Well, I made it to Houston safe and sound. Sitting in the MS conference now (gotta love free WiFi), the morning sessions have been quite good so far. It's such an amazing experience - going to a conference of around 10,000 people - the sheer scale is mindblowing. Anyway, Houston seems nice (although like any other major US city) - it's very hot and humid (it was still at least 30 degrees last night at about 11pm). Thank God for air conditioners in taxis, hotels, the conference centre, the bus between the hotel and the conference centre... I'll report more as and when I get the chance :)