Kevin’s TechEd Diary – Day 4 (and beyond)
Dear TechEd Diary,
This entry is several days over-due, but I hope you’ll understand. Towards the end of the conference the schedule is tight, and the exhaustion is real. So I thought rather than taking time out of my day on Thursday or Friday I’d just take in and enjoy the rest of the week and finish up my diary writings after I’ve had a little rest.
On Thursday (Day 4) I skipped the first session of the day.
“*Gasp*”
Oh.. give me a break. I needed a little extra sleep after the IT Pro Community Party at the Hughes Hangar on Wednesday night. (see photos below) I did get to the conference in time (or so I thought) for “TWC: Malware Hunting with Mark Russinovich and the Sysinternals Tools” (DCIM-B368), but even though I was there 20 minutes before the start, the room was “full” and people were waiting outside to get in. So instead, I decided to head down to the Hands On Labs, where I re-visited my past life as a Developer and walked through a lab showing me what’s new in the latest version of Visual Studio.
After lunch I attended “Case of the Unexplained: Troubleshooting with Mark Russinovich” (WIN-B354). This time I got there 40 minutes early and managed to get a good seat. The room was full soon after.) This was the 2014 version of Mark’s popular session that he’s done for many years now, where he shows off the System Internals tools and how they were used to solve strange workstation and server issues.
And.. I confess… I skipped the last session of the day and went back to my hotel. The weather, which through most of the week was very unseasonably cool, was finally warm enough in Houston to enjoy a little time poolside.
Following a lovely Chinese dinner (we highly recommend the China Garden) with my coworker Jennelle Crothers and MVP and author Ed Horley, the evening party at Minute Maid Park was fun. Lots of food and drink, and live music stationed around the perimeter. The Dueling Piano Bar took tips to allow our friend Don Donais to play drums on a few songs. And the group “The Spazmatics” were a fun 80’s-tribute band. After the main party was over, several of us went to Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar for more entertainment.
Friday was a sleep-in day, followed by leisurely packing, heading to the airport, and sharing a plane home with several of my Minneapolis friends.
“So what’s next, Kevin?”
I’m glad you asked. I’m going to be planning, facilitating, and participating in a series of blog articles entitled “TechEd 2014 Favorites”, in which I and my coworkers who attended the event will document some of the important announcements and our favorite moments from TechEd 2014. Watch this blog for more details coming very soon.
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I’ll leave you, dear TechEd diary, with some photos taken at the events described above.
DJ Joey Snow cranking out the tunes at the IT Pro Community Party
My west coast coworker (and newbie on the team) Jessica DeVita, Simon May, and Ed Lieberman.
Mark Russinovich explaining the unexplainable
The drawing at the Adaptiva booth for a Harley Davidson motorcycle. I didn’t win. 
The little 3’ deep pool shared by the Courtyard and Residence Inn. It was empty when I got there, but he chairs filled up soon after. I guess I’m a trend-setter.
Minute Maid Park on the walk over.
Entertainment at the party.
Hmm.. Odd that nobody is in the salad bar line.
View of the field and main stage
Don Donais rocking out with the pianos at the dueling piano bar.
See you next year!!