Nerd Convention....uh, I meant... We Are Microsoft

Well, I've been thinking of starting one of these things for a while. We thought grandmas and grandpas and others would like periodic updates and photos (they'll have to come a little later), so here you can see some of what we've been up to. Since I'm starting this today I'll start with our most recent event. Ryan actually got back last night at midnight from Dallas. Microsoft was putting on its first WeAreMicrosoft event, and he got to go with some of the geeks he's met here in NorthWest Arkansas. (Can you imagine the ride? 6 hours, 4 computer nerds = priceless!) He found out about it midweek, and I was feeling generous (probably distracted or delusional was more likely), so we agreed he'd grab the laptop and pack his bags and go. And he did. Friday morning at 630, he's out the door, ready to geek it up for the cause! I wasn't there, and I've only spent around 9 hours with Ryan since he was there, and 6 of those were sleeping, so I'll give you the best picture I can conjure. 100 or so professional nerds working in 20 or so groups to produce websites for charitable organizations from the Dallas area over the span of 3 days. I can't imagine the level of excitement.... Oh, but my husband helped! You see, when nerds assemble, strange things begin to happen. Churning out these websites in 3 days means lots of frantic nerding, and that typically requires lots of nerd fuel, something we call caffeine, and this was provided in all its usual varieties as well as in the form of caffeinated gum and candy. . . DANGER! Too much caffeine can make the nerds giddy and restless. Oh, Microsoft also knew that. I'm sure that's why Rock Band was set up and the nerds' performances recorded for posterity.
You may be asking why? Why am I telling you this when I could be sharing cute things my children did. Well, for one, Ryan is kind of like one of the kids. Also, I was happy that he was able and willing to go. But let's get real. My husband doesn't know I love him unless I am making copious amounts of fun of him, so I have to do it.
What I'm trying to tell you is that Ryan, yes Ryan Magnusson, after 2 days in Dallas with a wad of caffeine-laced gum impairing his judgement, decided that his fellow geeks were not singing with enough feeling, and he decided to remedy that. Ryan... quiet, reserved, private, Ryan morphed into James Hetfield and endeavored to show the nerds how Rock band should be done, Metallica style. It should be said that we don't have any of these games at home, so perhaps the novelty of the thing made him giddy on top of the already heady mixture of caffeine, sleep deprivation and narcolepsy that can be so much fun to witness. At any rate, I'll be giddy if the YouTube gods would smile on me. I would love to see it, and to show all of you the OTHER white meat that is occasionally Ryan Magnusson.
For now, I can say I am proud of him for going and doing some good with his talents. Here is a link to an interview with him and one of the other nerds he got to work with:
http://geekswithblogs.net/jjulian/archive/2008/01/20/118729.aspx
Long Live Nerds!

As promised, here is the video. So, he didn't actually "morph" into anyone, but it's good for kicks anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-izenCRamM