Nathan's Occasional Blog

I said yesterday that I’ve wanted to come to TechEd for a long time.  Why couldn’t I have gone a couple years ago in San Diego?  This year it’s in Orlando … in the opposite corner of the country from Seattle.

To make matters worse the ticketing gods sent me from Seattle to Los Angeles, and then on to Orlando.  Yeah – that’s direct.

I get to the airport and the wait for the transfer bus to the hotels is an hour plus.  The wait for taxies is about 3 minutes (but they cost 3x.  After getting up at 4a I’m done with mass transit for the day.  🙂

As a bonus I got Speedy Gozales for a cabbie.  I got to my hotel long before the bus would have even left!

The hotel? under construction on the main floor.  You have to enter through a wing entrance and then walk back to the other end of the complex to check in.  And it’s tough to grab an elevator in the middle of scaffolding.

And what’s the deal with all the guys walking around without shirts on … oh my, there’s a different convention here this weekend too.  You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a 6-foot-7 black 200 pound black guy in skimpy “boy shorts” on roller blades in the lobby of your hotel.

As I was checking a heavy-set mid-50’s guy from Alabama (guessing) came up to the front desk demanding to check out without being charged because of the “outrageous displays” parading around the hotel.  He was offended.  I love how tolerant our culture is of people who are different.

This should be an interesting week.