Guys, if you were among the 20,000 people who attended SXSW just for the fleeting hope of being able to touch the hem of my garment, you’re probably still reeling at the fact of my absence!!!

What happened? Did I chicken out when I realized the other people on my panel were successful entrepreneurs, whereas I’m just a blogger in a bathrobe? Answer: NO. Wasn’t I fully prepared to burn up the conference with my white-hot internet knowledge? Answer: YES.

The answer is nefarious, outrageous, and just plain horrible-acious!

The Web 1.0 Luddites who run Delta airlines decided to delay my flight until such time as it was impossible for me to arrive in Austin in time for my panel!

Obviously, Delta’s corporate board realized their entire business model was threatened by my Web 2.0 HTML-and-animated-gif skills, so they took extreme measures, inconveniencing hundreds of passengers and frustrating their own flight crew, just to keep one li’l internet genius (a.k.a. ME) from attending the SXSW Texas Computer Conference.

I am very sad about this. Why?

1. Wanted to meet the other panelists, all of whom are doing cool things online;
2. Wanted to eat authentic “Tex-Mex” food, especially “Tex-Mex Chex Mix,” the original breakfast cereal snack from south of the border;
3. Wanted to hang out with the Rude Mechs (the folks who made the GYWO play, remember when I pestered you to see that?);
4. Wanted to take up one fan’s offer of free, unlimited pedi-cab rides all around Austin! Are you kidding me? I could have done my grocery shopping!
5. Wanted to network with other computer geniuses like myself.

I will post my PowerPoint presentation later today, so you can experience what might have been.