Wiki Wiki to Wisconsin
By: Smith Schwartz |
Seriously with that guy? Amazing.
So, we are back in the good ol’ Midwest for a short stint. We came back to Chicago about 2 weeks ago, but have really spent most of our time here in Wisconsin. Since we’re not quite ready to admit we’ve actually left Hawaii, it’s been nice to get out of the city a bit.
Our first trip to Wisconsin was for Snow*Mobile, a conference for mobile developers. It was a great weekend where we got to reconnect with some old friends and meet lots of great folks. I learned so much about all things mobile, including accessibility for the blind, the new Firefox OS, technical techniques and how mobile access can change lives in the developing world.
I also got to give a talk about how our traveling lives are akin to the agile mobile development process. Since this was my first professional (read: nerdy) talk, I was really touched by the enthusiasm of our peers of what we’re doing. It was so fun to hear stories about how others have traveled for long stints and made it work in their lives.
The following weekend, we headed north again to visit Lake Geneva, a resort area in Wisconsin that is overly crowded with FISHTABS in the summertime, but relatively quiet in mid-February. We were here for Erik’s company retreat with Table XI. It was a great time catching up with all of our buddies there, and as a side note I got to walk on a frozen Lake Geneva, which was my first experience walking on water. It’s pretty much like walking on a really flat, cold field, but it was fun.
I do have so much more to tell you about Hawaii. It’s really one of the best places on earth. I honestly didn’t expect to love it as much as I did, so don’t expect me to shut up about it anytime soon. Here’s a view from our lanai (Hawaiian for porch) from our apartment in Kailua-Kona. This is where I worked most days.
And here is the view from our lanai in Wisconsin. I wasn’t able to get much work done out there, but I considered making a tiny snowman. Then I considered staying warm and indoors instead.