CARPE was inspiring. I really thought these would be "my people", but I realized that there's a big difference between having a personal passion for something and being a researcher in an area of interest. When you get cut off in conversation with a "well it was nice meeting you," you know you're just not in the same league :P I got called "nothing but glorified TV"... ah well. I learned some interesting stuff and realized how much more I could be doing... definitely encouraging.
The resort in Santa Barbara that the conference was at was amazing.
Not exactly sure what the next few days will look like, but at least Subaru covers hotel and meals and rental car. So I guess we have a little time to explore Southern California :)
Oh and my laptop? Well, one of the things I loved about Acer was that when I had a problem with my previous one, I was able to drop it off at a local service center and pick it up the next day. Now? They've "centralized" and "standardized" which means me shipping it to Texas and waiting 7-10 business days.
I feel like a mother bear who is having her cub threatened :\
You likely already know
You likely already know this, but...
IF YOU VALUE YOUR DATA (and don't have a recent backup) KEEP YOUR HDD.
No really, I have several customers that have done that. They sent their notebook in for things like a screen repair only to have their HDD wiped or replaced. I work mostly with HP or Dell, but either way...
If Acer won't accept it without, grab a ghost of the drive or something beforehand.