Forgive the occasional misspelling - I am trying very hard to get back to
Eastern US time as quickly as possible, which will get even better when we
all turn our clocks back this weekend...

Following up on Mark Wilkinson's previous post (which I found in the
newsgroup archive here) - our session also addressed CGI and Apache - we
tried to cover it all.  In retrospect, it could have lasted an entire day,
and maybe even more.

The exhibition was very well done, and it was good to see some familiar
faces and friends (Ken and Jeanette Nutsford staffing a booth for Adager,
Jerry Fochtman, David Greer and his wife, Robin Foley and the crew from
CSL), Bill Hassell from HP.  If I missed anyone, please accept my apologies.
As stated earlier, I am not "running on all eight cylinders" this morning.

It was also good to see folks from HP3000-L, and finally to place a face
with a name.  It's funny how one never look like what you think they look
like.

Peter Bradley and the firms who put this together The Meetings Company
(Carol Wetten and her crew) and QED Productions (far too many to name, even
if I could remember them), all did a fine job.  The content was well
balanced and presented very well (at least to those I either attended, or
peeked into).  Sorry Mr. Fochtman, I couldn't make yours, as when you were
starting, The plane I was on was queued on the taxiway at Heathrow.  Got
back to Newark about 40 minutes late.  (Queues:  another subject
altogether!)

Weather?  Although quite windy, one could not ask for better weather!  Not a
drop of rain the entire time I was there.  I packed my brollie -- didn't
need it after all!  (Which goes to show how much The Weather Channel knows!
--- just kidding, but they were calling for rain/showers on Tuesday)  For
those in the US, Highs were in the low 50s, Lows were in the low 40s.  (OK,
it got to about 14-15 Celsius during the day for our other friends where
metric temps are used).  The Weather Channel got that right so I could pack
correctly.

The social event, although the original trip down the Thames had to be
cancelled, renting out the entire Hippodrome, complete with full dinner,
dancing (to EVERYTHING!) well until Midnight.  Everyone seemed to be having
a wonderfully great time.  This was done on extremely short notice, and
being one of the more popular spots, whoever pulled off this 11th hour piece
of magic, deserves all of the credit they can get.  (Why is it that I think
Carol from the Meetings Company had something to do with this too? :)

The Novotel is expanding to provide more conference services.  They tried to
provide this yank with every bit of help he needed.  Phone not working?
Someone was up there in a shot, and I mean within 2-4 minutes, not hours.
They are starting to make it a "business hotel" as well, as they are adding
outlets for both electric and phone near the desk.  Forget your adapters?
(No, I didn't) - they had extras - from anything, to anything.  They were
also quite easy to reach from Heathrow by tube.  Why pay £50 for a taxi and
wait in the infamous London Car Parks, when £2.20 will get you there in 40
minutes :)

I know that people drove in, or took the train, some for quite a few hours.
I'm sure they did not leave disappointed.  Some of us flew in (I now swear
by Virgin Atlantic for trips to the UK!  They were great!)  The UK is not,
as some might think, a small country.  It could take 3 hours or more to
drive from Birmingham to London, and with gas (..er..petrol) at £0.79 per
litre/liter, and an exchange rate of £1.69=US$1.00, do the math, then
compare that to the US$1.27 for a gallon (something like 3.7 litres) - it's
not cheap to drive in the UK!  For these hearty souls - I know that your
presence was truly appreciated.

All in all, I have to say that I've wanted to come over and see HP-CUA (and
a few others) in person but never had the chance.  This was my chance, and
to all at HPUsers, and everyone else who worked so hard to make this
conference a success, "Good Show!" (and that is meant in more ways than
one).

Regards,
Joe