September, 13, 2004 archives

i need to write up more about foo camp ’04, but one thought: i have a hard time imagining a better conference to be invited to participate in if you are looking for a job. there were a number of folks from cool companies (big and not so big, and everything in between) that were exactly the people you would want to have a relationship with so you could jump the job applicant queue.

my flight returning from foo camp (sfo to lax) was on a 767. it brought me international-flight flashbacks, especially when the person in front of me cranked their seat back. economy class just doesn’t feel as much like cattle class on a 737 or md-80 compared to how it feels on a 767.

i read the curious incident of the dog in the night by mark haddon on the way back from foo camp. it’s told from the point of view of christopher, a 15-year old autistic boy who discovers his neighbor’s dog killed with a garden fork.

for a character that can’t empathize with anyone else, it is surprisingly easy to empathize with christopher. the book does an amazing job of putting you inside the head of an autistic child.