Toronto, Canada

Dear Friends:

Last week, I was in lovely Toronto, Canada.  My company held a press conference there, with reporters from all over the world.  The focus was on a series of products that we'll be introducing later this month.  We meet with the computer-industry press to give them a "preview" of the products and go over the deep technical details.  This gives the reporters a few weeks to sort through testing and information, so they can have their stories ready to publish when we go public.

Canada is always fun to visit.  The weather on this visit was simply outstanding.  I love visiting markets, because all of the packaging is required to be in English and French (for the folks in Quebec):

Thank goodness "Ranch" is the same in all languages!

I also like to pick-up items that I can't get in the U.S.  Candy is a big request from friends.  I also like to grab these:

It's an awesome blend of chip seasonings that I like.  These are pretty hard to bring back in a suitcase...they usually end up as crumbs..

I found this interesting candy bar at a convenience store:

I'm guessing that guy on the package, missing some teeth, is a big hockey star.  Since I know very little about hockey, I just thought his mug on the wrapper was hilarious ; )

The dollar bills in Canada have changed recently.  It looks like the $20 bill (and higher denominations) are now some sort of plastic.  It reminds me of the currency in Australia and New Zealand.  You can't rip it, and part of it is transparent!  That should help cut down on counterfeiting.  I love all the different kinds of money around the world...

We held our press conference in small hotel in downtown Toronto.  It was the site of a bank for decades, and had a very majestic feel to it.  It was so big that I didn't have a camera lens that could shoot the entire width of the room, with the chandeliers.

Here are some pictures from the five hours of presentations that we gave:

Here's me, trying to get the crowd to wake-up ; )  My portion of the program was in the afternoon, right when lunch is starting to make people drowsy.  It's either a compliment that they put me there, or a real insult ; )

I found out afterwards that it was a compliment.  The head of PR called me The Microwave - when he the audience has gone "cold", he just presses the "Neal button" to get them warmed up.  I kind of like that ; )

Later that afternoon, they asked me to do some on-camera work - little videos that will show off the latest advancements in software.  They will use these as promotional material.  I was able to demonstrate new gesture-control software that will allow you to control your computer by waving your hand.  The web camera that is built-in to most laptops watches your hands move and then translates specific gestures into commands.  If you were listening to music, you could place your palm toward the camera and it will "stop" the music playing.

Afterwards, we conducted a series of interview with the press in the basement of the hotel.  The old bank vault was still there, and we actually met inside different vault rooms.  That was a first, for me!

That evening, we took all of the press to dinner at CN Tower.  At over 1,800 ft (500+ meters), it held the record as the tallest free-standing structure for decades.  At the top is the 360 Restaurant, which rotates around the tower and provides the most stunning views of Toronto and Lake Ontario.

Here's the first of several pictures from the restaurant waiting area.  In the distance is Lake Ontario, with sailboats on the water.  Olympic Island is right there, beyond the boats.

At the end of Olympic Island (left side of the picture below) is Toronto City Airport.  It was amazing to watch the planes take off, and not even reach the height that we were standing at...

My buddy let me take his window seat, to prove I was actually there.  That's Olympic Island in the background:

The rest of Olympic Island, with the airport

Directly below us was Rogers Center, where the Toronto Blue Jays play baseball.  Doesn't it look tiny?!?!?

I found out that they offer something called Edge Walk - where you can actually walk out to the edge of the observation deck - attached to a safety cable, of course.  The next time I make it to downtown Toronto, I really want to do this!!!

That was it for the press interaction.  I left the next day and had to fly through Newark, New Jersey to get home.  The benefit?  I found a Nathan's Famous Hot Dog stand for a great lunch treat!

Thanks for reading!