February 27th, 2007

By Darren Barefoot

Filed under:
About This Site, Blogging Conference
33 Comments »

Northern Voice Gave Me the Plague

I’ve been down for the count since Saturday night. That night I slept thirteen hours, and had a feverish dream in which I was a wiki and anyone could edit me. More of a nightmare, really.

I’m on the road to recovery, but things will be very slow around here for another day or so.

Oh, and what the heck? I’m out of action for a couple of days and the Canucks go and re-acquire Brent Sopel? Smolinski’s a good pickup, though.

UPDATE: In case you’re keeping track at home, I understand that the following Northern Voice attendees have fallen ill (thanks to Airdrie for a partial list, and apologies for the lack of links, I’m sick): me, Travis, Susie, Maryam, Kerry Anne, Robert Scales, Warwick, Erika, Patricia, Roland and Boris.

Let’s find patient zero and beat them senseless with our kleenex balls. Maffin was coughing up a storm next to me in one seminar–I’m blaming him.

UPDATE: #2: Add to that list Tim, Lauren, Brad, Jason, Brian, Keira, D’Arcy, Robin and Arjun. That’s 20 freakin’ people from one conference. That’s it, NV 2008 will only occur in Second Life. That’s assuming, you know, we can avoid the flying phalli and grey goo.

Comments: 33 Responses so far

Gwen
February 27th, 2007
2:22 pm

That’s the geekiest dream EVER! =P

Chris
February 27th, 2007
2:29 pm

No kidding. Freud would have a field day with that one.

julien
February 27th, 2007
3:22 pm

seriously, i have dreams like that sometimes when i’m sick. same thing is happening to me after podcamp toronto, by the way.

Mack D. Male
February 27th, 2007
3:25 pm

Hope you’re feeling better soon. I can’t believe Edmonton traded Smyth…

Derek K. Miller
February 27th, 2007
3:55 pm

Sounds like a lot of people got hit. Just as well I joined the group virtually. The last thing I need right now is a nasty infection.

Air
February 27th, 2007
6:51 pm

I got hit.

Travis
February 27th, 2007
7:03 pm

Freud? I think ELIZA would be a better therapist in this case…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA

TTFN
Travis

Kerry Anne
February 27th, 2007
7:06 pm

I’m in the midst of it. My eyeballs feel hot.

Warwick
February 27th, 2007
7:21 pm

Heck, yeah, I left early on Saturday (missing your session unfortunately) because I could feel it coming…got home and BOOOM – down for the count until last night. Feeling much better today…kind of a 1-2 day flu. Get well everyone!

Erika
February 27th, 2007
7:57 pm

Ditto. That sounds like my Saturday night the previous week. Sorry, I didn’t make it to NV – couldn’t damn afford it!

And Mark Messier retired tonight?
Too bad the Canucks didn’t learn from their mistake in the last game (two consecutive penalties followed by the losing goal) and then repeated it. :P

Patricia
February 27th, 2007
10:11 pm

I got sick too, not the flu fortunately just a regular cold. I left NV shortly after lunch when I felt it coming on. No sleep that night and spent all day Sunday hoping someone would come and save me or at least show up with a lovely basket of fruit………..

I blame it on the cold rain making people vulnerable to air-borne germies..(I did notice Boris walking in the rain with no umbrella!).

James
February 27th, 2007
10:22 pm

And we were joking that Roland should have a bumper sticker that says, ‘My other car is a wiki.’

Maybe you could get a tattoo that says ‘My second self is a wiki.’

Oh, and I guess it’s in bad taste to gloat about not getting sick? An enormous spinach salad, two grapefruits, an orange and two salmon fillets must have supercharged my immunity, like the star in Mario Bros.

julien
February 27th, 2007
10:55 pm

hmmm, if the super mario star is like an immunity booster, then what’s the mushroom? puberty?

jason
February 28th, 2007
8:56 am

ugh, day four for me, but definitely on the upswing. Sadly, I too dreamt about wikis, but a ‘softer’, ‘kinder’ wiki than we know today. whatever the hell that is. >8/

Brian
February 28th, 2007
9:08 am

I hate to say this, but both myself and partner Keira (who also attended) are both fighting a cold.

If we do this again next year, we might need to bring in an epidemiologist or at least an on-site public nurse.

I too have been having a lot of NV-related technology dreams, but nothing as disturbing as yours. Mine seem to often involve YouTube for some reason.

D'Arcy Norman
February 28th, 2007
11:01 am

It got me too. Haven’t had any NV-related dreams per se, except for the recurring “WHAT! IS! EDUGLOOOOO!”

Scott Leslie
February 28th, 2007
12:11 pm

I’ve been flat on my back since Sunday. But looking on the positive side, maybe if enough of us get it, we’ll get to name our own disease after it, like Legionnaires’ disease – maybe we could call it ‘Moose Fever’?

Jeffrey Keefer
February 28th, 2007
12:25 pm

I thought the clean northern air was supposed to be healthier! I have only had a lingering headache (due in part to trying to squeeze so much info into old (version 1.0?) tired circuitry). I wish you speedy health.

Lauren Wood
February 28th, 2007
1:12 pm

Tim and I both came down with the flu as well. Still suffering as well.

Robin
February 28th, 2007
2:35 pm

So that’s where I got my coughing fits! Had sneer looks from the ladies next to me on the plane back to Toronto as I could not contain the coughing. And since then turned this into a flu. An unfortunate timing as I’m preparing for my presentation to 50 or so learning professionals tomorrow. Oh well (cough cough cough)…

Arjun Singh
February 28th, 2007
4:19 pm

Flu here as well

susie gardner
February 28th, 2007
5:44 pm

my theory is that patient zero infected us all on thursday night, but i’ll admit to having done no research on the incubation period of colds. (i’ve got a cold.) it’d be interesting to know if anyone who got sick on saturday afternoon/evening DIDN’T go on thursday night.

Michael Klassen
February 28th, 2007
6:14 pm

Oh gawd, it’s Legionnaire’s disease (google it) all over again!!

I woke up Monday feeling crappy, but it didn’t take. Tim Bray is blogging he is also sick.

Next year Northern Voice gives out free handy wipes, okay??

Ian King
February 28th, 2007
6:59 pm

I was pretty bushed on Sunday, but that was at the end of four fast-paced days, so it was to be expected, but I’m fine now. I got the flu show back in December, so that may have made the difference. (Sounds like it was worth the sore deltoid.)

Derek K. Miller
February 28th, 2007
7:25 pm

John Bollwitt claimed he was “getting over it” at Moosecamp, so he could be a source.

Sorry to out you, John!

Phillip Jeffrey
February 28th, 2007
9:14 pm

And here I thought I was the only one.

Please add me to the list of people that became missing in action on Sat night. I did not leave my bed/residence room from Saturday evening until Monday afternoon. I have never been so grateful to have a futon. I still have a pretty bad cough and my energy level is up and down.

Otherwise, I had an awesome time.

Fade to Play » Northern Voice 2007 — The Moose Flu Epidemic
February 28th, 2007
10:06 pm

[...] I thought I was alone in my pain. That maybe my immune system was all messed up. But, thanks to the blogosphere (darren via Brian), I learned that this _moose flu_ infected at least 20 people. [...]

Jan Karlsbjerg
March 1st, 2007
11:54 am

I was knocked out from Saturday evening to mid-day Tuesday. Fever, head and sinus cold. I’m still coughing, and my ears pop and wheeze when I blow my nose.

Cathy Beaumont
March 1st, 2007
2:36 pm

At this point I feel like a me-too-er, but I have been sick as well. Started to feel feverish Monday, took Tues. off with fever, congestion and cough. Am beginning to feel more like myself today. I wasn’t sure if I caught this bug in the plane to/from Calgary on Friday or at the conference Saturday…in a weird way, it’s nice to know.

Ariane
March 1st, 2007
5:27 pm

You can add myself and Scott to the list. We left before the final session Saturday cause he was feeling off, and Sunday night it got me too. Today is the first day my fever’s stayed below 100, and I’ve been able to keep food down.

On top of that, I was supposed to move this weekend and train for a new job Monday and Tuesday…I’m so jealous of everyone who only had it a couple days! No…not bitter at all.

Luke
March 2nd, 2007
4:56 pm

I’m just recovering from a nasty flu that I got on Monday. Now my wife has it. Damn you, bloggers! *shakes fist*. :)

Silence and Voice » Blog Archive » Non-Northern Voice Plague?
March 2nd, 2008
6:52 am

[...] yesterday, and I am taking lots of medications for it right now. I do not think this is the Northern Voice Plague which affected so many people after last year’s Northern Voice, as I have felt fine this [...]

Jen
March 2nd, 2008
7:34 am

Me too! Mine started Friday, so I don’t know if I’m beyond the window of blaming NV. Maybe next year we can get a hand/keyboard sanitizer sponsor.