Met The Makers

On Wednesday, I attended Meet The Makers here in New York. It's a one-day conference for web developers, and it was pretty cool. The conference is built on a great business model. Where most if not all of the attendees attend for free as VIPs and sponsors pay for the privilege of bringing the attendees up-to-date on the bleeding edge of web development. It also pays for raffle prizes, speakers and a delicious lunch. It was fun to meet the people who have taught me a lot from their sites [Zeldman, Eric Myer]. And I liked what Joshua Davis had to say, too, even though he doesn't have that respect for inline skaters.

And it was a hell of a lot more fun than listening to the election results that morning. If I wasn't an atheist, I'd pray for our nation and our world...

Election Day

I just got back from voting. It was fairly quick. Short lines (on account of me not getting out of my apartment until after 10). There was a short delay, while they had trouble getting the voting machine working. Turns out it had come unplugged.

The guys running the voting machine to the left of me had no line. "Seventeen...," said one of the guys. "That's pathetic," replied the other. Hopefully, their count will increase. Chelsea residents aren't known for being early risers. And I heard that Paul Van Dyke was spinning last night, which makes an early start even less likely in this neighborhood.

This election is vaguely frustrating. I find it incredibly lame that New York's incumbent governor declined to participate in a debate with his challengers. I'm very happy to help reelect my local congressman, Jerrold Nadler, but almost wish I could make my vote count in one of the more closely contested races around the country.

Anyway, national politics pale in comparison to the infighting happening among the group of volleyball players who play at the gym's sand court. We must have had at least 75 group emails in the last 24 hours posturing, negotiating, and taking personal jabs over scheduling playing time on the court. I hope these people take the time out to vote for the makeup of their government...

One other piece of volleyball news... My indoor team is in first place. We're 12-3 on the season so far, with half of it done. One Team, Under Dog! Maybe if we win the playoffs, we can rule the nation as a secret tribunal...