Day 4 involved a little less session time and a little more tacos/fajitas/beverages. I did attempt to go to the 11:30 session called “How to Protect Your Brand Without Being a Jerk!” but got tired of listening to the panelists argue with each other and left early.

I did manage to get a lot of work done on Day 4 though, so I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.

The issue for Team Newman is this: AT&T was apparently caught off guard by the SXSWi geek migration to Austin, so our iPhones are useless. And, since our hotel gets its Internet service from AT&T, the wireless speed in our room is painfully slow. Therefore, if we are to get any work done we have to go to the Convention Center (sigh).

You can imagine how bitter we, the Internet-addicted, are right now.

BUT the good news is that we found a place here in Austin called Rio Grande and we loved the food there so much that we ate there twice on Day 4. The best part: they make FlackRabbit-sized mango margaritas! Adorable AND yummie!

We also went to a couple of fun parties where my hand got some fashion henna and my hubby got a cool t-shirt. Then of course there was the Gowalla party. We got there right as the doors opened and scored some free shirts and beer. AND got to meet Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh (see above photo). He was quite nice and also very introverted, which surprised me a little.

All in all, Day 4 was great. I’m looking forward to Day 5, especially the “core conversation” about non-profits and web tech.

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Creepy ATMs a plenty

Even though our beloved iPhones and their data connections have been rendered virtually useless for three days because folks at AT&T can’t find a signal to save our lives, Team Newman managed to find our way around Austin, consuming many a free beverage on Day 3.

A few observations:

1. Austin = ATMs. It’s very odd, but about every 20 feet you stumble upon a creepy, if not sketchy, ATM. See photo.
2. Every restaurant serves some sort of taco.
3. Cupcakes are the official dessert of Austin.
4. This year’s SX has more non-Apple products than I’ve seen in years past. It also has more Apple-haters. And they REALLY don’t like Steve Jobs.
5. 5 p.m. sessions are well attended when it’s freakin’ cold in Texas.
6. Men at SX look at you like you are a freak if you are a woman WITHOUT pink/green/blue hair.
7. Geeks like black hooded sweatshirts.
8. Geeks like girls with blue hair.
9. I’m so happy I’m one who enjoys learning new stuff.
10. Although we are glad we are here, with so many folks live blogging and Twittering what they are learning at SXSW, you really don’t have to be here to feel like you are here. But if you don’t come to SX in person, you can’t drink the free beer. So, there’s that.
11. AT&T is royally screwed. I feel sorry for them, actually. After an unacceptable (and stupid) failure like this, these geeks are gonna be all over the Palm Pre.
12. The new Sierra Mist with grapefruit is actually pretty good with vodka.

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After a two-hour ice/sleet/WTF-is-this-weather delay, Team Newman arrived safely in Austin this morning around 11. We moseyed to our fabulous hotel with complementary wireless, got a little work done and then headed out to have the world’s best margaritas at Cantina Laredo. Oh, yes. We know it’s a chain. We don’t care.

Then it was on to the Starbucks to pick up a match to our everyday china, and now we chill in the lobby counting down the minutes til we wait in a very long line for our SXSW Interactive lanyards (cue heavenly host angel chorus).

It feels good to get away on a mini work/play-cation. Need anything from Austin? Lotta beer here. Lotta coyboy hats. Feels a lot like Nashville, honestly. 

Oh, and thanks, Amy, for Twittering this grub suggestion. We’ll totally check it out this weekend!

So me and the hubbster are going to Bar Camp Nashville tomorrow. I’m looking forward to attending WordPress 101, PR 2.0, New Media for Change and, of course, Make Google Your Bitch.

Bar Camp is free. There will be a plethora of Nashville Geeks, beer and Apple products. I’m excited to meet in person folks that I’ve only Twittered with up until now. This is also why I’m excited about our trip to Austin’s South by Southwest Interactive in March.

Are you attending Bar Camp? If you need more info, here’s the boilerplate:

BarCamp Nashville is an open-source gathering of technology enthusiasts who come together for one weekend to share what they know and learn what they don???t. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from attendees. Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join.