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Some things I learned from the NRA convention:

• Take more than one picture. Some of the photos I took didn’t come out the way I really wanted them to, but in order to avoid being an obstacle to other convention-goers I kind of snapped quick shots and moved on. I also didn’t get all the shots I wanted of some of the cooler displays. This is the wrong thing to do. Take the time and the shots necessary to get it right.
• Take the time to wait in line for events you want to see. You’ve got all weekend. I really regret not meeting R. Lee Ermey personally. I only saw him in passing and let the line deter me.
• If you blog anonymously, put your nom-de-blog on your press credentials. I prefer to be called by my real name face-to-face, but even fewer people knew who the hell I was because I made it more confusing than it had to be. Like LabRat said on day one: our blog identities are a significant part of who we are.
• Make business cards. Even if you’re just giving them to other bloggers who already know you by reputation, business cards help you make an impression. I actually already designed and ordered business cards for my blog from FedEx/Kinkos this evening. I will not be unprepared next time.
• Don’t be afraid to just hang out. Don’t feel like you need to be on the convention floor all day.
• Speak up. Introduce yourself to people. Given my extremely introverted nature, I feel like I didn’t do too poorly at this, but there is definitely significant room for improvement.

Friday was the first official day of the NRAAM, and first on my agenda for Day 1 was the Grassroots Workshop at the Sheraton. I arrived a bit late and missed Dick Heller’s speech. Wayne LaPierre and Chris Cox spoke, but the stars of the show were the NRA Grassroots Coordinators. They covered topics such as contacting your elected representatives, writing letters to the editor, election activism, and getting involved in the community as a pro-Second Amendment activist. They asked each attendee to join the NRA FrontLines, a group of volunteers who work with their local Election Volunteer Coordinator “to advance ILA’s legislative and political agenda.”

After the workshop I headed over to the convention center, where I was greeted by this line. As Sebastian says, the line was much worse than it looks in the photo. Registration for the meeting is below street level, and the escalators were unable to keep up with the traffic, so their use was rationed to prevent them from breaking down under the strain. This is the new Phoenix Convention Center’s first big con, so I suspect that this was simply a case where someone forgot the five Ps: Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance. Words to live by.

Avoiding the line, which seemed to be nearly static, I hung out in the press room with the other bloggers. Most of us hadn’t eaten all day, so as soon as TD showed up we headed to lunch at Kincaids. After lunch (which was excellent) I headed down to the exhibit floor to check things out. The line had subsided and the downstairs area was readily accessible again. My good friend Mike will be here this afternoon to wander the floor with me, so Friday was mostly a scouting expedition. I did see Todd Jarrett give an impressive demonstration on gun safety, laser grip use, and drawing and reloading from his Serpa Blackhawk! holster. He was able to complete a draw, fire, reload, and fire sequence in 1.60 seconds. I spotted a lot of “tacticool” weapons out there, it seems like everything this year has rails, lights, and lasers attached to it.

I was travelling light yesterday, so I won’t have pictures until tomorrow.

Edited to add: This is my first post from my new EeePC. So far it’s pretty awesome, but tomorrow I will definitely remember to bring my full-size mouse with me. The touch pad est no bueno for long-term use.

Spent the evening at Friday’s Front Row at Chase Field for the 2ABB meet-and-greet. Everyone there was really great and friendly. I spoke with the folks from Great Satan, Inc., ExurbanKevin, NUGUN, Eric Shelton from the Handgun Podcast, and others. I figured that I could work today and not miss anything and apparently I was wrong. NUGUN and Eric got to wander the exhibit hall during setup and check out all sorts of cool stuff. Even though I’ll be there in the same exhibit hall tomorrow, I am  a little jealous. Such is life. I’m looking forward to the grassroots workshop tomorrow morning. My EeePC arrived today. I want to stay up and install Fedora on it, but I should really get to bed if I want to wake up in time for breakfast at the convention. More bloggy tomorrow.

It looks like this is going to be the year of the convention for me. The Blog Bash is this weekend, of course, and today I confirmed that I’ll be attending Cisco Live in San Francisco next month. I’m seriously considering PAX and the Reno GBR as well. Now that I think about it, I was planning on taking two weeks vacation in September anyway. I could hit both events.

With all that traveling, I need a new laptop. A netbook seems ideal due to its portability and no-frills utility, but none of them have traditional serial ports on them. As a network engineer and computer hobbyist, I still use console connections and null modem cables often enough that a laptop without a serial port is a non-starter for me. I’ve used USB-to-RS-232 adapters before, and the ones I’ve tried suck hairy balls. So my question to my readers is this: is there a USB-based solution that I can use with a netbook which actually works half a damn? Or do I just have to get a full-size laptop?

With the Second Amendment Blog Bash just around the corner, I figure that now is a good time to highlight some of my favorite restaurants in or near downtown Phoenix. Exurban Kevin already has a good run-down of the big attractions in Arizona, including some of the best restaurants in the East Valley, but with the exception of Friday’s Front Row^[1] and Alice Cooperstown^[2], none of them are very near the Phoenix Convention Center.

• Starting with one of the closest restaurants, Stoudemire’s is owned by Phoenix Suns player Amare Stoudemire. The food here is a bit expensive, considering the limited menu, but good. From fish tacos to filet mignon, you can find something here for everyone.
• Also within walking distance of the Convention Center, you can find Kincaid’s. With similar pricing to Stoudemire’s, Kincaid’s has a better selection and better-tasting food. Of the two, I recommend this one.
• One of my personal favorite downtown restaurants, just southwest of Chase Field, is Coach and Willie’s. Serving a truly impressive array of burgers, pizzas, pastas, salads, and steak, along with a well-stocked bar, this restaurant is not to be missed.
• North of the Convention Center, along the light rail on Central Ave, you will find Durant’s, a well-known Phoenix steakhouse. While you can find better steak in Scottsdale, Durant’s is the best steakhouse in Downtown Phoenix.
• What if all you want is a burger? The Original Hamburger Works has you covered. Juicy 1/3, 1/2, and 2/3 lb burgers with a do-it-yourself toppings bar greet you at this Phoenix legend. They also serve great chicken sandwiches.
• In the mood for Greek? Athenian Express is a family-owned Greek restaurant at Central and Roosevelt. Their gyros are very popular lunch fare.
• Although it’s a couple of miles from the Center, if you’re looking for pizza or other Italian-style food I cannot recommend Oreganos (Phoenix or Scottsdale locations) enough. Their food is great, their menu is vast, and their potions are enormous.
• For Chinese food, you can’t go wrong with China Chili. The service at this restaurant is amazingly fast.
• If you are looking for a bar or pub to wind down the evening, check out George and Dragon. G&D is an English pub owned by an actual English ex-pat, and their pub food is top-knotch.
• On the sushi front, Ninja in Chandler is the restaurant of choice.

There are my recommendations for Downtown Phoenix dining. You might notice a lack of Mexican food, which is because I’m not a fan of south-of-the-border cooking so I don’t really know what’s worth eating in the area. Suggest your own favorite downtown restaurants in comments!

I should echo Kevin’s warning that you can only carry a firearm in restaurants that do not serve alcohol and are not posted with a no weapons sign. Of the restaurants on this list, only Athenian Express, China Chili, and Oreganos (Update 5/1: I had lunch at Oreganos today and they do serve alcohol. My bad.) do not serve alcohol. None of these are posted.

1. location of the NRA-ILA Public Affairs Blogger Mix & Mingle on Thursday night [↩]
2. Which is a really good restaurant, I recommend checking it out while you’re here [↩]

Via Bore Patch, this app is fun. My father’s family is spread far and wide over the globe, and like many Indian families they are more than happy to host people who are otherwise complete strangers in their homes. In many of the countries I’ve visited, we spent our days touring the countryside and our evenings dining with near or distant relatives, sharing stories. I should see if I can find my travel diaries.

visited 20 states (8.88%)
Create your own visited map of The World or another interesting project

visited 30 states (60%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

Also via Bore Patch, Engineering Johnson is now on the blogroll. I’m still working on that IPv6 series, but it has been delayed by real life obligations. I hope to have at least the first in the series up tomorrow. I should have much more time to write next week.

So I’m about to shut off my Ethernet connection in order to avoid distration while I read several books about the Internet. With paper and stuff. If only there were some way to get information about the Internet electronically. . .

Blogging resumes tomorrow.

I just got home from work (more maintenance) so I figure now is as good a time as any to do the whole “what are you carrying” meme. Here is a photo of the items I was carrying when I came in the door (click for big):

• Keys, with Necessikey and Utili-key
• Smith and Wesson 1911PD, “Gunsite”, .45ACP
• Galco Royal Guard IWB holster for 4.25″ 1911
• Mantis “Classier Act” folding knife
• Personal Cell Phone (Nokia)
• Work Cell Phone (Motorola Q)
• DIFR RFID-blocking wallet

Not pictured, but carried in my laptop bag:

• Laptop (duh)
• Ethernet crimper and ends
• 2 6′ shielded CAT6 Ethernet patch cables
• Console cable
• RJ-45 to RS-232 adapter
• Logitech Mouse
• SureFire E2L Outdoorsman
• Leatherman Charge TTi w/ bit set
• Pocket Ref

With the exception of the .45 and the Necessikey, I use every one of the items on this list on a near-daily basis. I got the Necessikey for free with my folding knife, but for every situation where it might be useful I already have a better tool. I carry it anyway just in case. I used to use the utili-key all the time, it is surprisingly functional. Since I bought the Leatherman, though, I mostly lend it to people who for some reason don’t carry their own knives.

The Galco Royal Guard holster is very comfortable, I have one for my Gunsite 1911 and a 5″ Royal Guard for my Springfield Armory GI .45. For open carry I have a Galco FLETCH OWB holster for my GI .45.

The DIFR wallet works well. I’ve tested it with a variety of RFID devices and so far it’s blocked them all. I’m very satisfied with it. The Leatherman and SureFire come in handy in the office when I just have to duck into a wiring closet or server rack to check on something and don’t want to bring my whole toolbox, or when I’m traveling and don’t want to check my good tools. Another engineer at work had all of his favorite tools stolen by the TSA while traveling to one of our remote offices, so most of us don’t carry them with us when we travel. I guess wire cutters, cable crimpers, and bit drivers are a threat to national security. Or something.

Anyway, that’s a quick inventory of the items I carry every day.

I just realized, to my chagrin, that Linoge has blogrolled me but I have not linked him in return. His blog, Walls of the City, has been in my bookmarks for several weeks, since I discovered him via SayUncle during the Commercial Appeal kerfuffle.

Also via Linoge and just about everyone else, Les Jones is now on my daily reads list.

I bought a new camera this week because I figure if I’m gonna cover the NRA Annual Meeting at the Blog Bash, it’d probably be worthwhile to have a camera. I haven’t owned a camera since I was a kid traveling the world with my parents, and it’s the first digital camera I’ve had.

I bought a Nikon D60 Digital SLR camera. Even though I’m a complete n00b at this photography thing, I wanted to buy a camera that does a decent job at point-and-shoot but that I can also grow into as my skills improve. Also, I’ve heard and read good things about Nikon lenses.

Tonight was the first night I’ve had time to play with the new camera at all. I took some photos of posters and boxes and other still objects yesterday to get a feel for the auto vs manual focus, flash, and framing. I haven’t read the manual yet, so tonight I set the camera on auto-everything and took some shots of my holsters, my 1911s, and my dog.

Kitti is a Yorksire Terrier, and is so named because she spent the first few weeks of her life with cats and when she was a puppy she had a lot of cat-like mannerisms. She loves to play with string and little cat toys almost as much as she loves playing fetch with her toy training duck. She also has the habit of jumping onto my chair while I am typing. The photos are of her laying in one of her favorite spots on the couch.