Philadelphia clogged my arteries

though it was all my fault. Vicki picked us up at the airport and bravely drove us downtown, where we finally found a parking garage, ditched the car, and walked a couple of blocks in the rain to Reading Market. There we ate Rick's cheesesteak; I went for the whiz. It was yummy. I took pictures, but I'm too tired to invest the upload time right now. (I slept only 2.5 hours, which even for me is not enough.)

We then dropped by the hotel, checked in, ditched our stuff, and headed out to Vicki's and Ken's new (to us; they've been in it for a while now) house. We'd seen the plans, which looked very cool, and it's even better in person. We had a nice time visiting there, first with Vicki and then with both of them when Ken came home. I also begged bandwidth and snuck in an hour and a half of work. (That was in addition to an hour I was able to do via iPhone while riding in the back of the car. I'd rather not have to work this way, but given that I do, I love how technology helps.)

We then piled into Vicki's car and headed to a different part of Philadelphia for Geno's cheesesteak; this time, I elected the wiz but also shared some cheese fries. Both were tasty goodness, but I'm now sure my arteries are screaming for mercy.

And then I went to work, which I will now resume. I'm dead tired, but I'm hoping for a lot of sleep tonight.

On the road again

Yes, tomorrow morning I hit the road again, this time by plane to Philadelphia for Philcon. Our friend Vicki is picking us up at the airport and transporting us post haste to a cheesesteak emporium, where I will boost my IQ with cheesy meaty goodness. We'll check into the hotel, then finally get to see Vicki and Ken's new house. Dinner will, I hope, be the other kind of cheesesteak.

If you're not a cheesesteak fan, you may not know a few key facts about this amazing sandwich:

* Getting a Pennyslvania-class cheesesteak outside of Pennsylvania is almost impossible.

* Philadelphia is a center of cheesesteak greatness--some would say it's the center.

* The cheese can be either whiz or provolone. I like 'em both, though in a pinch I'd have to endorse the whiz.

I'm taking blogcam, and with luck my workload will be such that I'll have the energy to upload con photos--and maybe, just maybe, finish Slanted Jack on this trip.

Wish me luck.