Was EVERYONE Hanging Out In Cambridge Last Night?

It was a lovely night in Cambridge, not too cool, not too hot, and seemed like a dream to run into all sorts of great people. I'd been to the eye doctor so my eyes were a little weird, but soon shrunk down to normal person size. Adam Green, a new friend to me and an old friend to many was there hanging with me as we got coffee at the Starbuck's near Harvard Law School. My phone rang -- it was my editor at Penthouse -- yes, the story I sold there is finally getting published. I asked the nice girl editor the only thing you could ask an editor at Penthouse, "Hey, honey, what are you wearing?!" I don't think this did much to change Adam's impression of me -- he already knows I'm nuts -- and as for the editor, she just laughed.

I'm so excited my story is coming out -- probably around October 27 -- and here's the weird thing. My HBR story came out the day I had eye surgery for my left eye. I've waited a lifetime to publish something and see my name in print and what happens? It appears on the day I actually CAN'T see it ... I did see it later and even better. So guess when I'm having the other eye done -- the same date the Penthouse story is being published. God works in mysterious ways.

The editor told me about the pictures that are running with my story. The story is about a guy on the high-tech conference circuit who does lots of speaking gigs and likes to screw the maids and then feed them the chocolate mints. The picture will be a half-naked maid being fed a chocolate mint, the editor explains. "THAT'S DISGUSTING" I tell her. It's already to keep these dirty thoughts in my mind, but wait a minute, did I miss something, am I a little confused, are those same private thoughts going to be available on glossy paper to the public in a CVS near you?! What was I thinking?! Actually I'm thrilled. I can't tell you how many zillion people have asked me, "Are you putting your NAME on the story?" Shit, yeah! It's a great story and a lot less about blow jobs and a lot more about grief than you might think at first.

So anyway, we finish our coffee, walk out and just about run into Chris Lydon who asks us if we're going to "Blog City" as he refers to Dave Winer's 7PM Thursday event at Berkman. I am but Adam's got other business in town.

There is a cool crew there as we arrive - Michael, Mary, Martin, Brian, Chris, Sun, Jessica for starters -- and Dave does his blogamatic thing, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Jim Moore pops up late from a Dean event at The Charles Hotel. After that, Dan Bricklin pops up who's been hanging Esther Dyson and others at some meeting that's just broken up and so he joins us for post-Berkman dinner. He insists on taking a picture of my new eye. I tell him how fundamental a change this has been for me. Almost scary to see a brand new world that I've NEVER actually seen. The doctor told me I was born with these cataracts and they haven't returned me to good sight like kids have -- because as a kid I never had good sight -- they've returned me to sight I've never experienced on this Earth. In fact, I told Dan, I feel like I've been transported to another planet -- these earthlings are so lucky living in this beautiful place. My old planet wasn't nearly as nice.

I have so publically announced with my new diet I don't eat after 7:00PM or so any more, that I just CAN'T eat as it's now 9:30, so I have a Diet Coke while they eat. Dan takes pix. Later, Adam returns, lets me hitch a ride home to my house in his bright yellow Mini Cooper which is just too swell. Thanks to all for a fun fun night.