Boston Breakdown

The return train ride from Boston was so convenient that I went grocery shopping at Trader Joe's in Boston before I came home. It seems crazy, but it was no more or less hassle than shopping at Whole Foods here in Chelsea. And with good balsamic vinegar for $1.69, how could I resist?

It was a good trip, overall. The conference had interesting parts. I mostly followed the .NET track and also went to a class about XML Schemas. The keynote by James Golsing (inventor of java) was pretty cool. Gosling is working with NASA on a Mars rover project. He lamented the "testing problem" they had on that project.

I found the conference to be bit souless. There are various reasons for it, I imagine: The attendance was down considerably from when I attended two years ago. The attendees are primarily corporate developers. And the target audience is broad: software development is no longer a niche but rather a category full of hundreds of niches. The spirit of the smaller and more focused Meet the Makers conference I went to was much more engaging.

Nevertheless, I learned some stuff, had a few days away from it all, got to see Emily, and also got to spend time with my Uncle Jamie.

My uncle manages a nice restaurant called "Stephanie's on Newbury." We had dinner there one night and in Chinatown another night. He aso gave me a nice driving tour of Boston, including the spectacular new bridge. My uncle is the self-described outsider of the family and also the most politically conservative in a pretty liberal clan. Our conversations were wide-ranging and interesting.

A lot of discussion focused around issues raised by "Bowling For Columbine," which I saw in the movie theater near my hotel. My uncle is a member of the NRA. I'm pretty anti-gun, but pro civil liberties. The political influence that the NRA has over some politicians disgusts me. Still, I would agree that Americans should be allowed to have certain categories of weapons, until we make changes to the Second amendment. I don't think such constitutional changes are likely, but if the American people ever did jointly decide to say no to guns, it would be a glorious day.

Anyway, the food and atmosphere at the restaurant was excellent. I'm working on a website for him, which will launch in the next few weeks.

Boston

I left New York on the 4pm Amtrak Acela bound for Boston. The train, with its automatic sliding glass doors, spacious seats, and quiet speed, feels decidedly definitely more modern than most airplanes. I left from Penn Station in New York and got off the train across the street from my hotel. Very convenient. Of course, I could fly to London for the cost of the ticket...

I'm in Boston (tapping away on the Westin's complimentary high-speed internet access -- how cool is that?) for a software development conference. Learn some more .NET stuff, catch a couple of XML and Java seminars, and scout out the exhibit hall for products we might want for work. Yes, all extremely high on the glamour scale.

After arriving tonight, I caught up with my friend Emily, who I went to high school with. We went out for vietnamese and chatted about work, love, friends, etc.

It's a good time for me to get out of New York for a few days. A friend I met while living in India unexpectedly passed away a few days ago. He was 23 years old. Really sad. And a reminder of the fragility of life. I'll write more about him soon. For now, it's nice to have some time and space away to digest it all.

Two different friends are leaving for trips to Thailand soon. Others are loading up there VW bus with high tech gear for a cross-country bonanza of a voyage. I'm toying around with some travels of my own. Myanmar, Vietnam, New Zealand, and Australia are on the top list. I'd want to fit Singapore in there, of course, to see Aji.

Volleyball never stops. Thankfully. The "Underdogs" are knocked down to second place. The team is going to make a run at retaking first place tomorrow night. I'll be cheering them on from here. Sand court has been fun despite politics among some personalities in the gym clique. Silly stuff but a part of most groups of people, regardless of whether they've gathered to debate or gathered to be in harmony with one another.

It has become clear to me that I'm psychologically addicted to the chemical rush I get playing volleyball. If I go too long without playing I start getting down. And I start feeling good walking down the street to a game, as my body anticipates it.

In the news, the Homeland Security Act passed the Senate without amendment to the stuff I was frustrated with in my last post. I find the current politics of our nation and world to be scary, but also fascinating. Some good reading of late is a NYT Magazine piece on the UN Security Council, the excerpts from Bob Woodward's new book that the Washington Post is running, and a New Yorker piece I'm still working through about Ayman Zawahiri, an Islamist (New Yorker, September 16, 2002, "The Man Behind Bin Laden").