Registration

After meeting up with the rest of the group from DIALOG, a process I am certain I made more difficult than it had to be, we headed over to the Mandalay Bay for registration.

For those of you who have never been to Vegas, from the Venetian/Palazzo, the hotel where we are all staying, the Mandalay Bay may seem only a few blocks away, about 6 blocks, I think. But this is Vegas, and those are some huge blocks. My GPS pegged the distance at about 2 miles. All I know is that walking it the night before sure got me warmed up for all of the walking required in the days to come.

We took the Deuce, a double decker bus which I remember being substantially cheaper the last time I was here. The Deuce dropped us off "in front" of the hotel. After meandering our way to the main door of the casino, some 5 to 10 minutes of walking later, we eventually found ourselves in the casino looking for the conference centre. Thanks to Chris' keen yes in spotting the signage, we found our way.

The other three had few problems checking in. I, meanwhile, proceeded to spell my last name repeatedly. This is something I am very used to. Finally, badges in hand, we proceeded to the next line-up to pick up our materials. The materials, this year, consisted of a miniature USB mouse and a very much maligned bag (I think they called it a sleeve.)

Having finished registration, and after some interesting comments regarding some of the more prominent architecture, more on that later in the week, we headed out to see more of Vegas and have dinner.

Interesting fact for the day:
The Palazzo at the Venetian, according to this fancy room card I have here, is the largest LEED silver Building in the world. The hotel is trying to update the Venetian to become the largest LEED certified resort in the world.