I don’t

August 4, 2003, 5:10pm. Denver Airport

I’ve settled into seat 11D, watching the rest of the passengers board the plane. Due to our early arrival into Denver, I had over 90 minutes to roam the airport. I managed to eat a descent meal at Wolfgang Puck’s, which made up for the lack of meal service on the United flight. After trying out a number of moving sidewalks, I planted myself at a pay phone near Gate 42 and checked my e-mail while waiting to board.

I noticed a large contingent of Asian children in the boarding area. My flight is filled with members of a Korean children’s choir. I wasn’t paying to them a lot in the airport, trying to tune them out so I could reply to some work-related e-mails. I thought they were Chinese at first, listening to them giggle & mock the airport announcements.

Radies and gentlemen, may I hov your attention prease …

I watched the gaggle of giggling girls board the plane, along with their chaperones. I assume they’re heading home by way of Seattle. I’m stopping over in Kirkland for the night, napping briefly in a local motel so I can see Microsoft tomorrow morning (not the whole company, just a few folks that work there). I leave that meeting and head straight for the airport, bouncing to Boston for two days at a USB Device Working Group meeting.

Ah the joys of business travel.

As the friendly flyers file onto the plane, a 40-ish woman stops to look at my shirt … There are 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don’t. She looks me straight in the eye and says “I don’t”.

“That’s okay,” I say, “one must understand one’s limitations.”

“But I know people that do understand,” she replies.

“That’s good. Just bribe them with pizza and caffeine whenever you have a computer problem.”

She gives me a strange look. “Is that universal?”

“Sure,” I say, “but the particular brand of caffeine may differ from one person to the next.”

The aisle clears and she heads to her seat. I sit back and wait for yet another flight to send me over the face of the planet.