Tuesday, January 18, 2005 :::  

yea, this is where we're staying for the second half of summit. solutions summit is with all of our partners but sales summit is just with citrix people. so now we're staying in the disneyland contemporary hotel.

it's very contemporary. notice all the contemporary stuff. the sheets, the mirror, the couch, the lamp and dresser, and the carpet.

::: posted by Soup at 10:33 PM::: (0) comments

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Monday, January 17, 2005 :::  
citirx solutions summit

so this is our fearless ceo, mark templeton. he's actually a bit of a
dork, but not in a bad way. he's excited about citirx and that's what
matters.

so yea, i'm currently at citrix solutions summit in orlando and trying
out this new flickr photo blogging thing via email. (i'm writing this
blog in an email and attaching the picture to it. we'll see how it
turns out).

summit is cool so far. meeting some new consultant people and seeing
some old ones i already know. there are "training" sessions on new
products and keynotes and whatnot. so yea. i dunno. that's it for
now. i need to find a chair with a backrest.

EDIT: the text didn't quite come over, so i'm editing the blog and addint it myself. you can see the text if you click the photo.

::: posted by Soup at 10:21 AM::: (2) comments

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Sunday, January 16, 2005 :::  
the venitian

Current location: somewhere between Las Vegas, NV and Primm Valley, NV

Current speed: 80mph

Current direction: south-ish on i-15 towards LA.

So I spent the weekend in Las Vegas attending the Consumer Electronics show

I’m currently sitting in the back of Anthony’s car. We’re heading back from Vegas where 7 of us spent the weekend making the city our own. The purpose of our trip? The annual consumer electronics show (ces). And of course, it was an excuse to go to vegas. We haven’t been driving for much time. Perhaps 30 minutes? Anthony’s got some cool music goin on here in the car so I’m kinda in my own world here sitting in the back and staring at the (I use the term loosely) ‘countryside.’ Tonic. Smashing Pumpkins. Collective Soul. Old school stuff. It’s making me contemplative.

So yea. our weekend. It was lots of fun. Saw some cool stuff at the show. Took some cool pics of the cool stuff that we saw at the show. Here’s a link (also cool) to the cool pictures I took of the cool stuff we saw at the show.

I’m torn about vegas, about what I truly think about the place. On one hand, it’s extremely beautiful. These hotels they’ve built in the last few years – holy crap they’re crazy. The Venitian? The Bellagio? Caesar’s Palace? The Luxor? Paris? The Sahara? (Yea, juuuuuuuuust kidddddding). Where else can a (again, I use the world loosely) ‘normal’ person feel like he’s super rich by just walking in and out of these palaces-hotels? And the immense-ness! The size of everything is still hard to get over. The opulence of scale reminds me of Hertz Castle with the marble and sculptured swimming pools and guest houses, etc…

One of the thoughts I kept having all weekend was what it would be like to bring someone from a third world country to Vegas. Would they be bewildered by the lights and size of it all? Would they quiver in a fetal position from the sensory overload? Would they run around crazily and somehow end up lost forever amongst the slots and buffets? You could describe Vegas as a historical world tour in one place. It’s a humongous theme park with a dozen different “lands.”

Okay, so on the other hand, Vegas is the Devil. The reason for all this posh/opulent/beautiful ambiance is of course for money. I know I’m stating the obvious, but the only reason for it all is too get you in the Casino. To get you to roll away your money into their coffers. To gamble. Forget the shows. Forget the buffets. Forget the shops and rides. It’s bait and we’re all fish. And once they get you in, they do their best to not let you leave. The only timepieces are the ones you bring with you. “Here, have a drink, stay awhile. Let’s make a toast to the lose-your-inhibition-and-spend-all-your-money-here attitude that’s everywhere.” It’s just a bit underhanded. And me being me the wholesome boy I am find it a bit despicable.

I’m not saying I despise vegas. I think it’s a very intriguing place. It’s unique. You just have to take it with a grain of salt.

This being the second time I’ve been to Vegas, I’m still stuck in the middle about it.

::: posted by Soup at 7:35 PM::: (0) comments

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