Strange Loop Schmoozing

The first day of Strange Loop is kind of like the first day of school. You're excited to be there but you quickly remember how much you hate school.

I saw a couple new little awesome nooks of St. Louis' Union Station. This was a fancy elevator area.

I used to be super intimidated by the vendors at these things. Now that I'm pretty solidly a tech dude of my own it's much more enjoyable. Plus they often have fun swag.

John Deere was in attendance and now I have tractor socks. Easy as that.

I still have a thirst to work at a FAANG company in my heart. I did some schmoozing with some Netflix folks.

Strange Loop is good to remind me that no matter how smart or educated I become, I'm always an idiot next to someone out there.

After hours Seago and I took Netflix Cameron around to various St. Louis bars. Earthbound is one of my favorites because they always have a lot of weird imaginative stuff to try.

Back to Strange Loop

These days it seems that other than holidays, the Strange Loop tech conference I go to every year seems to be the only occasion with the gravity to pull me back to St. Louis. It's mostly an excuse to go back and see my friends and family though so I think it's all good in the end.

Being an eternal cheapskate, I volunteer at the conference every year in exchange for free entry. The opening party event type thing is held at St. Louis' quirky City Museum every year. I think the weird randomness of the conference and the museum match up pretty nicely.

This loose Latin translation of "always wear underwear" was actually an extra credit question on a test in theology class one time in highschool. Oh, Catholic school. Where would I be without you?

When Seago and I finished handing out people's conference credentials we hit the museum's bar. In the early days beer used to be provided but it seems they've cheaped out and now it's a cash bar. Sad!

4 Hands' City Museum Pilsner is the correct beer to order when on the premises.

I can't get enough of Union Station's Grand Hall Light Show.

I'm not going to lie, putting a cool sounding or recognizable company name on my conference badge in the hope I'll see someone I used to know is a non-zero percent of the reason I like attending.