🚀 go-pugleaf

tommy@boole.att.com writes:
}henry@ADS.COM (Henry Mensch) writes:
}$ tommy@hilbert.att.com (Tom Reingold) wrote: 
}$ ->I'll be at the January Usenix in San Diego.  Since my company pays my
}$ ->airfare, I figure I'll take my family.  It's a good time for a vacation
}$ ->and I've never seen San Diego.  How do people manage this?

}$ you don't.  a conference is not vacation (unless you are defrauding
}$ your company); it is work.  
}$ [...]

}It seems that both Henrys misunderstood me.

Not everyone is as gung-ho as the Henrys.  My wife (no kids yet) came
with me to Usenix in San Antonio and we had a great time.  First,
I had all day Tuesday free because the tutorial I wanted to attend was
on Monday, and there was one afternoon in which none of the talks were
about anything my employer or I was vaguely interested in (so we went to
the zoo).  Also, I found the evening BOFs to be just about worthless
(Sorry, Henry S., this includes yours), in my opinion, you can get twice
the information in one evening on Usenet (so perhaps it has value for those
without Usenet).

I also don't understand those who say that Usenix is so draining ...
maybe they just don't work so hard regularly.  ;-)

So, if your wife can stand the kids during the day I would take her along.

I really don't understand the attitude that if you don't spend every waking
moment (and even sleeping is suspect) either at some official function (no
matter how irrelevant to you and your employeer) or smoozing with the
``cognoscenti'' in the bar then you are defrauding your company.
I am sent to these things for a purpose -- I accomplish my purpose and
what I do with the other hours of the day is my own damn business.

John

PS, I did find the `regular' parts of Usenix to be extremely useful
    and informative and am planning to attend again soon.
-- 
John Hascall                   ``An ill-chosen word is the fool's messenger.''
Systems Software Engineer
Project Vincent
Iowa State University Computation Center  +  Ames, IA  50011  +  515/294-9551