Since this is my first time at South By Southwest (SXSW), I figured it would be a good idea to write about my experiences for others who are contemplating going in the future and also, make sure I don’t forget anything that I picked up during my trip.  If you’ve never heard of SXSW, it’s an interactive, film and music conference and festival every year in Austin, TX.  As someone who works for a .com and made the first 7 years of my career as a web developer, I came here specially to attend the interactive part. Let me sum up the last 4 days with one word: exhausting. And that’s with skipping the first full day!

Our technology team has what we call “Think Days”.  Essentially, it’s one full work day every other week where the developers are allowed to research any topic that may or may not be related to the current projects that they are assigned.  The best way that I can explain SXSW is that it’s Think Day on crack.  It’s definitely a place for information overload but in a good way.

During the day, you have a number of choices of different sessions that you can choose from at various locations in downtown Austin.  It’s a little bit of a challenge to pick which session is the right one for you.  It reminded me alot of what it was like to pick classes during my undergrad days.  Since some of the locations were much farther than the others, you had to decide if you had enough time to hop between locations and if it was generally worth the time and effort.  I found that the shuttles that were supposed to take you to the various hotels was not very efficient so I kept my sessions down to only three locations.  There were definitely more than a few that were at one location that I wish I could have attended but it would have basically cost me 2 additional sessions, one before and after, with just the time it would take to travel back and forth.

Despite that, overall, I would definitely recommend going… and it’s not just because it was a nice break from the Chicago winter.  It was quite an experience.   For someone who likes to be creative and whose job is to come up with new ideas, whether it be for new ways to improve existing products or to come up with totally new ones, it felt fantastic to be surrounded by people who shared similar interests (i.e. big geeks) and were able to stimulate my mind with a thousand new ideas that I can take back to my company.

Because there’s way too much information to share for one, it’s probably best if I split up my writeup of each day as a separate post.  Some days were better than others but I can say without hesitation that every single session generated some new thought.

Oh and one more thing, I used Twitter more in the last few days (you can follow me at @okaychamp) than I have in the first so many months that I have had an account.  It was without a doubt the communication channel of choice for the conference without even being sponsored by them.

I’ve been watching this show for a while now and it recently came up in a couple conversations so I thought I would write a post on it since it doesn’t seem that many people know about it.  Anyways, Three Sheets is a show on FLN (Fine Living Network) – it used to be on MojoHD but the channel was canceled and for a while there was a campaign to “Save Three Sheets” while they looked for a new network.  I would have never watched FLN if it weren’t for Three Sheets.  Comcast doesn’t have it in HD but at least they have it.  I actually never watched it while it was on Mojo because I didn’t have an HDTV so I used to watch all the episodes on hulu (which I still do because sometimes I miss the new episodes on Monday night). I was a little worried for the first couple episodes of the 4th season that were the first on FLN because they seemed kind of dry and not as good as the other ones.  I wasn’t sure if the network made them change a couple things but things got better.

Anyways, the host, Zane Lamprey, takes you all over the world showcasing the local drinking customs and usually one hangover cure.  It’s pretty funny and actually, very informative.  After a while you’ll get used to all the lingo like “Ski Patrol” and find out who is Steve McKenna.  There also are apparently a couple drinking games associated with the show like you have to drink everytime his little stuffed beanie baby like monkey, Peepleus, shows on screen.

So yeah, catch new episodes Monday at 10 pm EST and another older one following right after.  They also I believe show two episodes at 10 pm Tuesday through Friday as well.  You can also follow the show on facebook.  Sometimes they like to do contests for the first person to respond to the post with the answer to a question while watching the latest episode.

I’m trying to think of some of my favorite episodes… probably Philippines, Ireland, France, Belgium, Scotland and Saigon.

This is really for people in Atlanta or I guess if you happen to be visiting the area but if you’re looking for a great place to get craft beer (especially in the perimeter) then you need to visit Hop City.  They’ve only been open for about 6 or 7 months I believe and I only recently discovered them about 3 weeks ago.  For the most part, Tower Wine and Spirits on Piedmont was my usual beer store of choice.  Total Wine near Perimeter Mall was another place I would go to every now and then.  Hop City is the best of both those stores because 1) it’s very conveniently located to where I live and 2) they actually allow you to buy single 12 oz bottles so you can create your own six packs.  Everyone at the store is very nice and knowledgeable.  Also, if you homebrew or you’re looking to get into homebrewing, they sell ingredients and equipment there.  I have a few buddies who do so but I have yet to try homebrewing myself.   Hop City also hosts alot of tasting events and today, they actually had a homebrewing workshop which I was able to attend (see a few pictures below).  If you go to the store, make sure you also sign up to be a member so that you can earn points with your purchases and also get on their distro lists.  They’re also on facebook so become a fan so you can keep up with all their events, recommended beers, and the latest stuff they get in the store.

Oh yeah, and if you like wine, they have that too.

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Just thought I’d throw up a quick post because I’m not sure if people necessarily think of this as a gift idea as this is the first time I have sent one like this.  A friend of mine was graduating from business school and I wanted to send him something nice to say “congratulations”.  Normally, this is what comes to mind when I think of what people normally give as graduation gifts: some stuffed animal, dressed in a cap and gown (probably because I received at least 2 of these when I finished my undergrad), picture frame, or photo album.  None of those would work because 1) this is for a guy and 2) I wanted something cool.  I’ve been drinking alot of craft beer in the past year and have a co-worker that received one of those beer of the month subscriptions as a gift.  The subscriptions are a little expensive but I figured there had to be something smaller.  I went online and found this 12 pack beer sampler from Gift Specialists.   I got to choose from 3 different types of packages: light beers, dark beers, or a mix.  I chose the mix.  While they’re all craft brews, they’re also all from California, even though I would have preferred if they were a variety from the U.S. but oh well.  The price wasn’t that bad – it was $29.95 for 12 and shipping was about $15.  There is a larger liquor store here right outside of the city that allows you buy single 12 oz. bottles to create your own 6 packs and that’s about the same price I would pay for the same amount of beer.  Plus, bottled beer is pretty heavy so I’m surprised shipping wasn’t higher.  I started drinking craft brew a couple years ago since two of the micro breweries here are pretty great happy hour hangouts (SweetWater and Atlanta Brewing Company) and I’ve found it to be something great for conversations.  My friends are definitely beer drinkers so I think I will be sending more gifts like these.

Generally my posts are related to technology, whether new physical products or the internet but I figure every now and then, I would extend my “Champtasitc Stamp of Approval” to other things.  Therefore, if you live or are visiting the Atlanta area, one of your stops should be the SweetWater Brewery Tour.

It’s definitely a great spot to hang out at

after a hard day at work. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, they offer their brewery tour from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. I haven’t been on the actual tour yet myself (one day I will though). I prefer to just hang outdoors with friends instead as you want to get the most out of the short time there. For $8, you get a nice logo pint glass and 6 beer tickets. They don’t pour the full pint but you still do get a good amount and sometimes you’ll get a good pourer who will fill it 2/3 of the way instead of just half. (Tips help) There are quite a variety of colored glasses depending on the type of beer that is being promoted on it (ex. 420, Blue, Georgia Brown, and the infamous Donkey Punch that I only know one person to be lucky enough to get one) and it just depends on when you are line that determines what glass you get. There are generally 2 or 3 tap locations (2 inside and one outside ). Inside gets a little crowded and loud but the outside is perfect especially when it’s not a blistering 95 degree summer day in Atlanta. (They don’t call it Hotlanta for sh*ts and giggles.) The only cons I would say is there really isn’t anywhere to sit, they don’t serve food and lately it’s been getting more and more crowded I guess as word gets around about the place (this probably isn’t helping either). The crowd is majority in their 20′s but you do see some older individuals every now and then. With Emory, Georgia Tech, and Georgia State though nearby, you can see why the crowd tends to be younger. SweetWater isn’t distributed far or much outside the South due to stricter distribution laws so it’s definitely a good local spot to take visitors. We heard recently you can rent out the space for special events so it’s something we might be looking into doing. Overall though, it’s a great place to come and hang out for a few hours.

My buddy, Ken, and his friend, Brad, started back in August a new website/video podcast called Hop Cast.  Basically, they’re trying to promote various craft brews from all around.  So far, they have about 8 episodes and a couple specials (you’ll have to check out the Pizza Beer one which is pretty hilarious).  They’re also hoping to feature a couple brews from each state.  Last time I was in Chicago, I was able to pack a couple of each in my suitcase and get to Ken from the local micro-brews in Georgia: SweetWater, Terrapin, and Atlanta Brewing Company (since I know they are not distributed very far with all the mailing restrictions in the South).  He actually surprised me by giving me some brews from New Glarus Brewing Company in Wisconsin in return.  (Thank you, Kenny)  I find in each episode, other than introducing you to a few new beers that you’ve probably never heard of,  little tidbits of information about the brewing process, ingredients, packaging, etc that most people don’t know.  So check them out on facebook, iTunes, or their website: hop-cast.com.