dispatch from manhattan

Back in my hotel room at ASA. I am pinch-hitting a presentation for someone at 8:30 tomorrow morning, but have it under control. My presentation at the orientation to the Minority Fellows Program this afternoon went well enough. I also spoke there last year. The two experiences easily rank #1 and #2 of most interesting and engaged audiences I've had in speaking at a major professional conference.

Earlier Tina showed me her iPhone, which is the first time I've handled one. I tried to text a message and could not get it to type a single word correctly, although sometimes it's suggested correction was correct even though it did not share a letter with the word I was trying to type (apparently it understands, e.g., if you miss every key to the left). That I found maddening, but then Tina showed me the photo program where you can scroll through programs and flip them around and zoom in and such, which was amazing. As was the ability to do the same thing with maps. Tina was excited to actually be able to use the phone on the iPhone, as that part doesn't work in Canada. If it wasn't for the text messaging and two-year AT&T lock-in, I would have been sold, even at $600.

So far my visit to New York has affirmed that New York really is too much for me, even though I recognize that Midtown and Downtown--where I was today--are much different from Uptown. Even so, the commotion inside me is so much I don't think I could handle so much commotion outside, all the time. The honking alone when I walk around outside nudges me toward disequilibrium.

BTW, I thought about not paying the $15/day to have wireless in my room. Since I can check my e-mail on my phone. My resolve for this crumbled in less than a half hour.