HP Conference in Las Vegas

When Hewlett Packard invited us to give a keynote speech infront of over 2,000 people in Las Vegas, my first reaction was ‘Oh no, not Vegas!’ Now that I am back in England I can honestly say that it was great fun. The only negative thing was that it was just too hot with temperatures in excess of 108 degrees. I am used to our cool English summers and being able to let the fresh air in through the windows. In Vegas, one is reliant upon the air conditioning systems, without which one would surely die of heat… literally!

We spent the first couple of days speaking to journalists who fired questions at us about the testing we did at Base Camp for HP for the DAT 160 and Ultrium 2 drives. On the third day we delivered a keynote speech to an audience that seemed to stretch out forever into the darkness infront of the stage! It was exciting to be part of it.

Dave Roberson, Senior Vice President, introduced us after our short video. At the end we presented him with a length of rope and a jumar symbolising the importance of having the correct tools for success.

Dave was delighted with us and thanked us by giving us two tickets to a performance of Cirque du Soleil – ‘O’ at the prestigious Belagio Hotel. It was the most amazing show I have ever seen and both Ben and I LOVED it. Thank you so much.

Before going to Vegas, we had done a little research and found out where the local flying sites were for paragliding. We got in touch with local pilot, Carl Appelin, and family and he kindly took the time out to show us Jean Ridge – the nearest slope to Vegas in the desert. We spent the evenings flying up and down this mile long ridge in the warm, smooth air wearing nothing but shorts and a T-shirt. It was pure, unadulterated heaven! Thank you Carl, Melonie and Max for showing us this wonderful spot. Please come and visit us when next in England and we will show you what grass stains are!