Want to meet interesting but don't want to have to make the first move? Use the back of your laptop to get people to talk to you. ;) Stickers are a great way to do that. My laptop reads "The geek shall inherit the earth." I can't count the smiles, chuckles, and conversations I've gotten out of it--and all I have to do is open my laptop! It helps that I have an eyecatching ridiculously small laptop, of course, but this technique would work even for regular laptops.

LapLooks goes one better. They sell a frame that attaches to your laptop and allows you to slip in a photo. I don't think I'll ever find something in my size, but maybe I can cobble something together with duct tape. Actually, you know what this reminds me of? Those little reusable drawing pads. I could so totally rig up a better system.

I'm going to have that up and running before BarCampEarthToronto this Saturday, for sure. I have *just* enough space for a 3x5 index card and part of a business card. So: laminate-style cover, or clear plastic and duct tape? ;)

Which reminds me, I need to get business cards printed. Another thing to take care of tomorrow. =) Good stuff.

I'm so tempted to sell advertising space on my laptop. ;) After all, Stowe Boyd sold his T-shirt rights...

One of these days, I'm going to try properly following the recipe for curried chickpeas. I like curries - Japanese and Indian-style curries in particular. Apparently, cooking curry isn't just a matter of mixing water, flour, and curry spice. Or at least I *think* it's curry spice. I inherited it from my very first roommate here last year. The jar didn't have a label, but I vaguely remembered that I had curry in my cupboard somewhere, and it was in either that or the jar labelled "pepper".

Right. Someday I'm going to learn how to do a proper curry.

The chard that showed up in my Organic Good Food Box worked out quite well, though. I actually followed a recipe this time around, instead of treating it as some random leafy green. Joy of Cooking gave a recipe for chard sauteed with garlic and seasoned with red wine vinegar, which turned out to be pretty nice and easy to prepare.

As for carbs: I've decided to work my way through the frozen bread that I've accumulated over several months. The oval pita I picked up on sale reheats quite well under the broiler. Ah, for a little toaster oven instead of these less-flexible slice toasters. (Although I suppose slice-based toasters make it harder to burn toast unattended.)

My mom will be pleased to know that I've gotten back to regularly taking vitamins. I'm also succumbing to peer pressure and becoming semi-vegetarian. ;) Not for ethical reasons, mind you, but for purely practical ones.

• I'm less likely to give myself food poisoning as long as I stay away from dangerous plants.
• It'll be easier to entertain friends, many of whom are (aspiring) vegetarians/vegans.
• I can get through the Good Food Box and other food arrangements faster.

That said, I still like bacon and eggs, and I'll have to work my way through the chicken in the fridge eventually.

As long as I make sure I cover possible deficiencies in a vegetarian diet, I should be fine. =) Besides, I don't mind eating meat when I go out. I just want to learn how to cook veggies in a way that makes me want to actually eat them. ;)

On Technorati: cooking, cookordie

Via Greg Wilson: Check out the computer industry showcase at the University of Toronto from 4 - 6 PM on Tuesday, September 5. Confirmed attendees:

• Ambient Vector, mobile content sharing - Sutha Kamal
• Eclipse C/C++ Development Tooling, an integrated development environment
• Idee, visual search
• Partnership Platform, networking between non-profits and tech consultants
• Quest, technology management
• Radiant Core, Web solutions, Jay Goldman
• Side Effects Software, 3D animation tools

I'm looking forward to the showcase and to the pub night afterwards!

If you want your company to be part of the event, you might be able to get in touch with Greg Wilson through his blog.

By the way, gotta love the for Greg's blog: "Data is zeroes and ones — software is zeroes and ones and hard work."

On Technorati: computing, toronto, industry, tech

Want to grab the eyeballs of every geek at BarCampEarthToronto and the other tech events I go to? Advertise on the back of my laptop. Even better: tell me enough about your stuff so that I can enthusiastically talk about it.

I'm an evangelist. Give me something cool to talk about.

The back of an 8.9" laptop screen *really* doesn't seem like much space to advertise on, but *everyone* looks, believe me. It's the irresistable combination of cute geek girl _and_ insanely tiny laptop.

And it happens *every* *single* *time.* It helps that I have small hands. Most people just can't deal with something that small. Sure, black Macbooks are trendy, but they're not as rare as a *teensy* little laptop that a geek girl is happily typing away on. (In Emacs, no less.)

Amber MacArthur (TechTV) called attention to the sticker I had on my laptop ("The geek shall inherit the earth") and the pins I have on my backpack ("No, you can't just explain it in the manual" - Human Factors International). Random strangers cross the street to compliment me on my outfit, ask about the stickers on my skateboard, or wonder out loud if that's a *real* computer I'm typing away on. (Yes, as I walk.) And that happens both in geek-heavy get-togethers and while just walking in cosmopolitan, blase downtown Toronto.

I can't help it. I get attention. I might as well make use of it.

More to the point: _you_ might as well make use of it.

So here's what's going to happen:

• TONIGHT: I'll decide on a pricing scheme. E-mail me or leave a comment if you want to hear about it as soon as I've come up with it (probably later tonight).
• TONIGHT: I'll set up a static page, blog about it, and tell people.
• WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY: I'll accept orders.
• THURSDAY: I'll figure out exactly how to mount it. Don't worry, I have several plans.
• FRIDAY: I'll select and confirm orders, and print out and mount the final thing on Friday afternoon.

My skateboard's also open for advertising.

E-mail me at sacha@sachachua.com or leave a comment using the form below to find out about the next step as soon as possible.

On Technorati: advertising, marketing, crazy, idea, barcampearthtoronto, barcamp, laptop, geek, business, entrepreneurship

See also my previous blog entry:

Networking for Geeks: Advertise with your laptop!

Other people's blog entries:

• http://www.stoweboyd.com/message/2006/08/sacha_chua_does.html
• http://racoma.com.ph/archives/problogger-idea-renting-ad-space-on-laptop-lids/
• http://www.blaptops.com/articles/advertising-on-laptop-lids/

(leave me a comment to get linked!)