It's six a.m. on a cold Thursday morning. A gawd-awful time to be awake, let alone awake and trying desperately to figure out what to wear. For some reason, several weeks ago, I registered online to go to a Macromedia FLASH MX seminar. I don't even use FLASH! I'm interested in it... but interested enough to be up at 6 a.m. and make it downtown by 8:30 a.m.?!? I must be crazy.

I settle on black jeans, a black T-shirt, and a burgundy, button-down, long-sleeve shirt. I put on my cool-ass black leather, ankle-high, square-toed shoes. I feel very digital-designer-come-Art-Director, with a splash of wanna-be-capital-"A"-Artist. Oh yeah, that's right!

Doubtful that I will see anyone I know, but looking good just in case, I head off for the Toronto Convention Centre. When I get there, I'm not surprised by what I see. Yahoos dressed just like me, but with more stylish outer wear... those expensive "Roots" three-quarter length leather jackets, or the retro 70's orange and red sporty jackets. And then there's all the "geek chic" people. The ones that look like they slept in their clothes, shook off the bits of Doritos, and came on over. You could also see the ones that try really hard to mimic that geek look, but with brand-new jeans, plaid short-sleeve shirts, and runners from the Zellers near their parent's suburban homes.

I've come to this event to witness the grand spectacle of a software launch. To listen to the guys and gals in their matching, logo bedazzled, short-sleeve polo shirts and chinos. All "just out of the box," clean and neat. They make me happy, they make me feel safe. They gurgle on about their lovely software and how it will make my life so much easier, my web sites so much more cutting edge. I become convinced that I would be really, really silly not to use their software. Never a harsh word, the occasional fun-loving jab at the competition. Smiles, matching shirts, clean pants, and highly efficient software.

The seminar ends. I meet up with three friends - friends I haven't seen for several months. We come together in the crush of the exiting audience. Clutching our fully completed surveys, we slowly move toward the long tables near the theatre doors where we will be rewarded with a CD of software demos. Our survey information soon to be added to a giant database, where we will all be reduced to our focus groups, our e-mail addresses compiled for future sale and resale. What we were wearing that day will be forgotten, if it was ever noticed at all.

So, when it's six in the morning and I'm fumbling toward the next seminar, I think I'll just grab my best pair of track pants, throw on my runners, and with a knowing smile... slip into that glorious sea of plaid.

Andrew Duff hob-knobs with the rich and geeky in Toronto, Canada.