March 31, 2006
Astoria, OR - The Good and the Bad
Last night, we stayed in Astoria, OR, after a day of driving from Seattle.
Washington proved a little disappointing to me -- we didn't have the time to head north up the Olympic peninsula, so we headed due West to Aberdeen and then Long Beach, which were just not all that interesting. Though Long Beach did have a killer pinball arcade.
We continued south and found nothing worth stopping at until we got to Astoria. We ate at Gunderson's Cannery Cafe, where I got an excellent Manhattan, and a tasty order of Laksloda -- a Scandinavian preparation of salmon and potatoes. Oh, and the desserts, a berry cobbler and a Pavlova, were divine.
We stayed at a delightful little motel, the Crest, the was dog-friendly (and didn't charge extra for pets!).
We tried to get breakfast at a popular spot in town, the Pig 'n Pancake, but the quality of the coffee and food was *so bad* we couldn't eat it. Avoid at all costs.
It was unfortunate that our last experience in Astoria was so poor, as the rest had been delightful!
(We then proceeded in search of Mist, OR, which we found, but, upon arrival, wondered why we bothered looking. I'm writing from Portland, and we're on our way toward the Cascades, and Crater Lake, shortly.)
March 28, 2006
IA Summit 2006: Closing Plenary
Yesterday, I had the honor of presenting the closing plenary for the 2006 IA Summit.
You can download the slides, with notes. (6.5MB PDF)
I had tough shoes to fill. Andy Dillon's closing plenary last year was excellent.
Giving a closing plenary is a nerve-wracking experience. I realized I had a hard time relaxing and enjoying myself at the summit, because in the back of my mind, I was continually tweaking my talk.
It's also a bit scary to be the person to Say Something Meaningful to an audience. This was perhaps the first talk I've ever given that had an explicit emotional bent, where uplift and inspiration were essential qualities.
Delivering the talk was an amazing experience, and I am glad to have done it.
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