I realized this morning that I was starting to burn out on conference and professional time. I went straight through for nearly 18 hours yesterday...starting at 7am over the conference breakfast, hitting 4 sessions in the morning, going to the conference lunch, then 4 more sessions, then dinner with conference-goers, then 2 evening session, ending after 11pm.
So today I'm slowing down, and finding some time for myself. I skipped a couple of morning sessions (though I did go to hear Marc Smith's great talk at 8:30), had lunch with Judith Meskill and her friend Estee in the sports bar, and now I'm basking in the sun on the steps of Horton Plaza, where I've discovered a free wifi hotspot. Sitting in the sun--in February--is quite a luxury for those of us who live in the great frozen north, so it's doing me a lot of good to spend these few free minutes soaking it up.
I will go back for some of the presentations this afternoon, including a demo of Wallop by Lili Cheng that I'm really looking forward to. Then I'm having dinner with Allan Karl, which I'm also looking forward. And I end the day with the women and tech BOF...I have no idea who, if anyone, will be there. Hope it won't be an empty room, but if so at least it means I can get to sleep a little earlier.
More later today--or perhaps tomorrow--with some of my thoughts on what I've heard here, and the ideas that have emerged in my between-meeting chats with interesting people here at the conference.
