You DO talk about Hacking Society. You DO update the Wiki about what happened at Hacking Society.

Well, I've never done the latter. But I'll babble aimlessly a little about it in this, my own oddball castle and kingdom nestled in a microdot of the web.

Tonight's Hacking Society had, I believe, a record low turnout, at least of the times I've been in attendance. At the peak moment, I believe there may have been 8 people. Caffe Sole, in general, was largely vacant thoughout the evening.

I spent most of the evening talking to Chris about all manner of random topics, ranging from his big project, to tangents on language in general, documentation licenses on open source projects, the the shifting of words' meaning in relation politics and advocacy (and the relative usefulness of intentionally masterminded changes to the usage of language).

I have signed myself up to be one of the 10-minute demo speakers at BLUG in two weeks, provided I get back from Chicago by then. Chris said he was planning for the next BLUG installment to consist entirely of brief demos by various people. Based on what he said about a couple of the topics he might present, I think I might actually want to bring a pen and take notes for this one.

(I haven't yet quite worked out the logistics of how I'm going to give my demo. Though I intend to acquire a cheap used laptop for myself off ebay in the not too far future, it's unlikely to happen that quickly, especially with the Chicago trip happening. I'll probably either attempt get permission to temporarily appropriate one from a generous friend, or cart in my desktop. All things are possible.)

Going in reverse chronology, before Hacking Society, I stopped at the library and returned the book I had checked out last week. This time, I checked out not one, but two more books to take with me on the trip. Same author. I don't know exactly how things will go in Chicago, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that I have excessive amounts of idle time on my hands. Books are good, just in case. (Maybe I'll even bring a few titles from my own collection, just in case 2 isn't enough.)

Rewind another few minutes. I stopped at the King Soopers deli to say hi to my former work mates, and acquire a little snack. It felt good to talk to them again.

But shit, $6 for a stupid little salad. I wouldn't even mind paying that price if I thought there were any chance that a decent portion of it would go to the hard working people behind the counter. But since I've been on the inside, I know for a fact that it won't. They will get the same crappy hourly wage, no matter how little or much product is sold, or how happy or unhappy they make the customers.

Instinctively, I feel like if I go in, it's "nice" to buy something. This is a notion I need to learn to shed. It would be true if the business were owned by those who ran it. But it is not. End rant.

Before I left for Hacking Society, my mom called again and said the remainder of grandma's life can now most likely be measured in days. She may or may not make it through the weekend.

I decided to do what I had already been thinking about, and depart on Saturday, rather than waiting until after scottgalvin.com's much anticipated dinner party Sunday night. I informed Scott of this, and he said he would reschedule it for another weekend. I told him he didn't have to hold the whole group up just for me, but he said it would be no trouble, since he'll be house sitting at the nice big place again in very the near future. Way cool.

Before that, I spent a couple hours working on the version of the x13 code that I want to put into live production before my departure. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.

The first part of the afternoon was spent eating lunch with scott, talking about the upcoming plans for the business, and wandering around to banks, computer stores, and other places. It also involved me getting paid again, slightly ahead of schedule. Yay!

(The fact that I have been lugging around in my pocket, for the duration of the afternoon, a far larger sum of cash than I normally ever carry in that form feels slightly strange. But when scott says, "Hey, let me pay you today," it is a time to be joyous, not a time worry about how "proper" or "accountingly correct" the format might be.)

In other words... Yes baby! I feel like a real hooker now!

"Just leave the money on top of the computer case. That'll do."

Yes, Yes, YES!

...

Fast forwarding to now. I'm thinking it would be a really good idea for me to get some sleep before tomorrow. However, I made the unwise decision to purchase and consume a highly caffeinated substance during my stay in the domain of highly caffeinated substances. And since I've been almost entirely off caffeine ever since the fest, my sensitivity is jacked up to the max. Right now, I'm wired. Too wired.

Plus that altogether too-hip, chilled-yet-hyper vibe of Indicia is thoroughly enmeshed in my brain. So what do I do? Listen to it again, of course.

The official version of those lyrics just don't do it justice.

But actually, neither does my attempt at a transcript. Betsy Ullery's vocal stylings are just... too much. In a good way.

Yep, I think I'm fated to become a fan.

Up... too... late....

Well, maybe some chemical intervention will be required before I sleep tonight, in an effort to counteract the chemicals I ingested earlier. Silly me. But it tasted so gooood. Mocha.... mmmmmmm....

And off with me! Out! Now!