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Reno is located in northern NV and while seemingly an unlikely tourist destination, it is within spitting distance of Lake Tahoe. It seems to fancy itself as an up-and-coming Las Vegas and the skyline at dusk pulsates with neon. Flights to Reno are relatively cheap and I managed to secure a room in the casino/hotel hosting the show at a reasonable cost through one of the internet discount sites, so plans were firmed up and I began working on a talk.

Circumstances required that I be in Atlanta, GA the day before I was due to leave for NV, meaning a brief pit-stop in Philly before flying back out at 6 am the next morning. Sadly, US Airways decided that this would be a good time to scatter my luggage to the winds so all I had to take with me on the trip to NV was an emergency supply of clothing essentials and my travel photo-documentation kit (my trusty tripod, a clip-on halogen desk light, and my digital camera). But the trip was fine and the hotel more than comfortable, and I gladly accepted a room on the 25th floor with an outstanding view of the famed Reno distribution center's rail yard, the airport and distant hills. My emergency travel kit included ear-plugs to drown out the dinosaur sounds of freight cars being shunted and unloaded at 3 am and I was as happy as a clam.

	After a few late-night edits, my talk was ready to go. The next morning, I fortified myself with a Venti coffee and a blueberry muffin from a branch of Starbucks conveniently located in the hotel lobby,

and then made my way to the show registration table to collect my pass and program.  Here I discovered that not only had my talk been moved ahead by one hour to avoid a Powerpoint projector conflict, it was also in a different room from that originally advertised.

The net result was that the few shot aficionados who had been planning to attend arrived at 11 am only to find that the seminar had finished 10 minutes earlier, and I had grand total of two people in the audience. But teaching medical students prepares one for such an occurrence as nothing else will, and I was more than happy to trap the two in their seats and "educate" them, like it or not! By the end of the talk, there were five dedicated souls listening, although I suspect three of them were impatiently waiting for the next bottle talk to begin at 11.00 am.

The bottle show officially opened at 1:00 pm to early buyers (upon receipt of a $25.00 entrance to FOHBC members, $45 to non-members). I grabbed another cup of coffee and joined the throngs massing at the entrance to the show room at 12:45 pm, sharpening my elbows in preparation for the coming battle for glass.