The coolest MAAWG ever

(Note: Even though I am posting this during the MAAWG session in Paris that is occurring this week, this post does not refer to that.  Don’t let the title mislead you.)

One of the things about MAAWG, well, any conference, is the interesting speakers where I can learn a thing or two.  At a previous MAAWG, Joseph Menn spoke about his book Fatal System Error.  Other times people from the federal government have come in and talked about the work that they do.  It’s stuff I wouldn’t be exposed to anywhere else and I can dump the knowledge into my brain.

Well, last night I had a dream.  I was at an upcoming MAAWG session, I think it may have been in San Francisco.  I was in one of the main rooms waiting for the keynote when someone got up to introduce the speaker.  I was caught off guard by who they announced.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome… Penn & Teller!”

“What the—?” I said.  “What does this have to do with spam?”

But sure enough, the magical duo took the stage and introduced themselves, and then proceeded to perform a trick.  They did an effect where they pulled out a very large styrofoam box and Teller got inside and then vanished from it as the box was shown empty, and then a couple of seconds later a woman emerged from the box.  Everyone applauded, and then Teller appeared on the opposite side of the stage.  More applause.

Because of the lighting, I saw some shadows in the back during the trick where Teller had obviously escaped from the back and gone offstage.  I thought many other people had seen it at first, but apparently not because everyone was impressed (I am aware that I am debating the merits of a trick Penn and Teller don’t actually perform, in a dream of mine that never actually occurred).

I then turned to the guy sitting beside me and said “I don’t know what this has to do with spam, but this is the coolest MAAWG ever!”

And then I woke up.