4D Summit 2008 Photos

Here is a sampling of photos from the 4D Summit in Long Beach, CA, October 7 - 10, 2008. Click on any photo to see a larger version.

	Our story begins at the Hyatt Long Beach on Tuesday, October 7, after a terrifying cab ride.
	Rumors that Tom Dillon would not attend turned out to be all lies. For the record, the rumors were started by Mr. Dillon himself.
	After registration, the next order of business is to gather in the hotel bar and catch up with old friends like Christian.
	Here are Brian and Marie ...
	... Rob (with Tom's monacle), ...
	... Randall (demonstrating the most efficient way to indicate the number three) ...
	... and Dave (quenching his thirst unsuccessfully).
	Here's the first iPhone roll call of the Summit. Randall, Christian, Wayne, and Dave posed with their phones, while the mystery arms belonged to Jeff, Rob, and Tom.
	The sunrise in southern California is a lovely sight. Here's the view from my room at the very end of a very long corridor on the fourth floor.
	The view from the breakfast/lunch ballroom included the majestic Queen Mary. More on her later, faithful reader.
	4D veterans may recognize Dave's tie.
	Brendan welcomed us to the start of the Summit. Thanks, Brendan!
	The first day consisted of single sessions and keynotes during the day ...
	... and multiple sessions after 5:00, which was a nice first for the Summit. Attendees of the "Selling to Foreign Markets" enjoyed a nice reception afterward for networking opportunities.
	Evening sessions are even better with tasty beverages! How handy to have a bottle opener on your key ring.
	Larry. You know why your photo is here, dude.
	Jeff and I enjoyed a delicious dinner with the OEM attendees on Wednesday night. Here's Jim welcoming us ...
	... and here's as many of us as I could get in one shot from where I was sitting.
	Thursday morning, Christian and Tom showed off their ominous, scary eye look. Christian has it down cold, but Tom keeps trying.
	On his very first try, Bob showed them both how it is done. Imagine how amazing this would be if he had practiced!
	After the excellent session discussing how to integrate Excel with 4D, attendees lined up to get copies of the sample code.
	Thursday night's "Evening with 4D" was held on the majestic Queen Mary.
	She's a grand old dame. This map was used to show her current position while crossing the Atlantic back in the olden days.
	The details are impressive.
	This display of Queen Mary memorabilia includes references to the Spruce Goose when it was housed in a nearby dome, where I saw it during my last visit to the Queen Mary 20 years ago.
	The ship has been converted to a hotel, with original art deco details restored throughout.
	One of the upper levels features a full shopping promenade.
	On deck outside, there are views of the container port and the aforementioned dome.
	Back inside, we had a wonderful buffet dinner. Here are Jeff, me, Brendan, Steve, Jerry ...
	... Rich, Larry, and Christophe.
	On the classy Queen Mary, Paul and Mick were forced to hide their identity lest Justin find out they were having fun on their business trip to the US.
	We had entirely too much fun with the black bar glasses I brought along. I took a bunch of photos, so click here to see all of them.
	After dinner, the Long Beach skyline was fully lit up. Wouldn't you love to visit? I wish I had been able to stay longer.
	Speaking of fun, it's time for the show. Additional photos are here.
	It certainly gave us something to talk about during intermission.
	Mike and Kira work hard to put on a great Summit, so they deserve a cold one, wouldn't you agree?
	Rich and Miss Ava Garter were caught on camera. How shocking!
	Here's Ava and her new boyfriend, Thibaud.
	It turns out that Ava has more than one boyfriend.
	After the show, it was off to a local pub.
	Irish Car Bombs served in Irish pubs are turning into a Summit tradition. Respecting that tradition are Elliott, Rich, Jeff, Tom, Dave, Christian, and Robbie.
	Lisa joined us later on for more revelry.
	So did her sister Lisa ...
	... and the always charming Lo.
	Justin, I assure you that Mick behaved himself.
	Dave used his fancy Apple technology to prove that I was able to stay awake until 2:00 AM.
	Morning comes too soon, but there's another day of great sessions left. Rob gave a nice presentation on the cool things you can do with Canvas.
	Laurent et Laurent took questions at the wrap up session.
	Then Brendan, Luc, and Mike bade us farewell.
	I rushed off for a nice dinner on the waterfront with my cousins.
	Then I rushed back for my traditional face-squish photo with Brian at the hotel ...
	... and then another with his wife, Ann, back at the Irish pub. That's the top of Tom Dillon's head. There's a story behind that but you really had to be there.
	Dave was.
	And Mike ...
	... and Brian ...
	... and this guy. What's his name again? I don't recall, but I dig the monocle. (Anyone else out there looking at "monocle" and wanting to spell it "monical"? No? Just me?)
	Back to the bar where we said goodnight and goodbye to Long Beach, the Summit, good friends, and these adorable raccoons.