I'm off to Washington, D.C., for the rest of the week to attend a tech conference. Sometimes timing is everything, and I'm glad for the opportunity to get away for a few days. Of course, just when I decide that leaving Vegas is a good thing, a substantial amount of snow gets dumped on top of all the nearby mountains, making for a breathtaking view out of the airport terminal windows. That's something I definitely won't see in D.C.

While I'm gone, I'll leave you with a movie quote to ponder. I've always been a huge fan of the movie "Swingers," but have thought that the character of Trent (Vince Vaughn) didn't have a single redeeming quality. I'm starting to realize, however, that though he may be a douche, he is very protective of his friend, Mike (Jon Favreau), and tells Mike on a regular basis exactly what he needs to hear to stop his own doubts from driving him mad. One of the things he tells him is:

I don't want you to be the guy in the PG-13 movie everyone's *really* hoping makes it happen. I want you to be like the guy in the rated R movie, you know, the guy you're not sure whether or not you like yet. You're not sure where he's coming from. Okay? You're a bad man.

I've always loved that quote because it's funny. But I never really got it, and I don't think the Mike character gets it at the time either. But it's starting to make sense to me now, and the more I think about it, the more I realize that it just provides further proof of how much Trent cares about Mike.

Funny where your mind drifts while waiting to board a plane.

Theme music for my trip: "The District Sleeps Alone" by The Postal Service

I'll try to post more from the conference.