Category: travel

SXSW Costs?

Ashley Bischoff1 Comment

I would like to attend South By Southwest and I’m trying to figure out whether I can afford to go. SXSW Interactive runs from March 7 - 11 and I was initially thinking that I could go down for just a few of those days, to save money. However, there’re speakers I’d like to see on either end (Richard M Stallman on Fri March 7, and Ben & Mena Trott on Tue March 11).

In order to make an informed decision, I figured on calculating a cost-estimate and comparing that to my funds (it sounds so simple…). Here’s what I’ve come up with (on the assumption, so far, that I would drive down Friday afternoon and return Tuesday night), but let me know if I’ve forgotten anything:

  • SXSW Fees: $120
  • Hotel for Friday night through Monday night, assuming I can find someone with which to share a room: $40 x 4 = $160
  • Breakfasts for Saturday through Tuesday morning: $5 x 4 = $20
  • Lunches for Friday through Tuesday: $10 x 5 = $50
  • Dinners for Friday through Tuesday:$20 x 5 = $100
  • Additional Beverages for Friday through Tuesday evenings: $10 x 5 = $50
  • Gas, one tank in each direction, but figuring on three tanks just to be sure: $15 x 3 = $45

So, that comes to about $545. Did I miss anything?

[Dow update: -141.45 to 7,989.56]

SXSW – Need a Roommate?

Ashley Bischoff3 Comments

I’ve signed up for SXSW, including the discount for the DFW Bloggers (South by Southwest is a film, music, and technology festival in Austin). However, I now need to find a room. So, if you’re looking for a roommate, let me know.

I'm looking forward to so many of the panels there:

  • Joe Clark will talk about “High Design, High Accessibility” [Sat, March 8th]
  • Lawrence Lessig will elaborate on the Creative Commons Project. [Sun, March 9th]
  • Katherine Parrish will discuss barriers to participation in Internet communities. [Sun, March 9th]
  • Davezilla will school you on how to make your site funny. [Mon, March 10th]
  • Eric Meyer, Tantek Çelik and Jeffrey Zeldman will de-mystify CSS. [Mon, March 10th]
  • Ben and Mena Trott will lead a discussion titled “Beyond the Blog.” [Tues, March 11th]
  • Josh Ulm will dissect the latest trends in web design. [Tues, March 11th]

Steelers defeat Browns!

Ashley BischoffLeave a comment

As a Pittsburgher, I looked forward to the Steelers/Browns game this afternoon. And, throughout most of the game, it wasn’t looking good for the Steelers (they still trailed 33-21 with just over 10 minutes remaining). But, they managed to score two touchdowns within the last three minutes to pull it off:

The Cleveland Browns never have gotten over The Drive by John Elway. Now they’ve got to live with The Comeback by the quarterback who was once supposed to be the next Elway.

Tommy Maddox, the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year, led one of Pittsburgh's greatest comebacks by throwing three touchdown passes in the final 19 minutes as the Steelers rallied from a 17-point deficit to stun the Browns 36-33 Sunday in an AFC wild-card game. […]

Next, they play Tennessee on Saturday (4:30/3:30c). If that game interests you, you're welcome to join me on Saturday.

Fattest Cities

Ashley BischoffLeave a comment

Men’s Fitness Magazine has released its yearly Fattest Cities list. Though the city was 5th last year, Dallas has dropped to 9th-fattest this year (which is a good thing, I suppose). Houston retains its most-fat status from last year.

Men’s Fitness evaluated the nation's 50 largest cities between July and September 2002, looking at 16 criteria that the magazine considers “indicators, risk factors or relevant environmental factors affecting fitness, obesity and health.”

The criteria included fruit and vegetable consumption, sports participation, smoking, drinking, air and water quality, length of commute, availability of parks and open spaces and percentage of overweight and sedentary residents. […]

I’m a little surprised that Pittsburgh isn’t among the top 25 fattest cities (the list cuts off at 25). Don’t get me wrong — the city can be quaint in a rustic/industrial kind of way — but its citizens are not known for their great shape :-/.

Pittsburgh Photos

Ashley BischoffLeave a comment

These days, I seem to be the only one around here without a digital camera (though not for a lack of trying). Anyhow, I’ve found that many Dallas-ites have little idea about what Pittsburgh looks like (not that I blame them), and I would have liked to taken some pictures while I was here visiting.

Dave Farber, CMU professor and maintainer of the interesting-people mailing list has placed some of his Christmastime photos of Pittsburgh on his website.

They’re not glamorizing Pittsburgh, and nor are there that many pictures there. But, they give a good idea of the city.