i’ve had this amazing feeling of calmness all weekend. I’m pretty sure the reason is that I hung out with some really smart people at Foo Camp, slept under the stars in a tent (something I haven’t done in years), and was offline and away from all the TechCrunch stress while I was there.

Getting away from my computer was good for me. I did things I don’t normally do. Like figure out how to put that damn tent together. Or when I built a USB battery powered booster under the watchful eyes of Limor Fried (pictured here). If you want to make one of these yourself, the instructions and kit are available here.

I listened to developers, designers, and entrepreneurs discuss politics, play jam sessions and hack apart Chumby’s. I spent 5 minutes talking with Jeff Bezos, and our entire conversation consisted of how much he likes TechCrunch (15 seconds) and how cool it is that you can buy fresh milk on amazon (4:45). I met dozens of people I know online but never see in person.

It was fun, interesting and peaceful. I loved it. Part of what makes Foo special is that it’s held at O’Reilly’s compound in Sebastopol, well away from the hustle of silicon valley.

Foo Camp is something incredibly special, and I want to thank Tim O’Reilly for inviting me to come. My Foo Camp pictures are here.