Thanks for the coins, ne1watching and anonymous donor! ne1 - I don't know anyone in LA, I've just always wanted to go to the west coast. I will definitely take you up on the lunch - drop a pin on my map.
The gas card idea is a good one, it would be really helpful
if when I get stranded. I wonder if mndrix could integrate it into Coincard...
Here's the blurb I wrote up for my Thursday talk. It'll go on advertisement posters around campus.
Bitcoin: The Money Of The Future?
Today's networked world works in dollars. If Alice wants to pay Bob for a service, but they're geographically separated, they have to use a third party like Paypal, Visa, or a bank to move dollars around. Unfortunately, each of these intermediaries charges fees and has strings attached - remember a few months back when VISA, Amazon, and Paypal blocked donations to Wikileaks?
Bitcoin is a novel cryptocurrency that removes these intermediaries. If Bob is willing to accept Bitcoins instead of dollars, Alice can send him some directly. The transaction doesn't go through any central authority; instead, the peer to peer network of Bitcoin users agree on a set of rules. These rules govern stuff like generating new coins, moving coins around, and preventing cheating.
Want to learn how it works and why it's so cool? Come to PLACE at TIME.
2010 alum Isaac Rogers, a.k.a. @TheRealPlato, has just begun the first cross-country Bitcoin Roadtrip. He is spending no dollars, only Bitcoins, from Hartford to Los Angeles. His motivation is primarily an overdeveloped sense of adventure; but he hopes to evangelize Bitcoin along the way.
btw I'm now like 12% along the Arch Linux learning curve. I have managed to connect to the internet and install links and ftp. \m/ edit: next stop, X and Firefox
Hope you don't run out of gas/petrol! 
Might be able to provide more, maybe not. Depends on the timing. Just don't stay too long... you might never leave!!
