I’m at the IBM Technical Leadership Exchange in Anaheim for the next few days. The signs don’t say “IBM”, but most people are wearing clothes or carrying briefcases with the IBM logo, so I don’t think it’s much of a secret.
The event is at the Anaheim Convention Center, the same site as LACon 4 last August. So the venue and surroundings are quite familiar (though I’m at the Marriott this time instead of the Hilton); I’ve already registered, collected my badge and badge holder (the standard design), the pocket program (no program book — it’s a PDF file instead), and even gotten the first issue of the con newsletter, which, like the LACon newsletter, is full of session changes (but this one is printed in 12-point type; LACon used 3-point type, which was a cruel thing to do!). I’ve seen old friends and am awaiting others.
But the atmosphere is different; we’re here to learn and work, not just to enjoy ourselves. Hmmm, maybe that’s how authors feel about Worldcon?