PubCon 2007 in Las Vegas was a blast. Despite having the flu and feeling like I just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep most of the time, I had fun and learned/relearned a lot! I was amazed at the number of people that PubCon attracted this year. Brett told me that he expected somewhere around 2000 attendees (the actual number was over 2600). But the real adventure for me was enduring the onset of the flu while I was there. My sincere apologies if anyone caught it from me.
My adventure began Monday morning as I drove to the Manchester, NH airport from Montpelier, VT – a 2 hour drive in good weather. We had a snow storm early Monday morning so when I woke up at 5:30AM there was about 8″ of snow on the ground. Normally Vermont road crews are quite good at clearing snow but the volume and time span conspired to make keep the roads messy. So traveling was … less than perfect. I was late getting on the road and I couldn’t go more than 40MPH. Passing was a risk and, of course, I didn’t want to miss my flight. So I passed a few folks. I covered about 40 miles when Janet (the love of my life) called to tell me that my flight was canceled and that she was working on rescheduling it. Then she told me to relax since I wouldn’t fly out at 10AM like I was scheduled to. I wouldn’t fly out until 12PM at the earliest. So, I backed off the gas and took my time. I arrived at a little after 10am.
The flight to Las Vegas was long and uneventful though I could tell I was coming down with something. The tickle in the back of my throat was pretty obvious now. I arrived at 4:30PM LV time. I had a couple of hours before the moderator’s dinner with Brett. I unpacked, checked in with Janet, and headed over to the Renaissance next to the convention center. I caught up with Todd Keup and his wife Marcy, Elisabeth Archambault, Adam Young, and Ted Ulle. After a few minutes Neil Marshall came down and told us to get upstairs for the dinner where we found Roger Dooley, Brett Tabke, and several of the WebMaster World staffers already there and sipping cocktails while talking. I chatted and chatted and chatted. After the fabulous dinner (I had roast beef, garlic soup, and some salad) I hung out for a bit more before I decided to call it a night and go get some sleep. My voice was beginning to crack.
On Tuesday, I started off at registration early and then enjoyed some excellent sessions after the keynote by Craig Newmark (Craig of Craig’s List) – which, though it was a bit dry (my presentation was worse), was very informative. By Tuesday afternoon I was beginning to feel much worse. I left for the pub and had dinner with several friends at Envy, the restaurant in the Renaissance (the Ren). Great steak! I woke up several times that evening and early Weds feeling worse each time. It was clear on Weds that I was getting worse.
After another round of sessions, I escaped to the Ren’s lounge only to find that Link Connector (affiliate network) was sponsoring a get together there (thanks Jeannine!). I hung out with them and was soon joined by Tom Lambert, Todd Keup and Marcy. Much conversation later and we headed off to the Red 8 (Asian) restaurant at the Wynn. I had a nice spicy dish. Everyone said I looked horrible. I felt fine but a bit under the weather. My voice was cracking and occasionally absent altogether. After dinner, I hoofed it back to my room and promptly fell into bed only to wake up 3 or 4 times that night. Ok, now I felt horrible.
Thursday was the worst. With my head feeling like a stuffed olive, I staggered through my morning and even gave a boring presentation. Several folks were gracious enough to thank me and seem excited by it. Honestly folks, I know it was the worst presentation that day – possible the worst I’ve ever given. Thursday afternoon was no better. At the end of the day I hopped a cab over to the Palms with Roger Montti, Robin Liss, and Jeremy (? – sorry Jeremy, I lost the napkin with you contact info on it) to attend the Microsoft party in the Ghostbar. Fabulous food, great view of Las Vegas and lots of fun people. I headed out around 10PM.
Friday, I felt much better. Like it finally had decided to let go. I spent the morning in my room working. I walked over to the Ren and called the WMW crew only to find they had already left and were at the Brew Pub in the Monte Carlo. I got a cab and arrived just as they opened the bar up for the PubCon. More great finger food and a mild evening. Chatted with Lyndsay Walker, Phranque from Webmaster World, and many of the folks I had seen earlier in the week. I had dinner with Jeff Libert, Elizabeth Archambault, Todd & March, Tom and his wife – who had been rolled over by a boulder a year and a half ago – what a story and amazing to see her up and walking around as if nothing had happened! We had dinner at an Indian restaurant and then walked around the Strip for a bit before heading home. Thanks for the lift Elizabeth.
When I flew out on Saturday morning I again looked at the painted landscape. It always amazes me how such a materialistic place can exist in such a remote location. I wonder how long it would take the desert to reclaim the land if everyone left Las Vegas tomorrow.
As I reflect on the PubCon, it is obvious the flavor has changed. PubCon has grown up and is continuing to expand it’s offerings. It still focuses on those of us who need to understand what’s under the hood of the web. Drivers, designers, salespeople, mechanics and traffic cops all mingling together. I look forward to the next time and hopefully, I’ll be in better health.
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