Back to Vegas

  • Comments posted to this topic are about the item Back to Vegas

  • Yeah right Steve, I can see my bosses face when I ask him for funding to go to Vegas :laugh: admittedly I am UK based. I have carefully nurtured him over three years in order to get approval to go to Copenagen for Codegarden - Vegas would take a little bit more work than that I feel.

    With you on the gambling though - we had a Christmas party in a casino with some chips provided as a starter a while back. I didn't bother spending mine. I am happy to work for my money - I love to pit my wits against others in card games or similar, but just not for money.

  • Steve,

    Take a few rolls of quarters and spend them at the Pinball Hall of Fame. Proceeds go to charity.

    http://www.pinballmuseum.org/

    😀

  • I'd love to go but there is no way I'd get the paid time off (and hotel/airfare) to attend something like this.

    The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival.

  • I wish it were here in Atlanta.

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

  • My company sent four people (mostly managers) about three years ago to that and they ran up the company's expense accounts so bad on that one trip, (not to mention the lavish 4 day hotel + round trip air fare expense) that the company cancelled all future trips to Las Vegas DEV Connections. The real kick in the tail were the people who would have gotten the most out of DEV Connections were not sent in the first place. Just a bunch of Managers just looking for a paid vacation on the company's dime. They rarely use, or shared what they learned with anyone, if anything, once they got back too. All they talked about is how much money they won/lost gambling and partying. "To the victors go the spoils" as the old saying goes.:-D

    "Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"

  • I'm happy to say that I have approval to attend and have already booked the arrangements. Looking forward to a great conference.

  • TravisDBA (1/24/2012)


    My company sent four people (mostly managers) about three years ago to that and they ran up the company's expense accounts so bad on that one trip, (not to mention the lavish 4 day hotel + round trip air fare expense) that the company cancelled all future trips to Las Vegas DEV Connections. The real kick in the tail were the people who would have gotten the most out of DEV Connections were not sent in the first place. Just a bunch of Managers just looking for a paid vacation on the company's dime. They rarely use, or shared what they learned with anyone, if anything, once they got back too. "To the victors go the spoils" as the old saying goes.:-D

    It's inevitable that all companies reach a point where they want to cut back on expenses. When one of those day's come, I'd rather be the guy known for staying behind and keeping the servers running, rather than being known as one of the guys who fly around and run up bar tabs at the company's expense.

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

  • Eric M Russell (1/24/2012)


    TravisDBA (1/24/2012)


    My company sent four people (mostly managers) about three years ago to that and they ran up the company's expense accounts so bad on that one trip, (not to mention the lavish 4 day hotel + round trip air fare expense) that the company cancelled all future trips to Las Vegas DEV Connections. The real kick in the tail were the people who would have gotten the most out of DEV Connections were not sent in the first place. Just a bunch of Managers just looking for a paid vacation on the company's dime. They rarely use, or shared what they learned with anyone, if anything, once they got back too. "To the victors go the spoils" as the old saying goes.:-D

    It's inevitable that all companies reach a point where they want to cut back on expenses. When one of those day's come, I'd rather be the guy known for staying behind and keeping the servers running, rather than being known as one of the guys who fly around and run up bar tabs at the company's expense.

    Absolutely! Eric. I am also one of those guys too that hold the fort down while the "deadwood" goes to Vegas for a 4 day paid vacation on the company's dime.:-D

    "Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"

  • Would love to attend one year, but it's not going to be this year. This year it'll likely be PASS Summit again and maybe (hopefully) TechEd Europe. Will see how things turn out.

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • TravisDBA (1/24/2012)


    Eric M Russell (1/24/2012)


    TravisDBA (1/24/2012)


    My company sent four people (mostly managers) about three years ago to that and they ran up the company's expense accounts so bad on that one trip, (not to mention the lavish 4 day hotel + round trip air fare expense) that the company cancelled all future trips to Las Vegas DEV Connections. The real kick in the tail were the people who would have gotten the most out of DEV Connections were not sent in the first place. Just a bunch of Managers just looking for a paid vacation on the company's dime. They rarely use, or shared what they learned with anyone, if anything, once they got back too. "To the victors go the spoils" as the old saying goes.:-D

    It's inevitable that all companies reach a point where they want to cut back on expenses. When one of those day's come, I'd rather be the guy known for staying behind and keeping the servers running, rather than being known as one of the guys who fly around and run up bar tabs at the company's expense.

    Absolutely! Eric. I am also one of those guys too that hold the fort down while the "deadwood" goes to Vegas for a 4 day paid vacation on the company's dime.:-D

    Of course, that's generally the exception rather than the rule. I once worked for a company where my manager held down the fort, while myself and few other developers attended a local TechEd event for a couple of days.

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

  • So I'm a "deadwood" because I'm fortunate enough to be able to make the conference 🙂 1st trip in 15 years, so I'm looking forward to it.

  • Having attended lots of conferences, it seems that it's the exception rather than the rule that people are skipping sessions and taking a vacation. The vast majority of the people at TechEd, PASS, DevConnections, etc. are sitting in sessions, packing them and taking notes. A smaller group are on phones, stuck doing work instead of learning.

    If someone is going for a vacation, and running up tabs, I'd certainly argue they don't deserve to go again.

    However these days most of us are on budgets, limited expenses, and we're going to learn more about the tools we use every day. If that's you, make the case to your boss to go and get some value from the event.

  • If someone is going for a vacation, and running up tabs, I'd certainly argue they don't deserve to go again.

    I absolutely agree, but unfortunately, at my company NO ONE got to go again. Because of the actions of a few, that used(abused) the opportunity to go on a gambling vacation and ran up a bunch of food and bar tabs doing it, everyone got punished. The real kick was they were managers and did not directly benefit from all the technical stuff offered there, like others in the group would have.:-D

    "Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"

  • Steve Jones - SSC Editor (1/24/2012)


    Having attended lots of conferences, it seems that it's the exception rather than the rule that people are skipping sessions and taking a vacation. The vast majority of the people at TechEd, PASS, DevConnections, etc. are sitting in sessions, packing them and taking notes. A smaller group are on phones, stuck doing work instead of learning.

    If someone is going for a vacation, and running up tabs, I'd certainly argue they don't deserve to go again.

    However these days most of us are on budgets, limited expenses, and we're going to learn more about the tools we use every day. If that's you, make the case to your boss to go and get some value from the event.

    I've been to a few conference, and that's been my experience too; the vast majority of people are there to learn. Conferences held in the months leading up to the next product release (like this year) are especially exciting.

    I can't vouch from personal experience about what goes on at the corporate sales and marketing conventions, but I've heard rumors and have this mental image ... 😛

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

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