I cast a wish into the air
<p>Being admired by lots of open-source geeks can be useful in unexpected ways.  Probably the most extreme example I can recall is the Linux user group that once asked me to speak at a conference in Kansas City and rewarded me by paying for the ammunition at a local gun range where I got to fire fully-automatic weapons for the first and so far only time in my life.  Though, come to think of it, the Korean LUG that gave me a tour of the DMZ complete with a trip down a captured North Korean infiltration tunnel was up there, too.</p>
<p>I was thinking about some of the more unusual experiences I&#8217;ve had of the road earlier today and it occurred to me that  there&#8217;s one that <em>almost</em> happened, at Linucon 1, but didn&#8217;t because some insurance or municipal-health bureaucrat forced the conference to cancel the event.  I&#8217;ve regretted it ever since.</p>
<p>So here it is.  I don&#8217;t do a lot of road trips any more, but if your LUG or university is thinking about how to get me to give a talk, I have an unfulfilled wish&#8230;</p>
<p>Someday, I want to help judge a chili cook-off.</p>
<p>Hey, I like chili.  I have some foodie tendencies and a good nose; I&#8217;d probably do the judging thing as competently as anybody who isn&#8217;t a professional cook.  There it is; maybe some geek in a chiliaceous part of the U.S. will see this and go &#8220;Yeah.  We could do that&#8230;&#8221; And a good time would be had by all.</p>
<p>A barbecue cook-off would also be quite acceptable :-)</p>
