This is going to be short and sweet because my piece of shit Macbook Pro battery died without warning and ate an excessively lengthy post. It won’t be as fun, either, because I’m pissy right now. Welcome to my professional facade…
Friday
Super awesome. Left work, met wife and friends at The Med for happy hour. Podcamp Boulder planning session next. It was excellent. numerous people that I deeply respect and completely adore were in attendance, including Jeremy Tanner himself (who planned the whole thing). I threw two ideas up on the board to consider for sessions: Workflow Simplification and Portrait Photography.
Workflow Simplification is important for people like me who have a very low ratio of content creation to ideas. The hope was to have someone who was good at that help me become … at least slightly less bad at it. In honesty, I think my problem is more one of laziness and general disorganization (or scatter-brain-ed-ness) than of having an inefficient workflow. Semantics.
Portrait Photography is important for everyone who photographs people during an interview, at a social event of any sort, or for any other reason at any other time. Representing people in the best possible light looks as good for the photographer as it does for the subject. Not only do I want to learn a few simple techniques to make YOU look better at our next event, but I also want YOU to learn a few techniques to make ME look better. Let’s face is, you and I being completely gorgeous models is only part of a great shot.
In the end, neither of my topics were selected in the free-for-all melee that followed. A time slot grid was crammed with topics and the people who intended to speak or lead the discussion. Due partly to the quality of people present, and partly to the quality of beer (a variety of flavors of Avery Brewing Company’s finest), the whole evening was rich. I was sad to leave so soon, but Saturday was fast approaching…
Saturday
We began in pursuit of bargains at the Hospice Thrift Store. From there, it was time for breakfast burritos at Whole Foods. Then we picked up our Windsor Dairy milk share in Boulder and my wife dropped me off at Threadless HQ. I had already missed the first sessions and half of the second, so I slipped in quietly on the first one I found.

PodCamp Boulder givaways from Blue Microphones
Given the format, most of the sessions very much blended together. The day feels like one giant conversation, the management of which just changed hands a few times. The conversation lived, breathed, moved, changed form, and danced beautifully through the day. It was really fantastic. In an effort to fully experience this magnificent creature, however, I took no notes. I just followed the dance and participated as best I could. No aspects stand out, aside from a very small session lead by Larkin, in which we discussed disaster response. By that time, my wife had arrived to join us. She participated in these steps of the dance, and her contribution was lovely. I think the fact that it took place in the main conference, behind closed doors, was one of the main aspects that delineated it from the rest of the day.
Nothing concrete came of any of the talks, I confess, but that is not the point of the day. It is a starting point. And I was thrilled to be there.
Another sponsor, Blue Microphones, provided SEVEN (7!!) microphones to give away. 3 Snowball mics, 2 Snowflakes, and 2 Mikey high quality iPod/iPhone mics. NICE! We won a Snowball. Unfortunately, the manual explicitly states that it should not be stored in the freezer. Fortunately, we’ve both been wanting a terrific mic, and this is very obviously that. We are THRILLED to be the proud owners of this. In fact, my wife is playing with it right now.
After the sessions were over, Jeremy gave a terrific talk on the actual planning of the event. It was a session in and of itself that many people wanted to know more about. Afterward, we were welcomed to mingle and converse among ourselves for a while. We began our round of farewells, but kept getting caught up in brilliant conversations. It was maybe a full hour before we finally found our way to the street.
Saturday Night

Unexpected Gift of FUN!
After Podcamp and a tasty salad at home, I made my way to the home of Gwen and Joel for a Nintendo-sponsored event about connecting the Wii to the internet. The ingredients for a few hours of tremendous fun were as follows: excellent people, 2 Wii consoles each on a big screen, 6 total controllers, a few platters of great food, a couple bottles of wine, and a small crowd of excited people. Everyone had a blast.
Afterwards, Nintendo, and the event organizers, Brand About Town, wanted to ensure that everyone continued to have fun. The ingredients to ensure that were: 1 Wii Sport console with included cables and a controller, 1 additional controller, and 2000 Nintendo Points. Those ingredients were for each guest in attendance. We were all thunderstruck by the hospitality and generosity.
Sunday
As if the weekend had not already been full of amazement, and utterly exhausted of adjectives to describe it, there was another full day left. The night before, we had invited several people to join us for breakfast at Centro Latin Kitchen. Their breakfast is unbelievably good, and the company was even better. After brunch, the group of 7 broke off for their own activities, with 3 of us finding ourselves at The Cup. There, we ran into another excellent person and had delightful conversation for another couple hours.
Not Every Surprise Is Welcome
At brunch, we learned that a friend had been hospitalized on Saturday.
After we got home, I spoke to a family member who informed me that their marriage was in trouble due at least in part to to their spouse being an alcoholic. This was far from shocking news. In fact, it was good to hear that the issue is being acknowledged. I look forward to seeing positive action.
And then I was able to follow up with the hospitalized friend to find out that no cause had been found for the problem, but they will be doing followup tests to look for anything serious. They are in good hands, and are going to do everything possible to make sure that the best care is sought. And they have health insurance.
Since things sometimes seem to happen in threes, I later found out that a dear (if not close) friend has had two unfortunate situations recently. I offered what words I could, but everything that can be done is being done here as well.
While these three surprises were the least welcome of the weekend, there is still a silver lining. One had been a long time coming; another, while sudden and surprising, is being swiftly and thoroughly addressed; and the third has the smarts and support to get through everything.
Finally
I want to thank everyone who made this weekend as completely outstanding as it was. I will never turn down free stuff that I have a use for. I will never turn down enjoyable time spent with amazing friends. I will never turn down engaging and thought-provoking conversation. And I will certainly never turn down an opportunity to be there for a loved one in a time of need.
To all of you both near and far, I offer my gratitude and strength.