Ah, Florida. I forgot how much, um, fun it is to walk out of an air-conditioned building and have your glasses fog up so completely you’re forced to take them off. I’m here for a week-long
developer’s conference. This gives me a great opportunity for people watching.
Interesting people moment #1: Last night, when I dug my notebook out to do some work, I discovered that there are no electrical outlets near the table that holds the phone and internet connection in my room. I’m staying at a Marriott Courtyard… you know, the hotel that brands itself as being specifically for business travelers. So, I went to talk to the front desk supervisor, who gave me a blank stare, then finally responded with “well, I don’t know what you want… I can’t change the way the rooms are built.” Greeaaaat. I eventually got an extension cord from the building engineer.
Interesting moment #2: Human curiosity is so interesting; it sometimes overrides some of the other behaviors we’ve learned. You see this virtually every day on the highways. People are so curious about that accident on the highway, they throw safety out the window and slow down (or sometimes stop!) to look, even though they’re on a busy highway!. I saw the equivalent this morning. While standing on my balcony drinking coffee (this is a developer conference … most of us want to sleep ’til noon. Why do they have to start so early??) I heard the squeal of brakes in front of the hotel. It wasn’t a near accident or anything; someone almost missed their turn into the parking lot, panicked, and slammed on the brakes. Anyway, in the building next to mine, a woman in her fifties came running out onto her balcony, topless, with one arm covering her breasts, and the other gripping the hand rail while she searched the roads for the source of the sound. The desire to see what happened completely overrode her modesty.
Anyway… off to the conference… More to come.
