SunCEC2007 Day -1: From Berlin to Las Vegas

Late-night checkins are really a usefull thing, most of my colleagues in Hamburg have to wake up at five to be 3 hours early at the airport. But the (although canceled) meeting in Berlin saved me from flying Continental in a 757. Call me conservative, but i think that Richard Branson is correct with “4 engines 4 longhaul”. I know, the 757 has an ETOPS certification (“Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards” but i prefer “Engines Turn Or Passengers Swim”) but it´s a matter of trust (i don´t like Boeing) and of comfort (according to all sources the A340 is a really quiet plane) Hopefully i have some time to write at Frankfurt, but the next main blog entry will be made from Las Vegas. From my view, Las Vegas is a bad location for a conference. When you tell you friends. you go to San Francisco for a conference they say “Have a nice conference and don´t forget to do some sightseeing”. When you tell them, that you fly to Las Vegas for a conference, they answer “Have fun, and don´t forget to visit the conference”. Apropos Las Vegas: Television has an interesting effect on the perception of a city. In former times it was the city of Siegfried&Roy, the city of the Rat Pack, even the city of the Mob (of course besides of Chicago). But nowdays i think about plenty of dead people. Why? I assume i´ve viewed to many episodes of CSI Las Vegas. And that “happy slapping”-episode (aired a week ago in Germany) doesn´t generate confidence as well ;) Well, it´s 6:30 … breakfast …. PS: I´ve recognized, that i forgot something important … batteries for my Quiet Comfort. BTW: I think Constantin is incorrect … i´ve tried in-ear headphones but active noise canceling yields at least for me more silence …