Yesterday was an interesting day up at Microsoft. The SQL Server track is split into two sessions, with 2 assigned rooms, and luckily for me, all of the sessions I wanted to attend were in one room, so I never had to move. I liked that, though I was regretting not having the laptop. The give and take is good, with about 40-50 people in each room that ask questions throughout the session, which slows things down, but it does help us as MVPS, direct how the talks go.  

I can't talk a lot about what's going on, especially as I need to get some permission about what is NDA and what is releasable. There is a lot of work going on up here and while I don't always agree with the direction, I do see something I like.

Passion and effort.

It's what I like to see from my sports teams, win or lose, and there's a lot of both up here. Even though things are muted in the offices, it does seem like people are interested in building great things up here.

Facilities 

The facilities are pretty nice. We're in the Microsoft conference center on campus and the main room I've been in is a tiered audience area with rows that have mini-desktops, plugs for laptops, and great wireless. The chairs are comfortable, and it's easy to see and hear, something that doesn't happen in most conference rooms I've been in.