Hi,
 
Gilles wrote:
...
> 6. Conference running Tuesday to Friday.
>
> I asked Chuck Piercey about that. He replied that the response was terrific
> and it resulted in many more attendees because people would rather attend
> the day-long seminars on Monday rather than Sunday (I guess most people do
 
Uh, what's wrong with meeting Mon-Wed (or Mon-Thur), and having
the day-long seminars AFTER the main meeting?  Which would put them on
Thu (or Fri), *NOT* Sunday...thus providing the exact same length of
conference (and same days) for those who go to the conference and the
seminars ... but making it easier/cheaper for those who, for whatever
reason, prefer to fly (crossing a Saturday) BEFORE the conference?
 
Even assuming a 50/50 split between attendees who want to cross Saturday
night BEFORE the conference, versus those who want to cross Saturday night
AFTER the conference (and my informal polls imply that more want BEFORE than
AFTER), the vendors would appear to prefer BEFORE, tilting
the balance towards BEFORE.  That's why I'm interested in moving the
seminars to after the main conference.
 
> have a life). I don't want to put words in Chuck's mouth, but the impression
> I got was that Interex will be doing that again from now on.
 
Interex has done a lot of things again, and again.  That doesn't mean it's
always the best idea.  Some things are good, some aren't.
 
That's why we need an Interex Management Round Table, as some members have
started to call for.
 
> 7. High prices at Toronto airport.
>
> Gee, is there any airport this side of Mars where that is not the case.
> Actually, $2.95 cdn (approx. $2.10US) is not too far from the norm.
 
Actually, the Marriott-catered vendors in California airports have recently
lowered their prices, in a publicized attempt at providing "fair" pricing!
 
The main reason I included this was to provide some light humor in my
"negatives" listing.
 
I forgot to add the following negative:
 
   I never got to be interviewed by the immigration/customs guy who
   wants to photograph people's feet ... and I was wearing a nice clean
   pair of socks, just in case.
 
> 8. People whose last name begin with "S" not picking up messages.
>
> I hope there weren't any for me. I didn't check once.
 
Why not?
 
I didn't expect any messages ... and didn't receive any ... but decided
I should check, just in case :)
 
> Actually, the last time it was held in
> Anaheim (1984, I believe) was my first Interex conference - and maybe I was
> too starry-eyed at the time, but I remember it was also outstanding.
 
Yes, I remember that too...very enjoyable, run by local volunteers
(SCRUG ... remember the top hats the comittee wore, making it easy to
spot them?), and the first conference I can remember where the users
"boo-ed" the HP Management Round Table (at least twice!).
 
 
 
 
 
Note: Just because I say some negative things (as well as positive ones!),
that doesn't mean I'm saying the conference wasn't a good conference.
I enjoyed the conference and the city!
 
Nothing is perfect...the conference could have been improved somewhat (both
objectively and subjectively), and I hope that people will listen to my
suggestions/comments and start a constructive dialog, rather than a string
of defensive replies.
 
--
Stan Sieler                                          [log in to unmask]
                                     http://www.allegro.com/sieler.html