Setting in...
Monday, May 8, 2006 at 4:30PM DATELINE: USAIR flights to Tampa FL, 8 May 2006
Heading down to a warfighters conference in Tampa, mostly a CENTCOM affair I believe.
Weekend was a blur.
Following my talk on Thursday at NSA to the 704th Intelligence Brigade (solid 2 hours of me and 30 Q&A), I drove to DC and did another brief to about 100 people at the Hudson Institute (90+30).
Then I caught a cab to Pentagon City where Steve and I had a long chat with an OSD guy with extensive experience working IT infrastructure in the Gap generally and in Afghanistan particularly following the takedown. This F2F, arranged by others in OSD, made for another strong point of positive feedback for our Development-in-a-Box concept. The talk will also trigger follow-on F2Fs with more well-connected USG players on this subject during this current trip.
So the momentum builds nicely there.
Also built some great momentum with Steve and a couple of senior Accenture execs during a conference call from my home Friday morning. We're catching Accenture at just the right market time: they're doing some amazing things in banking worldwide and we have strong powerful stuff we can add to their mix. Potentially, a huge deal for both of us, according to our Accenture counterparts. Steve and I couldn't be more thrilled.
Weekend was non-stop setting up rooms. Basement basically done. First floor now basically done, except staging-area known as the sun room. I finished last big messy piece today before leaving for airport: the dreaded pantry!
Bedrooms now all set, and I must say, it changes my life to be able to store my clothes logically once again in various drawers and shelves and hangers, instead of stuffed all together in one huge Tupperware bin.
Playset done, and landscapng and plantings all done. Irrigation system went in today. Now just seeding the lawn, some final outdoor lights, all that shredded tire stuff around the playset and... my OFFICE!
I tackle the office when I get home from this trip. By Mother's Day I hope to be firing on all cylinders again.
Meanwhile, I take this trip with road buddy Steve and amazingly enough, I have no plans to give any talks. I do, however, plan to renew some strategic friendships, like that with China scholar Banning Garrett, who came to my Hudson talk and hopes to set up an address for me in Beijing in late June when I'll be there on a trip for Royal Dutch Shell.
Ah yes, setting in--indeed.
Reader Comments