APL85 — Second Thoughts on Seattle

Transcribed from the printed issue; not yet reviewed. Read it in the PDF of the issue, page 68

My overwhelming impressions of Seattle are its beautiful landscapes and seascapes set against the mountainous backcloth of the Rockies, and the immense exuberance, gaiety and friendliness of the American people, particularly those who are fortunate enough to live on the West Coast. This exuberance may be a result of the obvious signs of affluence all round — the well-heeled commuters on the smart ferry to Winslow, the chic department stores and the articulate, fresh-complexioned college students who are everywhere to be found ‘moonlighting’ as barmen, waitresses, cashiers and counter assistants.

But on a more sombre note, Japanese cars, goods and salesmen are evident everywhere, and one cannot help but wonder whether this could be the cloud about to cast its shadow over such obvious prosperity.

‘Hi-tech’ is the order of the day. Everything seems to open and shut, turn off and on, and go up and down without even the assistance of the human hand or foot. Magic is indeed in the air — no wonder they have to go jogging for exercise? But I mustn’t knock it. That was the voice of envy speaking.

And now I come to eating. No envy here. American food is, we are assured, wholesome; but first one needs plenty of time to read and translate all the ‘hype’ on the menu, after which I found the actuality somewhat disappointing — all presentation and little flavour, especially the inevitable clinical side-salad of “fresh hand-picked crispy lettuce, fine shredded carrot and polished button mushrooms”. (How else can one pick lettuce?). Only breakfast lives up to the menu although the size of my pancake ‘stack’ had to be reduced throughout the four days on an exponential scale (4,2,1,0).

Which brings me to the APL85 Conference itself. Like the food, it was slick and well presented, but I found a lack of originality in many of the presentations; perhaps I was just unlucky in my selections, but the interesting case study by Stephen Jaffe of Mobil was really an update of the progress of the Mobil project formerly presented at APL83 in Washington. The lunchtime talk by Tama Traberman was for me the outstanding talk of the conference, but I seem to remember her too presenting something very similar at APL83.

And a final comment — I can’t bear to be lectured to whilst I am eating; this also applies to the banquet where our table was ‘beyond the Pale’ and we certainly could not hear enough over the clatter of service to understand why anyone else was laughing. Organisers of APL86 take heed!

Since Dick Gray Associates is right up-to-date in at least one important aspect of computer technology — we operate from an office at home in the heart of the Leicestershire countryside — I attend these conferences with the main aim of keeping in touch with APL events and people. For me APL85 was good on people, less good on events.