Travis Smith: my resume, bio and photos back to the main blog page

I’m in Miami for the We Media conference.  It’s an interesting conference: not limited to one particular group of people, it spans journalists, educators, politics, non-profits, and of course, folks doing Web 2.0 social media, which is the secret sauce that so many industries are hoping to slather themselves with these days.

So far, I’ve only seen the airport and the hotel (and the conference organizer, Andrew Nachison), but there’s an opening night party tonight that should be fun.  I’m here on fellowship, all expenses paid, in exchange for my blogging “prowess” and photographic “enthusiasm.” It’s not a fair trade, but they don’t know that yet. 😊

I got into a conversation with the woman next to me on the red-eye flight from Seattle to Miami. Her name is Sarah Schacht, and it turns out we’d been 100 feet away from each other for a day at Northern Voice 2008, in Vancouver.  She lives in Seattle and is headed to this conference also as a blogger / participant.  Small world! We shared a taxi and a lunch, and I was reminded how all the social tools in the world don’t tell you who you’re sitting next to. (Yeah that TripLife thing not withstanding.)

Let’s talk weather.  You might say it’s kind of humid.  (The same way Tom Cruise is kind of brainwashed.) But the sea is right next door with a cooling effect, and the breeze here reminds me that God doesn’t really like moss more than she does people, the way you might think sometimes in Vancouver.

Oh uh.  Unfortunately, the power has just gone out in my hotel room.  How did this geek first notice? Something like this: “Hmm! The wifi connection is down!  And hey, my battery isn’t charging!  And oh, the light in the room is off!”

So I’m going to take this opportunity to go down out of the hotel and buy myself a tourist T-shirt, before the conference really and truly gets underway.

Overheard

“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.”

...who said it?

“Almost every American I know does trade large portions of his life for entertainment, hour by weeknight hour, binge by Saturday binge, Facebook check by Facebook check. I’m one of them. In the course of writing this I’ve watched all 13 episodes of House of Cards and who knows how many more West Wing episodes, and I’ve spent any number of blurred hours falling down internet rabbit holes. All instead of reading, or writing, or working, or spending real time with people I love.”

...who said it?

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

...who said it?

“I play with variables constantly.”

...who said it?

“Only the person who has learned Continual Love coming from a heart of Gratitude/Worship can effectively deal with the problem of loneliness.”

...who said it?

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