It’s been a while since last blog. I shall try to do better, or at least make them interesting enough that they’ll last longer! Meanwhile, this one will be quite brief. I’m standing at a public e-mail kiosk, which tried very hard to keep me from accessing this web site. It failed. I even managed to connect to SimonG’s chatroom for a short while yesterday, before work pulled me back into the lions’ den.

For those who don’t know, I’m at a big trade show and convention in Las Vegas put on by the National Association of Broadcasters. It’s the biggest electronic media show the US has every year, and is absolutely huge. It fills the whole of the Las Vegas Convention Center, which is the size of a small city.

I’ve been here since the night of Thursday the 14th, and it’s been a lot of work. I have been getting enough sleep, but only just. The desert air, which is unbelievably dry and is difficult to adjust to under normal circumstances, has combined with the remnants of my recent cold to make it exceedingly difficult to breathe well. I am treating the condition with cough drops, beer, and perseverence.

I remain worried sick about Tony. He was left in the care of my veterinarian for the duration of the trip, so that he would have his medicine each day and so that they could keep a good close eye on him. I have called every single day, and so far they tell me he’s doing all right. My other cat and my birds are being looked after at my apartment by my friends Nicholas and Seong, which takes a tremendous load off my mind.

So far, my only truly horrible moment at the show has been during setup. Some folks from a partner company came by to chat, among them a very attractive lady with a very nice accent, which sounded very British to me. I innocently asked if the folks were based in Britain … feeling rather proud of myself for not saying, “England” instead. Unfortunately, she was from Australia and was not at all flattered to have me think her British. I turned several shades of red. In my own defense, neither she nor the other folks in her group sounded at all Australian to me, not having the unusual vowel pronunciation I’ve come to associate with Aussies. I guess I need to study the subtleties a bit more before I embarrass myself again.

I’ll try to write more at some point when I can actually sit down and use a normal keyboard … this kiosk is somewhat unwieldy! I’m here through Friday the 22nd, flying home late that night, so there will be at least another entry or three from here.