Don't Bring Google Glass to a Bullfight

Photo taken by my iPhone, NOT by Google Glass

"So who's the 'Glasshole' who tried to wear Google Glass to a bullfight?"  

Ah, yours truly.

I've been returning to Sevilla, Spain, nearly every year since I spent a semester there as a student, living with a Spanish family.  I learned from that experience that bullfights aren't a tourist gimmick.  They are a deep, albeit divisive, part of Spanish history and culture.  (As an aside, while I still respect the courage and discipline of the bullfight participants, my latest visit made me conclude that I can no longer be a bullfight spectator.  The cruelty to the animals is too obvious and prolonged, even in the best of fights.)

A long weekend brought me back to Spain.  

Heading out the door of my hotel room, I grabbed my Google Glass fitted with sunglasses.  I soon discovered that though I had them "recharging" overnight, they hadn't.  (Double "Glasshole!") (Problem with the outlet, not with the Glass.)  It was too late for me to head back to the hotel.

Even inoperable, Glass still works quite nicely as a very comfortable, uber-expensive pair of sunglasses.  

The problem would've been averted if I had just brought my portable battery pack with me and my Glass recharging cord.  But, why bother lugging a portable charger when I had a Mophie battery pack for my iPhone and a seven-hour charge on my Glass?

I bought my tickets at the bullring, Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza.  I wasn't wearing my Glass when I bought the ticket.   I put them on when I got to my seat.  Though I was sitting in “la sombra,” the shaded side of the ring, sunglasses still made sense.

I watched the first fight uninterrupted.  Immediately upon it ending, however, a uniformed security officer was at my side as I stood up. Eyebrows furrowed, he leaned close to me, pointed to my Glass, and wagged his finger.  I immediately removed the Glass and tucked them in my shirt.

"Wow!  What about everyone else taking pictures and videos with their cameras and smartphones?!"

House rules.

As the second bullfight began, I wondered what might happen next.  I had no intention of putting the Glass back on, but, I wondered if I would be accosted in some way by the management as I left the ring, demanding…?  I considered how unbelievable it would be for me to assure them that my high-powered “glasses” were unpowered – literally.  That issue did not become an issue because, it appears, my removing my Glass ended THE issue.

(I wonder if Hemingway would have tried to wear Glass to a bullfight....I'm inclined to think that he would've wanted the pictures and wouldn't have cared how silly he might've looked.)

TAKEAWAYS:

• Don't wear Glass to a bullfight.  (At least not in Seville, Spain.)
• Don't be a double Glasshole and create a second problem by not abiding by house rules when informed of them.
• Don't be rude when asking someone in your establishment to remove their Glass.  (This gentleman was NOT; he was simply firm in conveying that his command wasn't going to be subject to a debate.)
• Always bring a back-up charger when you really want to use your tech.
• Stay cool whenever you’re confronted and it’s likely nobody gets too excited or demanding.
• Remember, it’s house rules.
• This one's for Google Glass or an entrepreneur - develop a keychain device that gives me a quick, even modest recharge of my Glass. 

Comments?  Go ahead, toss your banderillas!  

And, join me on Twitter!  @GlenGilmore