Author: Dan Dickinson

Categories
Reflected

Two Five

In the wide range of anecdotal weapons that Katie has against me, one of her favorites to trot out around her birthday is the fact that on her 23rd birthday, I ended up singing Older by They Might Be Giants instead of a traditional birthday song.

Now, this is largely because I’d rather sing TMBG instead of any Time-Warner owned birthday song, but also to alleviate her fears that she had hit some new landmark day in her life. The point of the song, at least as I’ve always taken it, is that every second of every day, you’re a little bit older – time is marching along and there’s nothing you can do to stem the flow of time. I don’t think it’s a malicious song, it’s just a statement of fact more than anything else.

So yes, I’m older than I’ve ever been, and now I’m even older. And sure, now I can rent a car in all 50 states without a problem, but that’s not something I was particularly looking to do. It’s really just another day in my life (especially given the circumstances of where I am and what I’m doing today), so I’m not going to spend time getting bent out of shape over things.

I do have a little time to reflect on the last year, so I’d like to just say thanks to everyone who’s become a part of my life in the last year – Jen, Jay, Tien, Youngna, Jake, Laren, Adam K, Suw, Amber, and all the new friends I’ve made at work over the last year. I also need to give much love to the people who have been there who continue to be there to help keep me steady – Jenn V, Nastassya, Gil, Peter, Thom, Neil, Paul, and practically everyone I talk to on a regular basis. I love you all.

And of course, no giving of props would be complete without a huge cross-country hug to the love of my life, Katie, who loves me like no one else ever could. I love you, baby.

And now, for the benefit of you waiting for keynote coverage, I’ll cut the shmaltz and head over to Moscone. See you all in a few hours.

Categories
Endured

WWDC Sendoff

Today is the magic day; in six hours, I’ll be leaving on a jet(blue) plane, winging my way towards San Francisco towards what will be a week of me taking in sessions, meeting up with people, and plugging things in to recharge them on a regular basis.

The interest in the keynote from Steve has risen sharply in the last 12 hours as CNet swears that Apple is going to announce a switch to Intel chips. I’m a little dubious still – I had my money on an Intel-based tablet, not a full architecture switch – but I consider this to be most interesting. Either CNet will have burned all of what little was left of their credibility, or there will be blood splattered on the walls of the Presidio. Win-win in my book.

As a reminder, my WWDC Itinerary is fully up to date and contains all the info you need to stalk me like a wild animal through the halls of Moscone West.

I will be blogging every session I’m in while at WWDC, but only the keynote thoughts will appear on this blog. Individual sessions will appear on my workblog, which (unsurprisingly) isn’t available to those people who don’t work for OAC. Be sure to also keep your eye on the Flickr pool, as it’s sure to have a variety of strange happenings.

Also, the customary navel-gazing birthday post will appear promptly on June 6th. I know you can’t wait for that.

(Picture above is from last year at WWDC, of the not-quite-unfurled Apple logo.)

Categories
Endured

Cue Vengaboys!

Katie and I made the trek to Six Flags Great Adventure today. We took lots and lots of photos, as one might expect. Here is a Flickr set containing all of mine, along with the trademark snappy comments.

We did manage to ride Kingda Ka, the new ridiculously overpowered coaster. While the fact sheet gives you the raw technical numbers – 0 to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds, then up 456 feet, then down the same amount – and this streaming video will give you a general idea of what the ride is like, let me present you my personal version of the experience to drive the point home:

– The line is long, *much* longer than the actual ride. We lucked out, by going on a weekday and finding our way over right after the ride had opened; our wait was only 65 minutes. I’ve been told by coaster fanatic friends that the lines can go up to 5 hours long.
– There is a sign near the front politely informing you that on occasion, the cars *don’t* make it over the 456 foot hill, but they were designed to gracefully come back down to the base and then re-launch. This will haunt you the entire time you’re in line.
– You are forced to watch these cars go from 0 to 128 mph over, and over, and over while you’re in line.
– As such, by the time you’re actually in the car, you – and everyone else – will be screaming the second it leaves the station, even though you probably have another minute before you’re screwed.
– Ride in one of the first two rows. Do not ride in the last row.
– There is a horn that blows shortly before you take off. This horn can be heard everywhere in the park. This horn will haunt you.
– The 0-to-128 acceleration is so quick that my eyelids were literally shaking in the wind.

The rest of the park is crap, but I’m certainly glad we got to ride what will be the most notorious coaster for at least the next few years.