h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The trade show exibition at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology ended today at four in the afternoon. About six o'clock, about 6,000 people starting coming into the very same convention center for a fundraising dinner with no less than US President George W. Bush.

So all the distributors were packing up and wanting nothing more than getting out and away after a 3 days trade show - while a lot of people were pouring in. And at the same time, obviously, Secret Service was all over the place, controlling and ensuring that nobody was smuggling in any explosive devices.

Our problem was that we needed my colleague to get his car into the loading dock area of the Convention Center to get the stuff in the car so that we could leave. And late - very late - we were told that all car access would be disallowed from 5:30 to 8:30 (or 17:30 to 20:30 if you're so inclined ). Did we want to hang around for three extra hours? No, not really...

John actually talked his way past one regular police guy ("with a cap about three sizes too big") and one Secret Service guy and managed to get into the loading dock at about 5:35.

10 minutes later, the stuff was in the car and we drove out - with a polite wave to the 3-4 dark suited guys now in attendance at the gates.

Phew

What a life...

But isn't it a bit of a pity that you missed the opportunity to a close encounter with the Secret Service, maybe even a private interview?

Who knows, you might even have had the chance to take notes, and possibly write an edited entry on it! 'Being a suspected terrorist for one day' or something like that...

Yeah - but for the fact that the most interesting thing that would have happened was that we'd be sitting in a gradually more uninteresting concrete hall as all the other booths were being torn down.

For 3 hours+

And walking up to these guys and saying "Hi, we're bored of sitting here, care to see our little bomb while we wait" ... call me boring or something, but I just don't think so

We could send you socks and books to the prison.

That's so sweet of you. And a file in a cake?

Nope, I am too nice for that. But you could have a book about the great Houdini.

And - don't forget the !

Actually, I think I would sound much more interesting if I could say I've a friend who's been arrested by the Secret Service - it would make me seem less harmless having friends like that!

Well, Ti - you will have to go and look for one somewhere...