Posted on May 5, 2007 - by deCadmus

On the calculus of memory (or lack thereof)

New Castle lies on the seacoast of New Hampshire, a three hour drive from my home in Vermont. Along the way the road weaves through Vermont’s Green Mountains and New Hampshire’s Boreal forest, and most every turn reveals another postcard-perfect view of New England landscape.

That said, I missed fully half the scenery, on account of the angry gnome sitting on my shoulder, kicking me in the head. The wretched little creature called itself Disremembrance, and — just before the kicking began — it whispered in my ear that I’d left the power adapter for my computer on my desktop at home. Ouch. Ouch! OUCH!

And so began the calculus of memory — or lack thereof. Turn back, or keep going? Would my MacBook make it through a 75 minute multi-media presentation at full power, driving two displays? Could I borrow or buy a replacement? For that matter, could I find a shop that stocked the elusive MagSafe power adapter in New Castle? In Portsmouth? Could I deal with not being able to make any last-minute changes to my presentation ’cause I don’t want to burn through my batteries? Crap, how much sleep would I lose over this?

I kept driving. In the end, the friendly hotel staff helped me find a replacement power supply within a mile or two of the hotel, the presentation was wicked fun and I’ve been invited to do it again… three times now. (I think that’s a good sign!)

And that pissant little gnome? He took a header off a drawbridge on the sea coast. Didn’t even make a splash.