If you come from some place other than the Garden of Eden, then you are immediately struck by the weather in Monterey, California -- the site of RevCon 2006. We're talking about sunshine with cool breezes during the day and cool, restful nights. And no perceptible humidity. The second thing you notice is that everything is organized down to every detail. Every meeting starts on time and ends on time. The show organizers Chipp Walters, Dan Shafer and their crew did a splendid job of setting up this conference and running it.

The pre-show tutorials for folks learning Revolution from scratch were an enormous success. Jacque and Devin did an amazing job and received extraordinary ratings from their students. During the conference itself, presentation topics were carefully chosen and given in a sequence where one session seemed to build on the prior session. Everyone was prepared to present and everyone was receptive to the material. And every attendee of every session got something they could take home: a sample stack, and application or new scripts to try in their own applications. Chipp and Dan gave everyone a USB thumb drive with the RevCon logo on it.

Then there are aspects of RevCon that can't be known without being there. The conference did not stop when the sessions ended. One-on-one or small group get-togethers with presenters and Runtime Revolution CEO Kevin Miller were going on constantly before and after sessions almost until these code warriors' heads hit their pillows. Dinners, lunches and late night socializing yielded nuggets of insight and knowledge. Often the attendees gave as good as they got. RevCon presenters and illuminati were challenged, complimented and surprised by questions and contributions from those they came to teach.

Some pleasant surprises:

- Kevin has become an excellent, engaging and often hilarious presenter. The thoroughness with which he thinks through a problem makes you feel like there's a steady hand on the tiller of our ship.

- Jo, the RunRev accounting department, gave us great fashion insights and how to establish an eBay empire. She tried to teach the Americans the English language, too. However, to some American ears when she says "literature", you might hear "electric chair."

- Chipp brought his entire family, including his mother-in-law. Sometimes it felt like we were eating dinner at his ranch. What a great host.

- Jan Schenkel from Belgium speaks with a nearly American accent and had to remove several colorful jokes from his talks. Those we got to hear at the dinners out on the town.

- Dan can tell you anything you need to know about food, coffee, entertainment and enlightenment in Monterey.

- Jacque not only knows everything there is to know about the evolution of xTalk from HyperCard to Rev 2.7.2, but she has some really cool parrots and has an encyclopedic knowledge of them as well.

Knowledge of coding and business was shared, friendships formed and strengthened. Consultants found their way into new projects. New tools and new versions of tools like Button Gadget, Galaxy Script Editor, Quartam Reports were shown during the sponsor's hour at night. A splendid time was guaranteed and had by all!

For more information on what was on offer at the conference click here.