Conference Urges - What’s in the Box

Conference Urges - What’s in the Box?
15 Jul 2003

I don't know what it is, but at IT exhibition I can get a one track mind, and it ain't the technical track. I've learned to control my urges by getting them out of the way first, then I can get on with the useful stuff. I am of course, talking about the give-aways, or 'gizzitts' (as in, “Go on, gizzitt!”)

Last night, on the opening night of the conference I exceeded myself, I really did, in my blatant disregard for what people were saying at their stands and in my direct approach to what really mattered. “What's in the box,” I said, along with: “Can I have one?” I also tried, “I don't work on Sundays,”which seemed to hit the spot.

So, here, goes. In a style reminiscent of the children's travel game, I went to the expo and I blagged:

Five mini-penknives
One squidgy penguin
Three climbing clips (marked 'not for climbing', two with a compass on the strap)
Various sweets and candies
One pink fluorescent Frisbee ring
One water pistol ' loaded (I overheard someone say, 'we need to find someone we know to fire this at.' I wasn't so discriminating!)
One cap ' blue
Two monoculars (does that make a binocular?)
One fridge magnet clip
One inflatable neck cushion
A paperclip tray
A pocket radio ' with built in torch (flashlight) and compass
One squidgy chair (fits the penguin)
Three notebooks
Five gold rings
One cable clip
A plastic egg containing silly putty
Two digital dice - bang it down and it displays a number with its six LED's
One calculator/ruler
A number of pens
A handy clip with extending string for conference badges or ski passes
One bar of chocolate that looks like a gold AmEx card
One metal torch
One metric conversion card
Two auto-rewind modem cables
One drinking bottle
A map of Las Vegas
One multipurpose survival card (with built in tools and ' you guessed it ' compass)
Ten chocolate $100 gaming chips
Two t-shirts

I think that's about it (I was joking about the gold rings). The winner of the prize for the most worthwhile gizzitt has to be the survival card. Now I must remember to pack it in my suitcase for the way home, otherwise it won’t make it past the checks!

Jon Collins

Jon Collins

Word weaver, tale teller, singer of songs, baker and candlestick maker. Pattern whisperer. Distiller of clarity from complexity. Professional focus on software delivery, with all that enables it.
Cotswolds, UK