So many presentations, so little time - darn the cloning station delay!   I concur with Mike's excitement about the accessibility presentations (and also recommend his presentations.)  If you can't make any of the three accessibility related presentations, the team will be in the Quad at the Report Design Clinic.  Listening to a graph will really make your day!   Tricia Aanderud has a VA presentation I have my eye on, "SAS® Visual Analytics Tricks We Learned from Reading Hundreds of SAS® Community Posts".   If you are into mapping, Barbara Okerson has an awesome presentation, "Mapping Roanoke Island: From 1585 to Present"  lined up.  If you are into mapping Mars or are looking at the new(ish) GfK maps and data files, I also have two related presentations, "Red Rover, Red Rover, Send Data Right Over: Exploring External Geographic Data Sources with SAS®" and "SAS/GRAPH® and GfK GeoMarketing Maps: a Subject Matter Expert Winning Combination". . Hands on Workshops are often the best deals around, and my recommendation\wish I could go to but I'm presenting then is for a TRULY hands-on team experience presented by Troy Martin Hughes, "Parallel Processing Your Way to Faster Software and a Big Fat Bonus: Demonstrations in Base SAS®".  Troy's other presentations are also high on my list.   I usually have Ron Cody's function bible open on my desk, so his "A Survey of Some of the Most Useful SAS® Functions" is a must see.  You never go away empty-handed (or minded) from his presentations.  On a related note, Art Carpenter's "Name That Function: Punny Function Names with Multiple MEANings and Why You Do Not Want to MISS Out" is high on my list, as are any of his presentations.     I've also got Jane Eslinger's book "The SAS® Programmer's PROC REPORT Handbook" on my desk (just consulted it) so her "The REPORT Procedure and ODS Destination for Microsoft Excel: The Smarter, Faster Way to Create First-Rate Excel Reports" is on my list.     Long story short, there are SO MANY presentations I want to see.  I'm really psyched!  Don't forget to head to the Quad, see the e-Posters (a great way to get tips from up and coming SAS legends), and consult the Code Doctors.  See you in a few days!   A preview of mapping Mars:       ... View more

First (real) job: Bus Girl at 14 at Interlaken Inn near Lime Rock Racetrack in Connecticut.  Paul Newman and Robert Redford were regular visitors / race car fanatics.  I got to serve the Newmans breakfast in bed. After college and one year of law school: Legal intern for the State of Massachusetts, researching the legality of an Arts Lottery Today: Too many years later, I've been using SAS since right out of college and love that my job (government program evaluation and research) directly benefits people.  I've also brought my SAS analytic skills to my volunteer life - analyzing the Safewalk program which helps train humans and rehome shelter dogs. Learn Next: I'll never stop! I'd love to integrate more types of software into my SAS programming.  I am learning so much by having three young mentorees in my job currently - they ask the most wonderful questions and it's very inspirational. #AlwaysLearning #LifeLearner #SASforGood ... View more

Me three (but noon)!  And coincidentally, Barbara's talk on Mapping Roanoke Island inspired one of my examples for my talk.  I highly recommend Barbara's talk, it is elegant, eloquent and informative. ... View more

Thanks, Art!  I may be a dinosaur, but I use the printed page to make notes on sessions and it is helpful to be able to flag papers I want to look up if I can't see the presentation due to time conflicts.  It also sounds like an interesting programming challenge! ... View more

holy mole!!!  also, SLC has amazing, amazing views...     ... View more

Getting there is not the issue (although there IS a 4 am departure involved) - it's getting back due to some draconian "compliance" (aka expense-driven) company travel regulations that have me going from MCO to either SLC or CVG to get to BOS - and since I have one of the last presentations on Wednesday, I'll be leaving just in time to get stuck in an airport overnight because of missed connections - AGAIN (SESUG 2015, WUSS 2016)!  At least I won't get diverted to Lubbock, TX (SGF 2016)!  Psyched for SGF 2017! ... View more

@ChrisHemedinger somebody (me) who was told that was the best way to go to Kennedy Space Center!  (my side trip before heading to the Swalphin.) ... View more

My cling of Metacoda koalas (5 conferences and counting)     is ready to rock and roll in Orlando! ... View more

I totally agree on the report desigh aspect!  In fact, regardless of whether or not you produce "tagged" output, design matters.  For example, some forms of spanning headers in tables, commonly used to save room, will produce errors with a really rigorous Section 508 compliance test (any agencies within the HHA umbrella.) I'm very much looking forward to the clinic!   ... View more

Here's the press release!   https://www.sas.com/en_us/news/press-releases/2017/february/sas-graphics-accelerator-education.html?utm_source=FBPAGE&utm_medium=social-sprinklr&utm_content=817071791   Listening to a graph is just mind-blowing - I recommend that everyone try this out! ... View more

I'm glad to see my e-poster listed here in the suggestions!   I also highly recommend a preconference tutorial "Dimensions of Software Quality: Introducing the ISO Software Product Quality Model to SAS® Practitioners", which is based on the book "SAS Data Analytic Development: Dimensions of Software Quality" by Troy Hughes.  Although it is advertised as a "Software Quality" course, there are many tools discussed that support robust data management.  I have gotten some valuable tips.   Looking forward to all the intellectual stimulation coming up at SGF plus the awesome kickback party! ... View more

So, my collection of TNG Pez dispensers is still at home in its original packaging 😉 - but, I do have a growing habitat for Metacoda Koalas and Oracle dancers (plus a few other SAS conference tchotchkes) keeping warm on my CPU.  I have a definite need for some SAS community swag!  Qapla' ... View more

Wow, I have one of those collections too! Live long and prosper! ... View more