One of the things Susan wanted to see in Austin was the Congress Avenue Bridge Bats. Congress Avenue is a street in Austin. There’s a bridge on that street (the Congress Avenue Bridge). Under said bridge are hundreds of thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats — somewhere between 750,000 and 1.5 million bats, depending on the season (the bats migrate and are in Austin from spring until fall). At dusk, all of the bats fly out from underneath the bridge to go eat. If you are standing near the bridge near dusk, you will see a lot of bats. From what… (read more)

On day six, we woke up at the same place for a second day in a row — a rarity on this trip. After eating a small breakfast in the hotel room we hopped on the resort’s tram to see the entire property. It was nice to see the whole place. An hour later we were on the road again, driving north. For lunch we stopped at a key lime roadside shop. I had some fried fish and homemade coleslaw. Afterwards we all split some key lime pie. I bought a metal lizard as a souvenir. It wasn’t until I… (read more)

After back-to-back 60-hour work weeks with two more months of them ahead, it’s hard to remember a time when I was more exhausted by work. Working at Oklahoma Graphics still tops it, of course. The summer I worked there I worked 12-hour shifts, between three and seven days a week. It was 12 hours a day of doing physical labor while standing on the concrete floor of a warehouse with no air conditioning. The summer I worked there I doubled my food intake and still lost over 30 pounds — an effective weight loss plan, yes, although a difficult one… (read more)

.xX{ Modernized Classics }Xx. Even great songs can, over time, begin to sound dated. The cover tunes tunes I’ve listed below are what I call “modernized classic” — originally great songs re-recorded in more contemporary musical styles. 13. “Boys of Summer” by The Ataris (original by Don Henley of the Eagles) Formed in the mid-90s, The Ataris had their greatest chart success with an updated cover of Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer”, a song about old flames and past regrets. Not only did The Ataris update the musical style of the original from classic rock to punk-pop, but they also… (read more)

“I’m not exactly sure why my demo isn’t working,” our presenter confided to me during a break. “It looks like your firewall may be blocking the ports I need to use. What all ports do you guys block on your network, anyway?” he asked. At any other conference on any other day to any other presenter I probably would have freely given up the information; this time, however, I hesitated. Despite his friendly disposition and warm smile, I cannot forget who he is: Kevin Mitnick, the world’s most infamous hacker. Kevin Mitnick, myself, and Alex Kasper The Background Mitnick’s adventures… (read more)