> Welcome back!

Thanks, it's nice to be home!

> A pity that you won't be at the Firebird conference this year.
> Will miss the discussions in the lobby/bar/restaurant. ;-)

Yes, that's for sure!

Some of you may not know that I work for the Secretary of State of Arizona
and this November 7th is our general election time. I was thinking of
asking my boss if they could postpone the election so that I could attend
the Firebird conference but I decided that probably wouldn't be a smart
career move.

I was planning to come initially and I put Helen and Paul on notice to try
and shoehorn me in and they really did all they could to try and open things
up for me in spite of my "absence" over that past three months when I should
have been responding. But, alas, with the election and with so much going
on with IBO to resolve some issues and get out a new build ASAP I think it
would be best that I stay home this year. I still want to be a sponsor in
some capacity if I can though.

I would like to encourage everyone on this list to consider going to the
Firebird Conference. It is a very magical event when you can put faces and
names together and drink in the excitement people have for making Firebird a
great success. Not to mention all the other stuff you can drink in if you
are into that sort of thing. <g>

Regards,
Jason