Wednesday was the last day of the conference. The conference organizers only had one session time slot in the morning so I attended the session on mash-ups. Mash-up combine data from two different applications and combine them in one application. I don't think that's the exact definition but if you've ever seen a map that shows pictures of locations on the map, you've seen a mash-up. This was an awesome session!! The speaker and content were excellent and I've always wondered how you create a mash-up. Now that I get the concepts I am going to play!!
We had a slight break between the morning session and the afternoon closing session so I went over to the White House to see if Barak and Michelle were available for tea. They weren't available - I think Barak was working on healthcare reform, the Iran situation or the North Korea situation so he took a raincheck :-) In all the times I've been to DC I've never stopped at the White House. The last time I took a look was during my 8th grade field trip. I didn't have time to stay for the tour but it was fun to look around.
The closing session of the conference was a pretty good one. Judy Woodruff moderated a panel discussion between Robyn Meredith, Neil deGrasse Tyson and John Patrick on the concept of information in a globalized world. It was pretty interesting. They touched on a couple of concepts that two of my co-workers and I had a knock down fight about a few weeks ago (X and I were right!!!). Neil Tyson deGrasse was a highly entertaining speaker and if you ever have a chance to hear him speak, I highly recommend it (I'd heard him once before as the keynote speaker of WPI's graduation ceremony a couple of years ago).
Thursday morning I got up early for a run. It was raining but not badly when I set out. After about 15 minutes the sky completely opened up and I thought I was going to drown. There was so much rain that the water in the street had no where to go. I was leaping over 6" rivers and ponds of rain and I had to literally wring my clothes out when I got back to my hotel. I HATE getting my running shoes wet!! I am happy to report a little over 24 hours later they are almost dry. Almost.
The flight back is worth mentioning. After boarding at our designated time we taxied for a couple minutes and then sat on the tarmac for about 45 minutes waiting for a weather cell near National airport to move. I sort of fell asleep (the plane was super hot) and then kind of woke up when we hit some massive turbulence. I could have sworn that I heard the pilot say that one of our engines had failed but I didn't know if I dreamed it or if he actually said it. No one else on the plane was panicking but it was really disturbing and made for a very unsettling rest of the flight and trip home.
I was greeted at the airport here with rain, rain and more rain and it looks like it is going to rain for the next 10 days straight. I am very angry with the weather. This winter was so awful I still get teary thinking about it. Would it be too much to ask for a little weather reward of some sunshiny days?? Please?
All in all it was a very good trip and good conference. If nothing else the trip solidified my desire to get the hell out of my current living and work situations ASAP. *fingers crossed*
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