Think Happy Thoughts

This is the first post in a series I call "Where The Hell Have You Been?"

Voxtrot

Well, I've been traveling, and my first stop was Austin, TX for SXSW 2007. Lulu had a booth in the exhibition hall (we were the ones next to the Army and across from Firefox) and I was invited along as the web geek translator. I don't want to bore you with the details, so here are the highlights:

• Arrived in Austin, TX
• Checked in to lousy hotel
• Checked out of lousy hotel and in to nice hotel
• Had tacos and cervezas
• Booth duty
• Put a Firefox tattoo on my forehead
  
• Asked very insightful question about the role of personas in activity-centered design
• Had some tasty mojitos
• Voxtrot and Dennis Jay
• Had giant ribs, then more giant ribs
• Gawked at internet famous people
• Twittered
• Flew to Hong Kong
  

I have blurry camera phone pictures to prove all most of this.

WRAL:

A Freeze Warning is in effect again tonight with at least 3-5 hours of freezing temperatures expected.

So, I found out today that Foxtrot and For Better or For Worse are both ending. Foxtrot is going to a Sunday-only format Real Soon Now, and FBoFW is being retired next Fall. Oh, and apparently Aaron McGruder finally pulled the plug on the Boondocks strip to focus on the cartoon version. Will the comics page ever be the same? I doubt it, especially since I also found out that Diesel Sweeties is being syndicated. Isn't that surreal? A pixel art comic about a robot dating a retired porn star will be in newspaper.

The Best Wurst
Originally uploaded by jacksonfox.

So, I was in Austin, TX a few weeks ago for the ASIS&T 2006 conference, and found this stand on 6th Street called "The Best Wurst".

We did it! We missed it four years in a row, but this past Saturday we finally made it to the World Beer Fest. What follows is a list of the beers I tried. Well, at least the ones I can recall trying. Which is not to say I got drunk -- all I had was a mild buzz -- only that I didn't take notes.

• Arcobrau Bavarian Wheat
• Atlanta Brewing Co. Peachtree Pale Ale
• B.B. Burgerbrau Original Lager
• Carlsberg German Pilsener
• Charleston Brewing Co. Half Moon Hefeweizen
• Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery Brown Ale
• Fort Collins Brewery Major Tom's Pomegranate Wheat
• Fullers Brewing Co. London Pride
• Great Divide Brweing Co. Wild Raspberry Wheat
• Green Man Brewing Co. Belgian Wit
• King Brewing Co. Weissbier
• Kuhnhenn Brwery Creme Brulee Java Stout
• Lakefront Brewery New Grist
• Lakefrton Brewery Belgian White
• Lindemans Farm Brewery Framboise
• Lindemans Farm Peche Lambic
• Lion Brewery Lager
• The Old Samuel Smith Brwery Organic Ale
• Ommegang Brewery Hennepin
• Wolaver's Brown Ale
• Pyramid Breweries Snowcap Ale
• Redstone Meadery Black Raspberry Nectar
• Top of the Hill Brewery Old Well White
• Unibroue Ephemere Apple
• Verhaeghe Brouwerij Duchesse de Bourgogne Flemish Ale

Most memorable beer (in a good way) -- Ephemere Apple, Lakefront Brewery New Grist (tie)
Most memorable beer (in a bad way) -- Duchesse de Bourgogne Flemish Ale (worst beer EVER)

A very, very new side project: We Love Cotton is a weblog about t-shirts. Think of it as my personal t-shirt wishlist, only with comments and trackbacks.

What's the most memorable building you've lived in?

When I was in elementary and middle school my family lived in Tucson, AZ. Our house was just below the foothills of the Santa Catalina mountains. I loved that house and I loved living in the dessert. It had the best backyard in the world -- a huge patio, a pool, a play area, and almost an acre of open dessert to play in. If we got bored playing in the backyard, we could walk to the end of our development and hike up into the foothills.

The house it self was open and sunny. Being Arizona, it was also warm, even with the AC on. I remember how our cat hated the spanish tile in the kitchen because his claws could never get any purchase. There were huge windows overlooking the backyard where we could watch wildlife (including the bobcat that tried to eat the cat).

I hated leaving that house.