The Animal Park

Wow, what fun it's been! Today Webwoman and I went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park (http://www.sandiegozoo.com/wap/). The Zoo may be rad, but the animal park is way rad! We saw rhinos, zebra, giraffes, bison, monkeys, too many birds to mention, gorillas, and all sorts of other animals -- up close and personal, with only air separating us. That's how it works there; the cages are acres in size instead of square feet. My favorite animal was the Rhino (of which the Park had two species, one of which is going to be extinct in a few years). It is my favorite because they have a prehensile upper lip. I cannot even imagine what it would be like to have a prehensile upper lip. I am sure it would change the way I program 4D.

Mama Rhino and her baby munch some
grass. Mmmm... grass... hohhhh...

The Dude we saw outside Rite-Aid last night

Webwoman reminded me that I forgot to tell you about this dude we saw outside Rite-Aid last night. We were waiting to cross the street to get to Rite-Aid, which is right next to the US Grant hotel, and we saw a fire truck and a paramedic van pull up -- to the corner we were heading toward! Then, we saw this dude who had a little bit of blood on his shirt and who was holding his head like it was hurt start stumbling toward the paramedic. He looked like a touristy-type person who had either fallen or gotten in a fight. The paramedics helped him get back into reasonable order... but even so we felt extra motivated to go into Rite-Aid (through that metal detector), get our less-than-expensive bottled water, and then get the H.E. Double Toothpicks out of there -- you never know who's next.

The Shower Incident

Okay, so it's not like you should care or anything, and you can certainly skip this part because it has very little to do with the conference, but when we woke up this morning our bathtub was full of water. This would have been fine if we put the water there, but we didn't. I pulled out the tub stopper and there was lots of interesting stuff hanging from it. So, we called the hotel people, and they sent up a guy to come look at it. He said that it looked like it was going to be a "big job" (whatever that is) and that we should take a shower somewhere else. So, we called the front desk, and they sent up a guy with a key to anther (empty, thank God) room on our floor. We decided to walk down there in our pajamas, which are pretty much like gym clothes. Nonetheless, I just knew that we'd see somebody along the way and that they would tease me about it, and sure enough wouldn't you know it -- there's Jean Laguerre, walking the other way. I sheepishly waved at him, thinking to myself that he must have thought I was some sort of crazy American for walking around the hotel in sweats and a t-shirt, holding a bottle of shampoo. Anyway, we got to the other room, did our business, and then walked back the same way -- no one saw us this time, to my great relief. When we got back, the "big job" was still in progress, so the hotel dude said he'd be back in a couple of hours to give us time to get ready to go to the Animal Park (see above). Now, we are not freeloaders. We are paying for this room. But, while we were in the other room, using its shower, we noticed that it was a) much larger and b) much nicer. So, being Good Consumers, we did what any American would have done, and called the front desk to negotiate for a better room for our inconvenience. We made up a pathetic story about how we were worried that the hotel dude wouldn't be able to finish the "big job" and how we would be more than willing to move because our shower was so important to us, and how we were hoping that everything wouldn't be an inconvenience... no dice. I could tell that the front desk lady saw me coming, and that she knew what I was leading up to even before the words got out of my mouth. She "guaranteed" that the shower would be working, but in the unlikely event that it wasn't, we could move -- but not until after the hotel dude had tried to fix the thing. So, when we got back from the Animal Park today we were happy but sort of bummed out that the shower worked great. Oh well, you can't blame someone for trying!

The Bagel Place ain't bad

There's a bagel place in the hotel lobby. We got bagels there this morning before we left for the day. They aren't too bad, but that's by my West Coast Bagel Standards. Check it out for yourself and see -- let me know if the service was as slow for you, too.

Dinner

After we got back from the Park, we were tired -- and we decided we would try the hotel Gril instead of walking down to the Gaslight DIstrict. Well, when we got there we decided that the prices just plain hurt our feelings. (That's Redneck for "offended us.") I just can't bring myself to pay $25 for an entree that is far too sophisticated for my palate. So, we decided to try "Rei do Gado," the Brazilian Steak House we saw on the way back from the Gaslamp District last night. (It's only half a block away.) On the way out the door, we saw some folks sitting at the bar: Steven Willis, his better half Mary Kay, Simon Wright, Robert Broussard, and a bunch of others were all sitting around watching the Presidentail debates. We said "hi", and then continued toward the door. Along the way we said hello to Chuck Morris, who is here from Florida. On a whim, we asked Francis the doorman if he knew any cheap-but-good places to eat. He told us about something that all conference attendees should know: the food court at the mall across the street. Now, before any of you get started on me, let me just say that I know full-well that food courts are not the height of fine dining. But, this is an upscale mall! There are all sorts of interesting places to go, including the food court. Now, I admit, you do have to be willing to endure that constant blast of American Shopping Mall Culture, but you won't beat the prices. We had Mongolian Barbecue. It was good. And the Food Court is open late. Brazilian Steak can wait until another night.

On the way back we saw a bunch of friendly faces from 4D, Inc.: Doris Beaulieu, Kent Wilbur, Jim Staples, Raymond Manley, and one other fellow (who I didn't meet... sorry!) were all headed off to a late dinner after slaving away all day to set up for the Summit. They already knew about the Food Court! Go figure...

In front of the US Grant we stopped to say hello to Doug von Roeder and Dick Gillett, who were chatting out front. Brendan Coveney appeared momentarily and greeted us all; he was on his way to dinner himself.

While we were standing out front and chatting, a whole bevy of the French Contingent from 4D SA whisked by on their way to dinner (or something). Laurent Ribardière waved to us, and Francois Marchal, Olivier Boulland, and Philippe Souveton shook our hands. Jean Laguerre also said howdy, and was bemused by my exuberant telling of the Shower Incident Story (see above). It gave him more evidence in favor of the Crazy American Theory, I suppose.

Jack des Bouillons showed up with his wife and mother; they were on their way to a night on the town from the looks of it. John Steele said "hi" on his way in and out the door -- he is due special congratulations on the birth of his daughter Maia only four months ago! He looked like he missed being with her.

Finally, we made it back inside, and took a few minutes to sit in the very nice hotel lobby and chit-chat some more with Chuck Morris, who as it turns out is quite an eloquent and captivating fellow. Mehboob Alam joined us after a while, and Mike Erickson dropped by briefly to say hello.

The Keith Goebel Page

The whole Keith Goebel attending the Summit thing is very funny. You have to see it.

http://www.think-different.com/KeithsGreatAdventure/

We miss you, Keith!

David Adams class tomorrow

I am very excited about taking the David Adams Class tomorrow. I've never taken one before! It looks to be good. I'll give a report on that tomorrow, along with some more pictures.

For tomorrow

Everyone shows up tomorrow, and there will be the big party to get us all in the mood. I like to wait until everyone has had about two drinks, and then I start taking pictures. So, if you're there -- watch out! If you're not, then look for the pictures.