BrainShare 2010 - Day #3

Cool morning, but not raining.  I hit the PartnerNet breakfast first for the Executive Panel meeting.  I restrained from strangling O'Keefe.  As always it was great to see John and Ron, and Norm was up front and center with Jimmy.  Integrity Networks is doing some really great work, and it's always good to see those two with the execs.

Had a class with Laura first thing and then I had brain fade and missed out on my Migration Depot appointment.  But I did finish up all of my cards, played a few games at GroupLink's booth, where I wasn't picked and didn't win, but had fun.  Talked to GWAVA folks as usual, and had some lunch before hiking over to their reserved room for the community announcements.  Some really cool stuff's coming up, like NotifyLink's support of all the Droid phones, and a new GW client app for the iPhone (not written by Novell).  I didn't win any prizes, but Mike Walters from Kent County won something.

After that I ran around IT Central for awhile, connecting with old friends, and dropping schwag off back at my hotel.  Then it was time for Party with Partners...at which I didn't win anything, but Tom Hafeman won big, yet again at GWAVA.  He walked away with an XBOX and I got  - wait for it...nothing!  Again!  Just not my year for winning cool schwag.  GWAVAMan was there so I got a new picture, that hopefully doesn't look as tired as my last one.  I sat next to Patrick Hasenberger (I probably just mangled his name) at GroupLink's "Deal or No Deal" game and he would have won an XBOX 360 if he'd trusted me and not settled.  I cheated and peeked...I had the penny and it took awhile before he picked my suitcase (apparenty he didn't understand my hint).  But he did win $100, topping off Joe's and Rhonda's wins quite nicely.

I ran into Ron again and thanked him again for bringing back BrainShare.  Rusty decided we needed to party more so a group of us headed over to a Karoke bar (NO, I did not get up and sing), where Rusty and Willem (from GWAVA) sang quite a bit, and Teresa Kratzer sang a couple of songs.  I did get up and even out Rusty's dance partners for one song, so I'm sure there'll be a YouTube video getting posted at some point.  We kind of had a geek theme going for awhile before the normal crowd came in.  It was a blast and the group of "kids" (20-somethings) seemed to really enjoy Rusty, Willem's and Teresa's stints on stage.  They were quite fun and campy as well.  Then we had an addition of "geeks"...BrainShare attendees with one guy from Brazil who sang 2 rap songs and had a pair of girls that voluntarily came on stage to dance with him...then they didn't seem to know what to do with him.

And that brings you up to now...where I'm sitting in my room tired, shoulders aching (no wheeled bags and no masseuse this year), my ankle's swollen, and I need to hit the hay if I have any hopes of making the partner breakfast in the a.m. (it's better food).  So goodnight from BrainShare, it's turning out to be a fun vacation after all.