It’s now around 18:00, and as I begin to write a bit on a trip to New York I find myself waxing nostalgic. It seems riding home window side in this darkened and rather confined vehicle is somehow reminding me of the various speech trips from back in high school. I’d guess that throwing out my usually wistful nature; the main reason is I’ve almost always traveled by my own means, no matter the distance. So it is that letting someone else do the driving is odd enough to evoke a memory or two.

Of course, there are a few differences between now and then. First, this vehicle is traveling about 400 knots per hour at 30,000’ on its way to Detroit rather than rumbling down a Kentucky highway. Second, I’m in cargo pants sporting a 5’Oclock shadow and my Frog Togs outdoor sports jacket… a pretty far cry from those double breasted suits form back in the day. Oh how sad it is that I wish those things were still in style. Perhaps most obviously, and thankfully, I don’t have a pining crush on anyone riding with me. Hah! Oh, and there wasn’t this nifty laptop to disgorge my superfluous streams of consciousness on, so there’s that too. Funny though, one thing still the same is that irritating strobe light flashing outside the window, but meh, what’re you goanna do?

Anyway, the trip itself was a lot of fun; I’ve been fortunate enough to see a good portion of the world, but this was my first time in New York. It was for business of course, and I didn’t have much time to do the tourist bit, but I still managed to check out a couple of things. I was staying just about a block from Times Square, so of course that had to be visited, along with the Empire State Building. My daily walk also took me right by Radio City and Rockefeller Square. I knew seeing the Statue of Liberty wasn’t going to happen, but I hoped to check out Brooklyn Bridge and visit Ground Zero. Sadly, those weren’t in the cards. I did get see some very interesting neighborhoods though, owing to my habit of foot bound exploration and general random wandering. Given that my worrisome family might read this, I’ll have to squelch the details. Let’s just say I ran into some colorful characters and leave it at that.

Overall I’d have to say New York isn’t a place I’d want to live; it’s much too confining. But for a visit you can certainly do worse. I had a choice between it and Miami, and for me there wasn’t even a contrast. No I’m not crazy; I just don’t care for the heat like others do. Maybe I’ll do Miami next year.

The conference (Future of Web Design) itself was somewhat educational, though I’d be lying if I didn’t say at least half of it was useless drivel. The session on “unleashing creativity” was particularly irrelevant. But the rest more than made up for it, especially the various workshops on how to implement HTML5 features with legacy browsers. I’m kind of surprised I didn’t see any other UK denizens there. It was defiantly something I’d recommend to anyone else in the business all around. I understand the next one is in London this March and I’m already looking at going.

Here are a few pictures I took during my wanderings. I admit the quality sucks; I think my old beater of a camera has followed me through one too many walks in the woods. Still, New York is New York, even through the eyes of early adoption digital technology. Enjoy. Or not.

Maybe I’ll see you next year in Miami, whoever “you” are. Or perhaps we’ll meet at merry old London in the spring. Cheerio!

DC