The mother of all geek conventions

I awoke at 3am this wretched morning to catch my 6am flight to LA followed by a connecting flight to LV to attend and work during the CES convention. Every year, this event grows in popularity and in participant numbers. I had forgotten that this is the tech convention of all tech conventions. Not only for the geeks and nerds of the world, but for the average consumer who thrives on the latest and greatest gizmo and gadget. And like all things tech, men outnumber women. At this convention, it's a 30 to 1 ratio.

When I was standing in the 45 min. taxi line at the airport, I noticed that I was surrounded; mainly by men. A sea of them, most of which had their cell phones glued to their ears and putting on professional airs as though they are making huge business deals for their respective companies. I wasn't impressed. This is after all, a "toy" convention for guys. And the women that are attending? Most of us are in sales, marketing, or just a geek techie like me. In a sense, I like being involved in the male dominated world of technology. I actually understand terms like VoIP among others and I have spent hours at Fry's Electronics like a kid in a candy store who can't decide what type of teeth rotting sweets to buy. That must make me special. Haha

Anyway, the company is paying for my three nights at the Venetian in the swanky and newer Venetia tower suite. My room is so spacious, with a separate lounge, two televisions, and a Liberace inspired bathroom complete with mirrors on every wall and door. For a brief moment, I felt a pang of sadness to not have anyone with me to enjoy such a grand suite. And this was a very nice suite. The kind of hotel room that you automatically think, "Yes, I can defintely live here for a while." Then I thought of my last visit to LV with Chris and almost wished that he was here. But I slapped myself silly and the memory disappeared.

Time for bed. I have a long day of product inspecting and listening to sales people sell me their wares. I'll just tell them all that I have buying power at my company and if they give me a couple freebies, I'll consider their product for future purchase.