Tuesday, March 25, 2014

ETS - Quick Highlights

Just have a short window to share some photos of Day 1 here in Austin at ETS - the Energy Thought Summit. This is the inaugural event put on by Zpryme Research, and I have been playing a quiet role, mostly behind the scenes. They've really put a great lineup together, and delivered a solid day of content, with a strong touch of Austin-style hospitality. Translation - lots of live music, courtesy of several local performers, for which Austin has an inexhaustable supply.

Will have more comments in a follow-up post, and just wanted to share a few photos of Day 1. I'm one of the MCs for Day 2, so will be pretty tied up most of the day here.

Otherwise, I'll steer you to Zpryme's website, where they've been posting streaming video of the sessions. Needless to say, the photos there will be much better than mine! They've done a great job documenting the content, and just as importantly, sharing it. Enjoy.


The Paramount is a 99 year old theater - fantastic place and great history. The prep area below the stage has a lot of character, with the walls covered with autographs and messages from performers. It's a bit like inside the scoreboard at Fenway Park where ballplayers leave their autographs wherever there's space. Here's one part with Carol Burnett and Woody Allen's momentos.


Andres Carvallo, welcoming everyone. He's been the main face of the show and he's everywhere.

This is how you open an event in style - Austin style. Below is Caleb Hans Polashek. He's the youngest tenured member of the Austin Symphony Orchestra, and he performed two original compositions - lucky us, huh?

You might expect to see this in New Orleans, but no music is out of place in Austin. This was part of the buildup to Steve Wozniak's keynote. He was driven up to the venue in a Tesla, then entered the venue from the front door all the way down to the stage on a Segway, and ushered in with this marching band. Tough act to follow, and he was great.





View from the balcony. They don't build theaters like this any more - beautiful!


Professor Massoud Amin, keynoting later in the day. If you remember the Smart Grid Summit events I used to run, you should recognize Massoud. He was good as always - great sense of history and perspective on tying the big issues together.




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