Siggraph '06, Day 1

So today, on a Saturday no less, I subjected myself to the punishment that IS waking up at 4:00 AM to catch a flight. Upon arrival at the airport, I came to find out that the flight was delayed by about 30 minutes... something I haven't yet let into my brain to bother me. I was there on time, and yet the pilots couldn't fly, because of a rule stating that they have to take at least 8 hours of rest before they can fly in the morning, or something like that... in any case, 30 minutes of extra sleep would have been totally sweet, considering my Miami Vice watching self had drifted to sleep around midnight.

ANYWAY...

The flights were nothing to really talk about... Charlotte, as always, was an excellent airport for a few hours, and flying into Boston was pretty cool, coming in right over the very edge of the water to land. I then began to navigate the mass transit system of Boston, which I would equate to a slight less desirable experience on the SF Muni system. I got to the hotel, got all checked in, and proceeded to head to the conference center, where the massive line moved rather quickly, and I acquired all that I hoped to in terms of tickets and fierce DVD action.

Now that I've bored you to tears and most of you have probably left, here comes the fun part of my travels for today, and the really important portion in which I'll recommend an excellent place to get some good food. If you're still reading... thank you, and enjoy!

I strolled my way down from the convention center to south station, hopped a subway train to Cambridge, home of Harvard, amongst other things, and began my search for a burger joint that had been recommended to me by a friend of a friend of a friend of whatever and a day...

This place, Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage (which is nothing like a cottage, I might add) was my goal, and once I reached it, I strolled right up to the bar and sat myself down. I ordered one of their Lime Rickeys, which turned out to be similar to the wonderful limeades of my youth. It was delicious, especially considering I had not been hydrating like I should have been since I got here. I began skimming the menu through something like 30 different burgers... all wonderful looking, and found a match.

A bacon cheeseburger.

Now... you may think "oh... a bacon cheeseburger... ooohh... I can make one of those at home..." Well, this burger featured boursin cheese, and it was something I'd never seen done before (I've eaten many a burger in many places), so I had to have it. This was a fantastic idea that some genius somewhere came up with, and I must meet this person and thank them if I ever get the opportunity. Delicious creamy cheese spread across the bun, bacon underneath, and a perfectly cooked patty right there between the buns... it was a thing of beauty. Mix this together with the drink, and you've got an unstoppable force.

The lesson here is, if you need a good burger in Boston, make the trip up to Cambridge (just hop on the red line and let it carry you) and get yourself whatever looks good on the menu. It'll be good, trust me... just make sure you bring cash, because "real food costs real money" as they like to say up there.

Anyway... that's about it for today... I'm not sure what the plans are for tomorrow... probably some touristy stuff and then probably some animation watching, we'll see. It's all just preparation for the rest of the week, which starts on Tuesday.

More later...

thought for now...

The glass is totally full, you just have to figure out who wants a sip....