</Siggraph>
Well, my plan to post daily updates from SIGGRAPH 2007 was a complete bust, thanks to miserable internet connectivity, poor laptop battery life, and parties. But, I did have a good time this year, better than I’ve had before at SIGGRAPH. That might have something to do with the fact that I didn’t have to give any talks this year. Maybe that’s the trick - avoid ever giving talks at SIGGRAPH. Oh, wait…
For those unaware, SIGGRAPH is basically the largest computer graphics research conference on the planet. It’s also a massive computer graphics industry tradeshow. Both. At the same time. This brazen mixture of academic and commercial interests generally results in something that can only be described as blatant debauchery. In theory, we “scientists” are there to learn about new research, exchange knowledge, and spawn collaborations - you know, science-y stuff. But those nefarious industry people are there for one reason, and one reason only - to party. And party they do. Every night, my search for computer-graphics enlightenment was tainted by massive industry-sponsored parties lasting into the wee hours, and generally with open bars. How does a simple graduate student resist these temptations? Well … you’ll have to ask someone else …
By far the most impressive event (at least, in conception) was held on AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER. Yes, you read that correctly: AIRCRAFT CARRIER. Open bars were plentiful. There was even food, I’m told. The potential for awesome-ness was staggering. Unfortunately, thousands of other party-goers didn’t just stay home. It turns out that aircraft carriers have surprisingly few staircases. So, while we went straight up to the flight deck, thousands of others filled the deck below. The deck with the food. This intermediate deck quickly reached capacity, at which point unfriendly men with buzz-cuts prevented us from descending the lone staircase. Oh, did I mention that the only way off the bloody boat was down those same stairs? The result: it was 11 before we made it off the stupid aircraft carrier, sans dinner. Naturally, everything was closed, except a little place called Kansas City Barbeque, which has the dubious distinction of being the place where the “Sleazy Bar Scene from Top Gun” was filmed (there is a plaque). Let me assure you, the producers of Top Gun didn’t need to put any effort into “sleazing up” the place…
The rest of SIGGRAPH was generally enjoyable. Scott McCloud gave a mini-keynote, which was entertaining. I picked up a bunch of mostly-useless swag (but no teapot!). I ate a large number of danishes from the hotel’s free breakfast. They were only mildly vile. I hardly got any sleep. No-one heckled me during my NPAR talk. I met some new people. I saw a million clips from the Transformers movie. I waited in ridiculous lines at the airport (flying to San Diego on Friday before a US long-weekend: mistake). Then I went home a day early. To Toronto. Where it’s 30 degrees and 95% humidity. What was I thinking, exactly?