We're baAAAAaaack. I kicked and jumped and fought and scratched and screamed when Ponzi pried me away from the computer on Friday, but… it didn't take long for me to open my eyes to the alternative perspectives at the conference (which was less about UFOs and more about science). I rather enjoyed myself, and wouldn't mind hitting another one if I could. It was the first non-geek convention I've been to in a long time, although there were plenty of geeks there. I've gotta hit my inbox and whittle 'er down to a three-digit number, but I'll be hitting the research trail not long after that happens. I think I finally have a reason to be interested in geometry.

I'm having a better time at this “out there” convention than I thought I would. Most of yesterday's events were good, but a few of 'em seemed rather pointless. The Mexican UFO presentation knocked my socks off; the journalist showed footage from Japan that illustrated some type of invisibility technology. I have no idea if it was real, though. Today, we're going back for a few more rounds of conspiracy (sunny side up). A few scientists are following up on their radical predictions (including the claim that something about life on Mars will be announced in a couple of weeks at some conference on an island in Italy). No Klingons, though.

Eric and I thought we'd try something - the world's first audioblog switch-off. Don't listen to one without listening to the other… and maybe it'll make more sense. Or not. Probably not. Maybe?

I guess this makes it… official? Again? No word on whether or not the UI will still be ass-ugly. Even WindowBlinds can't fix that mess. Microsoft oughta force their design development team to use OS X for a year, ya know?

I've seen an awful lot of commercials for depression medication lately. Are the networks trying to tell us something? The solution's side effects always seem to be much worse than the malady. Take, for example, Zoloft (that's the one with the Schmoo midget as its rep):

Side effects may include the following: upset stomach, trouble sleeping, diarrhea, dry mouth, sexual side effects, feeling sleepy or tired, tremor, indigestion, sweating, feeling agitated, and having less appetite.

Now THAT is depressing.

Gnomedex registrations are starting to pick up again - could be due to the expanding schedule. We just added Primer to it the other day, an award-winning Sundance film that the producers wanted to show at the conference. Not to mention Gokul Rajaram, the senior product manager for AdSense (one of the best things ever to happen to the Web).
This is quickly turning into a Who's Who of Internet Publishing. We've got a handful of A-list bloggers, RSS / Atom syndication gurus, advertising solution reps, and (of course) Woz as our keynote. Without even realizing it, we're set to energize and evangelize the future of at-home, on-demand, profitable (!) content ventures. Everybody's talking about a global conversation, but… Gnomedex IS that conversation. We've got Wi-Fi and Wil Wheaton, what other excuse do you need to escape to Tahoe for the weekend?

Remember Y2k? Yeah, well… now there's a Year 2038 Bug going around. And for those of you wondering, it has nothing to do with the 404s that went out in last night's newsletters. That was an error on my part… miscommunication, rather. My bad. Turned out to be a caching issue, but the WhatCounts folks were on the ball (as usual) and fixed 'er up.

Wicket and Pixie were playing around with the bumble ball tonight, and I thought I'd capture the activity on video for all to see. They're also showcasing their new collars! I edited out the part where they pooped.

Road Trip! Someone just purchased tickets for us to attend the 6th Annual BAY AREA UFO EXPO in a couple of weeks. Any other geeks going to be there? Oughta be interesting - with plenty of “WTF” moments.