Austin, here I come

Butterflies

I am pretty excited. In just a few days, I will be boarding a plane bound for Austin, Texas to attend the famed South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive conference. It will be me, a coworker and another Nathan representing the Boise crowd. Despite the widespread common misconception, not all people in Idaho are of the ignorant Napoleon Dynamite variety. I haven't yet given much thought to what lectures / speakers I want to hear, simply because I feel like it's sensory overload with all the good presentations available.

I do know where I'll be on Monday, March 13th at 8:00pm - at the Union Underground, for a competition of epic proportions. Myself, along with many many other web geeks will be showcasing our (lack of) talent at the 2006 Bowling Extravaganza. Of all the things going on at SXSW, I think this event is what I am most nervous about. I find it hard to believe that I will actually be in the same room as the guys responsible for designing these websites: A List Apart, CSS Beauty, CSS Zen Garden, ESPN and Newsvine.

Not only that, but the authors of two of my favorite books, CSS Mastery and DOM Scripting, will be there. I just hope I don't embarrass myself too badly, as I've not bowled in forever. It will just be cool to hang out with and finally meet some of the bloggers I have been reading for many years, and to whom I am indebted for my (albeit limited) knowledge of web standards and design.

Godbit swag

Oh, I almost forgot. At the request of several guys on the Godbit forum, I have made up some simple t-shirts with our emblem and site URL. I hadn't realized that people would actually be this receptive. Please note that I have not added any additional price markup, so the only money that changes hands will go straight to CafePress. I want to emphasize that the Godbit Project is not a money-making venture, but at the same time I wanted to allow people to sport the t-shirts if they so desire. Having said that: Get your t-shirt here.