Generally caught up with laundry, unpacking and settling back in after nearly two weeks for Chicago and Minneapolis Tech Post
Generally cleaned up and almost ready to go to work tomorrow morning.
After a couple days in Chicago on either side of Lollapalooza and then a few more days in Minneapolis, field report on both low and high tech stuff used on the trip
iPod Nano: old standby, great battery life, fantastic for drowning out kids talking or babies whining on plane as well as last minute listening for Lolla
Not a Phone iPhone: My name for a first generation iPhone that I now use since Veronica upgraded to 3GS version. It is basically a thick iPod Touch with a camera the way I use it since I didn't sign up for voice / data contract. One app in particular made this a winner for this first part of the trip as Lolla released an iPhone app which worked fantastically for keeping track of the acts that I wanted to see, general schedule and having a map all in a digital format. Especially on day one when the nice paper schedule book turned to mush due to all the rain. In general, I was able to keep up with nearly everything that I would have used a laptop for (like checking in on this place) as the lack of data connection / wifi only mode made it very similar to the connection limitations for a laptop. Also the games were fantastic time killers in the airports and so on.
iPhone 3G + Mofie battery pack. See above for Lolla schedule. The main difference between the above and this combination is that we were able to use this combination as a functional GPS system to navigate the Minneapolis area. The Mofie battery pack was an absolute necessity as using the iPhone for extended time with the GPS really sucks down the battery. Veronica gave the combination even for standard use high marks as she liked the added thickness of the combination as being easier for her to use and the added weight was tolerable.
Sort of Tech. The Ford Fusion we ended up with a rental car in Minn. area was pretty much the worst engine / transmission combination that could have happened for the area. It seems that all of Minn. is under construction which leads to some hair raising exits and entrances and interchanges. One needs a car that will generally accelerate as needed and the Fusion failed miserably.
D-Box Theater Seats: Having been conditioned by Southern California prices, we found the $7.00 upcharge for the D-Box seats at the Mall of America to be a relative bargin since that made our tickets like $13.50. These are subwoofer/motion control equipped seats that are syched to the film. In this case it was the current Harry Potter. Thumbs up to the experience. Film was ok on it's own.
Middle Elevator in Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago: FAIL. At best case, it worked funky (like forgetting which floors had been selected after the first stop), at worst case we got stuck in the elevator for like 25 minutes with 15 other people (17 total) on Saturday night which was the hottest and most miserable day at the Lolla.
More reports if you want them about the concert, the eating in Minn and so on