Geek Soap Box

March really must come in like a lion and leave like a lamb, because when I left for Dixie on Tuesday the temperature stood in the frigid teens and 12 inches of snow blanketed bucolic Douglaston.  Today, it’s approaching 70 and I just drove around town with the sunroof open.  Perhaps I brought the weather back with me?

All in all, it was an interesting and event-filled four days at the conference.  In a professional role, I managed to:

• Twitter with abandon as both myself and my more-corporate alter-ego
• Step in and author some random blog commentary when our first option proved untenable
• Accompany our staff photographer at various cocktail receptions, dutifully taking down the names/orgs of those deemed worthy of permanent recognition via digital imagery
• Manage the normal day-to-day operations of the company Web site
• Launched the official 4A’s iPhone App (Check the iTunes Store today!)
• Assist the registration desk when short-staffed
• Attend every session and vet audience questions for appropriateness

But that’s not all!  I also managed to sneak in two side trips to Harrah’s — the scene of many a crime for your humble blogger — and dropped $200 and $300 respectively in ugly and uglier gaming experiences and had a fantastic meal or two of great southern flavor: charbroiled oysters with a crabmeat-stuffed lobster and the biggest steak imaginable.  I also forgot how positively beautiful some areas of the city remain, even after all of the tragedy suffered by it and its residents in the past few years.  The Garden District set the scene for a lovely evening drive marveling at the gorgeous homes and lush flora.

The conference itself also proved fairly entertaining and informative in places.  Going in, it was natural to be worried about an overall sense of “doom and gloom,” given the state of the economy and downward-trending attendance figures, but overall some good sessions and an energetic and engaged crowd made it a worthwhile experience.  Even CBS’s Bob Schieffer — whom I questioned bringing to the show as a relic of times and media long-past — was humorous and personable in his keynote speech.  Unlike the man he temporarily replaced, Dan Rather, Schieffer is a humble and decent man from Texas that shared some great stories and admitted that, in this day and age, we all — media, citizen, and consumer — have absolutely no idea what the heck is going on anymore and can only hope and pray that the policies we implement will wind up giving the global economy the injection it desperately needs.  (Of course, I personally question if more public works spending and bailouts will work when none of the regulatory issues regarding credit rating conflicts of interest, banking consolidation, and derivatives have been addressed).

All in all, a worthwhile experience though.  See ya at the end of the month in Miami for the Avectra Users and Developers Conference!