Internet Librarian 2017: Fred and the Avenging Chicken go to Monterey

Third, belatedly, in a series. You can see the other ones here.

You know the disclaimer by now: Any opinions, either stated by me or inferred by you, are strictly my own, and do not necessarily reflect any opinions of my employer, co-workers, or the avenging chicken. The cat doesn't appear in this adventure, so his opinions are irrelevant; the dog's opinions revolve mainly around food and barking.

The cat wasn't anywhere around this time, but one of the dogs made up for his absence. On the plane taking us to San Jose. One of the great advantages of staying near the Monterey Public Library is the coffee/pastry shop just around the corner.
We attend a pre-conference on Wikipedia at the Monterey Public Library. Afterwards we meet with the staff and talk about Koha, the ILS we both use. I was able to tell them something useful! We pose with Inga Waite, director of the Monterey Public Library. She's also my cousin. Monterey is a wonderful place, but I'm not sure I'd want to pay a mortgage there.
There aren't any meetings Sunday, so we spend a day sightseeing. We breakfast in Carmel, happy to find a restaurant that thinks "tea" is something more than a teabag floating in a cup of lukewarm water. Then go to Point Lobos. Point Lobos and Cape Breton Highlands in Nova Scotia tie for the most ostentatiously beautiful places I've been. We spend some time looking at the ocean.
And some more time... At last! The conference begins!
So there I was, sitting in the lobby of the conference hotel, when Terri Wilson of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Libraries comes up to me. "Are you Fred King? I didn't recognize you without the Avenging Chicken." It turns out that both she and her boss are fans. I reassure her that I have the chicken with me, and the three of us pose for a picture. I have always wanted to leave some mark on the library world, but I didn't envision it involving a stuffed chicken. We attend a presentation on Building Healthy Communities by Bobbi L. Newman, Community Outreach & Engagement Specialist, National Network of Libraries of Medicine. We attend a talk on virtual reality. It's in a room at the top of the hotel, and afterwards we look out at Monterey.
In the afternoon we attend a talk on online search techniques by Marydee Ojala, Editor-in-Chief of Online Searcher magazine. Afterwards I ask her a question, to which she replies "maybe somebody should write a poem about it." I have always wanted to leave some mark on the library world, but I didn't envision it involving poetry that struggles to reach the level of doggerel. Monterey is a beautiful town, with alleys... ...public gardens...
...and, of course, a bay. And don't forget the wharf. My room had a fireplace, and the staff provided a fresh log every day.
We attend a talk by Marshall Breeding about Library Services Platforms. After the talk I asked him whether I should concentrate on learning more about what I know now or concentrating on new innovations about which I know very little. He reassured me that by the time the new cataloging protocols, etc., were standard, I'd be either retired or dead. Good to know. Now it's our turn in the spotlight--we're part of a panel on Taking Control of your Online Catalog. Fortunately, we have an audience.
Yes, I'm talking about Koha. Back at the San Jose airport. And back home. A month later we move to a new house, which is why this took so long to put online.