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Pitching Loonies...
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...Against the EdMedia OrgBoard...and other odds and ends.
As I write this, there are a number of audible oddities going on from both within my 21st story hotel room and without. My technologically intrepid and nasally challenged colleague is snoring up a storm, having been driven to the brink of exhaustion by a conference that continues to torture us with its absurdities and incompetencies. Outside, there's a sort of Lovecraftican back and forthing of sound that plays to my ear much like the strugglings of our cat to rid her belly and esophagus of its hair-laced and kibbled coating. I dare not leave this room, for fear that some Montrealian monstrosity pluck me from the halls of this aged and overly-expensive Sheraton and/or that I might have to face yet more assinine presentations and poster sessions.
That all said, today's actually been an improvement over the previous two. Reason being: I've attended all of two technology-related sessions, been to "Cibo & Vino" -- a nice, little Italian restaurant -- for a lunch of Pesto and insalate italiano, gone over MY presentation for Saturday, lounged in the hotel room, and gone out into the bustling streets of Montreal for shopping. And this evening Jacques and I will escape the Sheraton obelisk for some aferhour carousing with a bunch of Aussies -- today start's the city's Jazz Festival. So we're off to join in the (free) festivities in an hour or two. And it get's even better because, once we get back (at a decent hour I'm suspecting) there'll be Ketchup Chips awaiting us in our room.
Yes, Jay, Ketchup Chips do exist, as I've learned, and I look forward to trying them out tonight -- probably with a Molson Canadian to wash 'em down.
And since I'm hopped up on caffeine, I may as welll throw in an aside or two: The "Loony" is the Canadian one dollar piece. Logically so-called because the copper dubloon sports a looney bird on it. When the Canadian treasury minted its and the country's two-dollar coin, the people needed a name for it, and since the whole world may as well be a media and pop-culture driven society, the locals decided on "Tooney," despite the fact that there are no Bugs Bunnian characters emblazoned on its surface. Plus, to lend yet more of a crazy quality to the coin, its original manufacture lacked a certain necessary cohesion: The inner copper core and its smaller zinc/nickel/silver/whatever outer ring would often separate when accidentally dropped (or purposefully thrown for fun) to the ground.
Another useless but hopefully amusing aside: The first day we were here (Monday - which now seems like weeks ago. The havoc an inane conference can work on one's temporal sensitivies) we walked by a street musician who we heard exclaim, "That bastard can take his pennies and shove 'em up 'is arse!" Apparently, someone had chosen to dispose of all of his one-hundredths-of-a-loony (or were those the middles of a Toony?) in the bloke's guitar case. I checked the urge and refrained from yellilng at the aggrieved that "Beggars can't be choosers." OK, so that's off my chest now.
And this should hopefully be my last bash of the conference: After attending a couple of the morning sessions today, Jacques and I returned (from different points of departure) to the hotel room and discussed our ever-growing criticisms of the event. Basically, we've both come to the conclusion that we have failed to properly promote and market ourselves as technologists. So many of the full/short papers, roundtables, panel discussions, keynote addreses we've visited have convinced us that we know at least as much as -- if not altogether more than -- those leading these events. Jacques and I both could have easily had three or four more program items on the schedule -- instead, the conference has scheduled our presentation on the last day -- time when we'll be lucky to get more than 3 attendees. So little has made a lasting impression.
Therefore, we're going to take Jay and Dad's advice and cut out early tomorrow (Friday). After taking in one or two sessions in the early morning, J. and I are renting a car from Hertz and driving over to Ottawa to meet a few of his relatives and later, that evening, go to a Canadian Football game.
Time to experience Canada Day and the pride of the Canucks -- a good hour away from the EdMedia conference.
As I write this, there are a number of audible oddities going on from both within my 21st story hotel room and without. My technologically intrepid and nasally challenged colleague is snoring up a storm, having been driven to the brink of exhaustion by a conference that continues to torture us with its absurdities and incompetencies. Outside, there's a sort of Lovecraftican back and forthing of sound that plays to my ear much like the strugglings of our cat to rid her belly and esophagus of its hair-laced and kibbled coating. I dare not leave this room, for fear that some Montrealian monstrosity pluck me from the halls of this aged and overly-expensive Sheraton and/or that I might have to face yet more assinine presentations and poster sessions.
That all said, today's actually been an improvement over the previous two. Reason being: I've attended all of two technology-related sessions, been to "Cibo & Vino" -- a nice, little Italian restaurant -- for a lunch of Pesto and insalate italiano, gone over MY presentation for Saturday, lounged in the hotel room, and gone out into the bustling streets of Montreal for shopping. And this evening Jacques and I will escape the Sheraton obelisk for some aferhour carousing with a bunch of Aussies -- today start's the city's Jazz Festival. So we're off to join in the (free) festivities in an hour or two. And it get's even better because, once we get back (at a decent hour I'm suspecting) there'll be Ketchup Chips awaiting us in our room.
Yes, Jay, Ketchup Chips do exist, as I've learned, and I look forward to trying them out tonight -- probably with a Molson Canadian to wash 'em down.
And since I'm hopped up on caffeine, I may as welll throw in an aside or two: The "Loony" is the Canadian one dollar piece. Logically so-called because the copper dubloon sports a looney bird on it. When the Canadian treasury minted its and the country's two-dollar coin, the people needed a name for it, and since the whole world may as well be a media and pop-culture driven society, the locals decided on "Tooney," despite the fact that there are no Bugs Bunnian characters emblazoned on its surface. Plus, to lend yet more of a crazy quality to the coin, its original manufacture lacked a certain necessary cohesion: The inner copper core and its smaller zinc/nickel/silver/whatever outer ring would often separate when accidentally dropped (or purposefully thrown for fun) to the ground.
Another useless but hopefully amusing aside: The first day we were here (Monday - which now seems like weeks ago. The havoc an inane conference can work on one's temporal sensitivies) we walked by a street musician who we heard exclaim, "That bastard can take his pennies and shove 'em up 'is arse!" Apparently, someone had chosen to dispose of all of his one-hundredths-of-a-loony (or were those the middles of a Toony?) in the bloke's guitar case. I checked the urge and refrained from yellilng at the aggrieved that "Beggars can't be choosers." OK, so that's off my chest now.
And this should hopefully be my last bash of the conference: After attending a couple of the morning sessions today, Jacques and I returned (from different points of departure) to the hotel room and discussed our ever-growing criticisms of the event. Basically, we've both come to the conclusion that we have failed to properly promote and market ourselves as technologists. So many of the full/short papers, roundtables, panel discussions, keynote addreses we've visited have convinced us that we know at least as much as -- if not altogether more than -- those leading these events. Jacques and I both could have easily had three or four more program items on the schedule -- instead, the conference has scheduled our presentation on the last day -- time when we'll be lucky to get more than 3 attendees. So little has made a lasting impression.
Therefore, we're going to take Jay and Dad's advice and cut out early tomorrow (Friday). After taking in one or two sessions in the early morning, J. and I are renting a car from Hertz and driving over to Ottawa to meet a few of his relatives and later, that evening, go to a Canadian Football game.
Time to experience Canada Day and the pride of the Canucks -- a good hour away from the EdMedia conference.
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