I very rarely go into Baltimore during the week. The other day, I had to go to a deposition (what an uncomfortable experience! - nearly as bad as trying to buy a car at a dealership)...
But before I went to the law office (in a very anonymous office building, curiously enough), I stopped by a small trade show at the Baltimore convention center. The show was aimed at electronics engineers. That's not my field, but I'd happened to receive an email announcing it.
When I had clicked on the URL to find out more, I discovered that the keynote speaker was a cousin of mine. Last saw him more than a handful of years ago, when my sister got married. So I was quite curious to see him.
His speech was awkwardly titled:
"Coming to Grips with Complexity in System Development - Collaborative Approaches Using Model-Based Design"
By the time I got to the room where he was speaking, he'd finished and was chatting with an attendee.
I approached him, afterwards, and he told me that he was making a business trip to Europe in a weeks time. Since he said he would be visiting Munich, I told him about the MagLev car displayed at the Munich airport. (Note: a proposal had been submitted to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation for planning funds for a Magnetic Levitation train line running between Baltimore and DC. Competing for the money is a proposal from Pittsburgh.)
I also mentioned that we have a cousin living in Germany. She lives in Frankfurt, a city not on his itinerary. No matter, I replied. You can hear her husband's commentary on the web. If you go to the New York Times website, you'll find a soundfile of his remarks accompanying a slideshow of new cars premiered at the recently opened Frankfurt Auto Show.
Posted by raacluse at September 18, 2003 08:57 PM