The Nerd's Eye View

I left San Francisco last night, having rushed through packing in an apartment that is itself not completely unpacked. Suits, shirts, ties and some casual clothes for after, all went into the bag. I'm not accustomed to traveling light with a suit and so my suitcase is ungainly and mostly empty space (in that regard much like my head). With that I rushed out to the airport for my red-eye flight to Pittsburgh.

I was already sleepy so when I got on the plane, I almost immediately fell asleep, only waking twice during my flight to wake my arm up. I am usually a big fan of red-eye flights since I have honed my skills of sleeping during trips, but this flight was especially grim partly due to the fact that I was going somewhere for work where I didn't know anybody, and couldn't go to the beach.

Pittsburgh is hilly, which is a shocker for me though it shouldn't be. In many ways it reminds me of E. Orange, NJ, with it's bare trees, and watery morning light. The drive from the airport was mostly uneventful though downtown Pittsburgh rivals SF for the number of consecutive one way streets headed in the same direction. I managed to unload my bags, park my car ($14 a day!) and didn't really stop to take stock of anything until I walked into the hotel lobby.

The strains of classical music crept down the thickly carpeted steps like eight cats and the light was muted on the marble floors. I remembered reading about the attempts of the Carnegies and other robber baron families to convert their industrial towns into real cities, with all the creature comforts of a New York or a Paris. Hotels like this one were obviously the result of their attempts to build their palaces (and in the case of one building their castles).

I checked in relatively quickly, getting a suspicious look from staff as I was grubbier than usual after my trip. "You certainly don't look like a doctor," was the thought running across their faces like a news ticker. I smiled mostly and took the elevator to my room. The room itself is quite impressive, with a bed requiring a step ladder and a harness to get into without violating OSHA safety codes. My only complaint would be (typical) about the connectivity. I am writing this from the lobby right now, since the wireless signal on my floor is so weak as to be useless except as a random number generator test bed. Next step: clean up and prepare for the day's sessions.