The End

Well,

It's the end of the conference now, and I'm sitting in McCarran Airport, Las Vegas - taking advantage of their free wireless access (thank goodness some airports take care of their customers).

Last night was a final bit of relaxing after the business of the conference, which has left me with a cold and feeling quite exhausted. Went to the pool for a bit before the client appreciation event, which was like a mini-Epcott Centre, if that means anything to you (Epcott is Disney's take on international cultures, with every one whittled down to the biggest stereotypes you can think of). Best part was finally meeting Andrew Rosen, then teaming up with Bob, Presidium's operations director, at table shuffleboard which led to a 30 point comeback to beat Andrew and El (sp?), another Presidium guy. Also discovered that having too many Blackberries in close proximity to a Wii makes it go crazy and be totally unusable at times. Andrew then took me and Paul and Bob out for an amazing steak dinner (saving us from the hotel's lousy buffet foods which had tormented us throughout the conference), which knocked the socks off the UK client dinner Bb hosted at a steakhouse Wed. night (which didn't include steak on our set menu strangely, and led to us being surrounded by ex-WebCT clients for the evening, rather than the small group of people we had been told about).

Lots of great food at the restaurant last night and good conversation. As Paul said, last night certinly gave a great ending to our trip.

Felt lucky that evening so I took my money to the slot machines and doubled it. Admittedly it was only one dollar I bet, but still I left Vegas in the black, which is more than most people can say.

Highlight session of the trip: Michael Wesch, Project NG, and eUreka's research management tools.

Biggest disappointment: faculty commons online session, both birds of a feather sessions

Weirdest moments: hearing Frankie Valli impersonators every time you stepped into the lift, and Phantom of the Opera when you went to the toilet (guess what shows were playing at the hotels). Also up there is the Siren's pirate show across the road with weird lip-synching, skimpy costumes, and an overly sexual nature for the large crowds of families that were watching it.

Most expensive thing we stumbled across: Tried to get a drink one night, a 'taste' of wine was 40 dollars at the bar we went to first. Glass was 100.

Least expensive thing: 99 cent margaritas at some of the casinos to get you in the door. That and penny slots.

Hope you three enjoyed the collocation game. Prizes will be distributed next week.