The last day of LOGIN is wrapping up this afternoon, and as always it's sad to see it end. As I said in my blog about yesterday and Tuesday, this conference is primarily focused on networking, since there are only a few hundred attendees taking up a single location. You'll always see that guy you met the day before the following day and be able to continue to grow a relationship. The weather out here continues to be... I don't want to say "unseasonably" but it's definitely rare to have such a stretch of clear, warm weather around this time.

Last night's conference party at the Seattle Aquarium just down the street was great. It's not just a reception room that we all have to mill about it, they have the entire aquarium open for us to walk through. Last time they did this in 2008, I was too late to see them feed the sea otters, but this time I arrived early enough to watch them munch down some fish as they floated around on their backs. They also had a local magician, Joseph Reohm, walking around doing close-up magic David Blane style - and he was GOOD. They had him at the party last year so I had seen some of his tricks already but he had new ones as well. Very entertaining guy.

For the keynote today during lunch, Joseph was on stage to perform a full act, which no doubt many people in the audience were dubious about but at the end he had everyone (me included of course) laughing and applauding vigorously. There was one where he had an audience member hold a card so he couldn't see it, then proceeded to draw it on paper. He made a blank card and said "How am I doing?" (haha) then proceeded to draw the wrong card. But then he wiggled his hands and from *behind* the wrong card drawing slowly crept up the *real* card. He then tore off the paper and handed it to his guest. I checked it out after the show and it was a real drawing. I have no idea how he made it look like it was rising up from behind the original card he drew. Crazy!! I hope they share that video as well.

Oh and let's not forget that the lunch included salmon cooked on cedar plank. I ate about half a fish (it's buffet style so you can go up for more!). OMG so good. Are you convinced yet that you should be at this conference?

Today's sessions have been very light on the attendance - the majority of people here are simply sitting around and chatting, having small business meetings, both planned and impromptu, and leaving to catch flights seeing that this is the last day. True, the sessions are being taped but that shouldn't make not attending them an option for those that are here. One of the benefits to listening to a speaker talk as opposed to watching a video later is that you're there. You can ask questions after the talk and find the speaker later on to discuss things on your mind. This is the real value of conferences, so don't ever think that just because so many conferences are releasing free video/slide content after the fact that you have no reason to attend.

Today I'll be wrapping things up here and skipping out on any last sessions to meet up with my friend Rusel DeMaria over at the Art Institute of Seattle to check out the program over there and then he's taking me out to do some Tai Chi (wow this has been a very cultural trip!) before I head over to the airport for my flight home.

Thanks again for the great time, LOGIN! Hope to see you next year.