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Celestial signs over Lotusphere 2003
by
Richard
Schwartz |
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It was just before 8 PM, during the Lotusphere Welcome Reception. I was outside on the beach between the Swan and the Dolphin hotels, away from the crowd because I had just called home to say goodnight to the kids, when I happened to look up at just the right moment. At first, I thought it might be a stray skyrocket from a Disney fireworks display, but I looked around and saw no other pyrotechnics going on. It must have been a meteor—a brilliant shooting star streaking halfway across sky.
Historically, there have been all sorts of different interpretations associated with shooting stars. I happen to prefer to think of them as good omens, particularly when they're not part of one of the recurring annual meteor showers. In fact, you have to be lucky just to glimpse one, since you must be looking skyward in just the right direction at just the right instant. So I consider my shooting star a great sign for Lotusphere 2003!
Of course, you're supposed to make a wish when you see a shooting star. So I did, but as we all know I can't tell you what I wished for, otherwise it won't come true. And I certainly can't publish it on as popular a Web site as this. After tomorrow's opening ceremony I might be able to reveal it. Stay tuned!
The work, fun, and excitement of Lotusphere usually begins long before the Welcome Reception. It actually started for me even before I left the airport here in Orlando. I approached the Mears Shuttle counter outside the baggage claim area, and when I got the attendant's attention I asked "How much for a one-way to the Dolphin?" A voice behind me spoke up: "You're going to the Dolphin? So are we. Would you like to share a taxi?" After some quick introductions, I found myself sharing a ride with Peter Janzen and Sarah Boucher of IBM's Portsmouth, NH office. For two years I worked just up the street from there when I was CTO of eVelocity, so that led to some conversation, which eventually revealed that Peter, like me, planned to attend the Penumbra Group dinner party at Fulton's Crab House that evening. Small world syndrome strikes again.
My flight got in at noon on Saturday, and dinner wasn't until 7. Time to relax? Of course not! Before I even checked into the Dolphin, I ran into Rudi Knegt of RKJ-Soft and Jens-B. Augustiny of Ligo Informatik, both long-time IBM and Lotus Business Partners. Shortly afterward, I got a call on my cell phone from Dieter Stalder of STDI Consulting, one of my co-speakers for BP-107 "Controlling Spam Mail In Your Organization," and we met in the Coral Cafe for lunch. Frequent LDD Forum contributor Bill Ernest of Teamwork Solutions was sitting at the next table.
After lunch I went over to registration (which ran very efficiently again this year), picked up my badge and my tenth Lotusphere bag. I then decided to take a walk around the hotel complex to loosen up my muscles a bit to get ready for all the walking I'll be doing in the upcoming week. Along the way I ran into long-time friend and LDD Today contributor Howard Greenberg of The Learning Continuum Company.
Networking continued full speed through the dinner party. There were far too many people there to list them all, but among the many attendees were LDD Today contributors Beverly DeWitt and Bob Balaban (the latter of Looseleaf Software). I also saw frequent LDD Forum posters Ben Langhinrichs of Genii Software and Ed Brill, along with Gary Devendorf, e-Pro Magazine Editor Libby Schwarz, Certified Unofficial Lotusphere T-Shirt maven Henry Newberry of Newbs Consulting, and Rocky Oliver of Sapphire Oak Technologies with his co-author on the forthcoming Lotus Notes and Domino 6 Programming Bible, Brian Benz of Benz Technologies.
Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the party at ESPN hosted by the denizens of the Totally Unofficial Gonzo Lotusphere 2003 Web site. Being double- or even triple-booked is just another aspect of Lotusphere I've come to expect.
I won't go into the content of the Sunday sessions, because that might spoil the surprise for those of you who will be hearing some of the same information for the first time on Monday. So let's get back to the most important part of the Sunday schedule—the Welcome Reception! This year it doubled as a Super Bowl party, complete with big screen TVs. Many people paid close attention as the game progressed; I personally spent much of this time handing out "SPAM" pens to build interest in my session. (Although I now suspect there's really no need, since everybody I talk to seems to want to attend it!) I also distributed some of my supply of the much-in-demand CULT shirts, while reuniting with many old friends and making some new ones. I ended up hanging out for most of the party with the Lotusphere attendee I've known the longest, LDD Today contributor Bruce Perry, a Domino developer for Lightbridge, whom I've known for almost 25 years. He also saw the shooting star! |
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