I landed in Seattle and comfortably settled in at plush Monaco Hotel.  Flight here was uneventful except for the usual strip show at SFO.  In my room, I found a backpack full of goodies and a glossy folder of the schedule.  And a booklet of event attendees' bio and photo arrived just a minute ago, fresh from the printer.  So far, I am impressed by the well produced red carpet treatment.

I'll have to miss the dinner tonight to get together with an old pal but I see that Dave, Chris, and Liz are attending as well.

Disclaimer: Because I am a pushover with people who are nice to me, my views on Microsoft will be biased until the red carpet treatment effect wears off in a couple of weeks.