security risk when people are taking pictures of their buildings from far away. The guy had the gaul to mention September 11 as a reason for it, as if Apple would be a target for a terrorist attack.

We also stopped and smelled the ocean at Half Boon Bay. (Smells like fish!) Got some great photos there.

We eventually wound up in San Francisco and saw a few sites there. Got some great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and checked out the Palace of Fine Arts, which was absolutely beautiful.

Yesterday was the MacWorld keynote speech given by Steve Jobs. They demonstrating some software, specifically Adobe Photoshop for OS X. It looks really good. We also heard from the company that makes Mathematica and that seems like a cool program. Aspyr Media was there showing us their new Harry Potter game.

Steve Jobs introduced a few products. The first was software called iPhoto that allows you to import your pictures from a digital camera, catalog them, print them, publish them to the web, and even order a bound book (which you layout using the software) of your pictures. Very cool.

At the end of the show, Steve introduced the new iMac. They really souped it up this time. They added a G4 processor, nVidia graphics, a flat panel LCD screen, and a SuperDrive. They really went all out. I think the design of this computer is amazing!

We were also blessed with a new 14-inch iBook. They were only 12-inch previously. They lowered the price of the low-end model, which is very attractive. I think I might buy one.

After the MacWorld keynote I spent my afternoon at the Metreon, which is this mall-like building that Sony built. I got some Padd Thai at this noodle shop, played video games for two hours, watch Vanilla Sky, and played more video games in the PlayStation store.

After the Metreon, I met up with my friend Matt S. who had dinner with me at a pub. We hung out and talked about nerdly things. I spilled someone’s beer because they had it right next to my elbow. Unfortunately, no one cried over it.

My friend Jason S. is meeting me this afternoon. We’re going to hang out and do whatever. Tonight will be spent in San Jose with dinner out and a bar/pub afterwards. It is my birthday so I feel like partying.

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Had a great time out last night in San Francisco. Went to three bars, but didn’t go into the last one because I stayed in Mark’s car and slept. Flying wears me out sometimes.

Observation: The gay men here in San Francisco look a lot less pretentious than the ones in New York City.

Called my friend Jason who lives very close to San Jose. Left voice mail and haven’t heard back from him yet.

Not sure what is happening today. I think we are all going to play it by ear. I’ll write more tonight.

[This article has been retroactively posted from an old version of this site.]

My day started around 8:30 this morning. Mom made some eggs and bacon for breakfast, but I wasn’t hungry much. Barely ate anything.

Now I’m finishing up the HTML work so that I can post this diary while I’m on my trip. I still need to send out an e-mail to everyone about it. I need to buckle down since I still need to pack and take a shower!

My next update will be from California. San Francisco, here I come!