Gettin' all Nerdy (A Blog-jacking)

So I've recently been learning how to write applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It's part of a cadet project that I'll be leading next academic year. In an effort to learn in other ways than on my own, I found the Apple World Wide Developer's Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco. That's where I am now. I've been here all week, and have really been enjoying myself and learning a lot with just over 5000 other nerds. The one thing I've got to say is that Apple doesn't scrimp when it comes to putting on an event. Of course it wasn't cheap to be here, but Apple definitely made it worth it.

Since I'm here as an instructor at West Point, I get to use government rates for everything, so I had the privilege to stay in a very nice hotel. Below, you can see the view from my room.


On the last night of the conference (Thursday) they had a big bash at the Yuerba Buena Gardens, right across the street from the conference center. This being my first time at the conference, I wasn't sure what to expect from the bash. I had planned to get some free dinner, have a drink or two, and then go back to my hotel and catch a movie or something. But then they announced who the entertainment for the evening was. This being a big nerd conference, I was a little doubtful as to the quality of the entertainment.

Then Cake walked out on stage and started playing. Cake, really? I didn't know that I was going to get a free Cake concert out of the whole deal. (I'm sorry to those of you who don't know Cake, so you should check them out.) If you look to the left of the band in the picture above, you'll see a bunch of people hanging over a railing beside the stage. Well, that's where I found myself in short order to try to get some better pictures.

All in all, it's been quite an enjoyable week. It's definitely an interesting mix of people. In fact, I snapped the picture below while I was sitting here writing this blog. As much fun as it's been, I do miss home, and am looking forward to getting there. It's going to be a long night on an airplane, but I'll be home tomorrow, and then we have a nice week of vacation next week.