Monday, March 2, 2009

St. George Expo Report Report

Off topic warning: This article contains no useful information whatsoever. If you read any further, don't write and complain!

The St. George Expo turned out to be a lot of fun. Thank's to all of you who stopped by to say hello or who attended one or more of my classes.

When I pointed toward my next classroom, Mike Ward of Ancestry.com asked, "Is that where you are teaching, or where your alter-ego is teaching?" It stopped me short for a moment. Which one of me is me and which is my alter identity? And which of me is he addressing? And now as I write to you as the alter- of the me he was speaking to, should I tell the story from the alter-me's point of view or the original-me's point of view? It's so very confusing.

You see, I had two laptops with me. And two back packs. The Ancestry Insider me prepared his presentation on my personal laptop and the alter-me brought his FamilySearch presentation on my alter-me's FamilySearch laptop. To protect against the accidental failure of either system, each of me asked the other of me to keep a copy of the other me's presentation on the opposite-me's laptop. (By now, If you're not humming "Outfox the Fox" from The Court Jester, you definitely need to see or re-see that movie. "There's one of me, now two of me, three of me, ... which one is me, ...")

To make matters more confusing, they asked for volunteers to fill in for Dae Powell (Shoestring Genealogy) to give his presentation on GEDCOM files, and "snap," I was signed up. I live for a "hi!" I lust for a laugh! I die for new friends! I never present standing when I can sit. I never flee when I can fight (for a parking space). I swoon at the beauty of southern Utah's red rocks. I offer myself totally!

When someone asked if my name was pronounced "day," it sent me to a mental list of what my names were. "The vessel with the pestle... No. The pellet with the poison..." I was coming up blank when I recalled Dae's sign off (Happy Dae) and his company name (Data-Dae Research). Get it? Good!

I was complaining about the height of the podium and someone suggested it would make a good picture, so I had my wife take one (below, left). When I looked at it, it reminded me of the time she was learning to take her own picture. While on our trip back to Washington, I went to the National Archives, and she did the tourist thing. She'd seen the kids take their own pictures and since she wanted a picture of herself in front of the White House, she gave it a shot (below, right). People say we look a lot alike. What do you think?

The Ancestry Insider presents at the St. George Expo    My wife in front of the White House

Just don't tell her she looks like me. "She'll jump..."

4 comments:

  1. As alter-egos go, you've got a mighty nice one. One benefit is that you can always blame the other guy if something goes wrong.

    Take it from one who knows alter-egos well.

    Your friend,
    Pat er, ummm... Myrt :)

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  2. I was the one in your presentation that suggested the photo of your face partially covered by the laptop. I was just sorry I missed your presentation on the Archives...I went into a coughing fit and thought it kinder to exit.

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  3. Dear Family,

    Thanks for the suggestion! I think it turned out nicely. I'm sorry you had to step out. I'm so heads down during a presentation, I noticed neither your coughing nor your exit. I'm sure others were not bothered either, although I'm sure they appreciated the exit.

    -- A. I.

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  4. Excellent, mate! Many thanks for filling in for me. Say the word, and I'll return the favour. I miss the mountains so much and all the good people in "dixie." Finances overcame me this year, but I'll recover.

    Thanks again!
    Happy Dae.

    ReplyDelete

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