4D Summit 2018 Photos
Here is a collection of photos from the 4D Summit in Washington, DC, April 2-4, 2018.
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Monday, April 2, 2018: I am now retired, so I didn't actually attend the 4D Summit this year. But that didn't stop me from planning an East Coast road trip that just happened to visit Washington DC for three days at the exact same time as the Summit. After 18 years of attending Summits, I have friends I need to see. |
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My husband and I had spent all day sightseeing with friends (who had also arranged to visit DC at the same time as us), so it was past 9:30 when we made it to Randy's suite for a little gathering. |
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We just wanted to say a quick hello to our hosts and a couple of friends, ... |
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... so we didn't even take off our coats or sit down for a drink. |
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We had a quick conversation with our friends Tom D. and Brian, ... |
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... who were good enough to pose for a formal portrait with my Tom. |
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Ten minutes later, we were back on the ground floor where we found a magical entrance to the nearest Metro station. There, we boarded a train to take us out to our hotel in Bowie, Maryland, our home-away-from-home for the next three nights. |
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Tuesday, April 3, 2018: After another day of sightseeing, we arrived at the Grand Hyatt Washington around 5:00 PM, which was just as everyone was getting out of their last sessions of the day. |
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I used to attend each year, but after retiring last July, Orchard Software no longer pays for me to show up. However, Orchard did send these guys: Spencer, Jesse, Ryan, and Patrick (not shown: Drew). |
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It was great fun to see everyone again. This was my husband Tom's fifth Summit so he knows quite a few people too (he also attended Santa Fe, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Portland). Here are Tom, plus Tom D., Lahav, ... |
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... Chuck, and Bob. |
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We found a spot in the lobby and were soon joined by more friends. Here are Wayne, Tom D., ... |
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... and Christian. |
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Brian showed up, then Philippe, Spencer, Ryan, Lahav, Patrick, ... |
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... Chip, some people I haven't met, ... |
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... Drew, and Jesse. |
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We even got to talk with Thomas M. for a few minutes, which is like meeting royalty in the 4D world. |
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Bob joined us and showed off his famous raised eyebrow look from years past. |
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Some folks were off to the OEM dinner, some went other places, and around 7:30, our group headed across the street to ... |
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... Capitol City Brewing Company. |
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My Tom took a group photo, ... |
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... then our server offered to do the same. |
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World-renowned 4D Summit tweeter Wayne then tweeted the photo, which was probably the highlight of our entire vacation. |
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Earlier in the evening, I had asked Philippe what beer he liked. He responded in his most charming French accent, "I am from Bordeaux." |
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So he ordered a bottle of Malbec to share with us. |
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Cheers to Philippe! |
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Tom D. and I have been good friends for 18 years. Can you tell? |
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Wayne keeps track of all of the wines and beers he has tried. |
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We've seen his reviews online so it was fun to see it happen in person. Wayne's bottle got shared as well. |
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Here's Tom D., ladies and gentlemen. |
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As we were wrapping up, Robert, Balinder, Lahav, and Kirk stopped by to say hello. We also ran into the non-OEM dinner Orchard guys on our way back to the hotel. We said our goodbyes and disappeared into the Metro station once again. |
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Wednesday, April 4, 2018: After yet another full day of sightseeing, we showed up for a third time at the Grand Hyatt and relaxed in the lobby for a bit. We headed down to the conference level briefly to get our hands stamped for the party. |
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Friends stopped by for a minute or to have a beer, including Lahav, ... |
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... Drew, Wayne, ... |
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... and Mike. |
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At 6 PM, we went downstairs to the conference level to gather for the party. Doris was kind enough to pose for this action shot of hand stamping. |
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She also was willing to stamp Jesse's hand a second time upon request. She is a saint. |
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The rest of the Orchard crew all got their hands stamped too. See if you can guess which hands are Jesse's. |
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Tracy is getting used to me photographing her over the years, and is always a good sport about it. |
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Buses were waiting outside to drive us to the Newseum, where the party was being held. Walking was also an option, but we had done more than our share of that by now. |
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The buses had normal seating except for this fun little cocktail area. Of course, we had to sit there. |
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Tim (left) took a photo of our table and we took a photo of his. |
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We rolled up to the Newseum right at 6:30, ready to party. |
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Hey! That's 4D on the sign! |
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We packed ourselves into large elevators to get to the seventh floor. A big thanks to Drew for not calling attention to my claustrophobia at this moment, even though I know he considered it. |
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No one is really surprised anymore when I start taking pictures in an elevator. It's not the first time and it probably won't be the last. |
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On the seventh floor, we could see down into the atrium of the museum below. Summit attendees also received a pass to visit the Newseum during normal hours if they wanted. |
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We entered the party space, where beverages and canapes were waiting for us. |
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Beer and wine were on offer at the open bar. |
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The highlight of this venue was the outdoor terrace with the fantastic views of the Capitol. We had extra jackets with us so we shared them for a bit because it was really cold out there. |
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I got a photo of the Orchard crew staring directly into the sun. Sorry, guys. |
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At the end of the terrace, a photographer was taking photos of people. |
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Smile, gentlemen! |
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He took our photo too. This is not that photo. |
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We asked Ryan to take a photo of us with our camera and this is what we found on the memory card the next day. Intentional? Most likely. Hilarious? Definitely. |
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He did take a nice photo of us, so thanks, Ryan! |
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Tom got a photo of us as well. With a backdrop like this, you have to take advantage of it. |
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Here's an unobstructed view of the Capitol. |
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Here's the view looking south to the National Gallery of Art, ... |
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... and looking north with the Federal Trade Commission on the left and the Capital Grille on the right. |
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The wind drove most people indoors during the cocktail hour but it was still a great time. |
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I had a nice time catching up with Rich. |
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Tim and Tom D. struck their best male model poses for the camera. |
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At 7:30, the dinner buffet opened. |
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The food, provided by Wolfgang Puck Catering, was exceptional. Not shown: a tasty assortment of mini desserts. |
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The table decor was lovely too, ... |
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... as was the sunset out the windows. |
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Our table was next to the windows facing the Capitol. We had a great dinner with Tom D. and the Tailored Solutions folks. |
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Facing away from our table, here's the rest of the room. |
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The Orchard crew was having a nice time with Caroline, William, Randy, and Sara. |
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As it got dark out, the city lit up, ... |
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... so it was time to brave the cold and head back out to the terrace. |
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There's the Federal Trade Commision building again on the left. |
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Here's that Capitol view again with part of the dining room visible on the left, ... |
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... and here's the zoomed version. Our capitol is beautiful, isn't it? |
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Inside, it was time for a raffle. |
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Mike was the big prize winner, receiving this HD drone set. Somehow, it ended up in our car at the end of the night. Thanks, Mike! |
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Here's Tom D. with Eric, the CEO of 4D. |
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It's a tradition started in New Orleans and continued at every Summit since: Brian and I will drink beverages and take a selfie, then pronounce ourselves even better looking than previous years. |
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This gentleman did a great job of keeping up with the beverage requests once the dancing started. |
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Did someone say dancing? |
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Yes! "They were dancin' ... |
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... and singin' ... |
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... and movin' to the groovin' ... |
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... and just when it hit me, somebody turned around and shouted ... |
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... play that funky music, white boy, ... |
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... play that funky music right, ... |
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... play that funky music white boy, ... |
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... lay down that boogie and play that funky music 'til you die." |
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Once the gentlemen had shown off their fine moves, the ladies came onto the dance floor as well. |
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Meanwhile in the bathrooms, the tile walls featured mistakes that appeared in print. This one features a weather map with the caption, "Shaded parts of the map locate areas occupied by Israel since 1967." Oops. |
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Tiny video displays over each sink reminded us that we were at the 4D Summit 2018 party. Love that logo! |
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There was more dancing. |
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Hey, there's Brian! Can you spot him? |
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That is some rockin' air guitar right there. |
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The DJ had some sweet air guitar moves of his own. |
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At 9:30 sharp, it was time to head out so Mike got his walkin' beer. |
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The non-walkers loaded back into the buses and of course we had to grab the cocktail table again. |
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Word on the street is that two of these people ended up going out for karaoke later on, but it wasn't Tom D. or me. When we got back to the hotel, my Tom and I called it a night, said goodbye to our friends one last time, and disappeared into the Metro forever. |
Copyright © Deborah Schilling/Thomas Bundy