I was thinking of taking my laptop and blogging ArtcarFest 2004 live from downtown San Jose, but an observation I made last week has me thinking it’s best to leave the laptop at home.

As I was sitting on the park bench typing into my iBook last Sunday, enjoying the free wireless access in the Cesar Chavez Plaza, I had a paranoid thought: how easy would it be for a sneaky, speedy thief to run up, grab the thing out my hands and sprint away at top speed. I’m staring into my screen, paying no heed to my surroundings. I realize five pounds of laptop computer would slow the guy down a bit, but probably not enough for me (slowest living white guy in San Jose) for me to catch up. And even if I got close enough to to catch him, he drops it on the sidewalk — dashing it bits — and makes good his escape.

In any case it’s silly to carry a whole computer along when there’s no pressing need to post instantly. That’s what cameraphones are for, right? I’m trying to see how long I can hold out without buying a cellphone — despite all my other gadgets I’ve gone all this time with no wireless phone. It’s becoming an absurd point of pride.

I’ll have artcar pictures posted tonight or tomorrow.