Subject: Electronic Postcard Hi Everyone! Greetings from cold and rainy Los Angeles, at the ALA Midwinter conference! I got in Friday night, after a bumpy, but otherwise comfortable flight. The rear section of the plane was empty, so we got to spread out a bit. I ended up in a two-seat row near the back of the plane -- I could have a window seat and still not have to climb over anyone to get to the aisle. The extra room and the extra quiet made it really nice. Electronic stereo earphone jacks on the arm rest made listening to the in-flight audio programming much more enjoyable than those old-fashioned stethoscope style headsets. I did notice in the lavatory that among all the slots and bins and drawers in there, they have a slot in the wall for depositing used razor blades. While bracing myself against the wall to keep my balance during the turbulent flight, the question occurred to me -- who in their right mind would shave with a blade on an airplane? It was shortly before nine California time, when the lights of the city came into view. A massive carpet of lights stretched far off into the distance, which I took for a good sign -- a healthy electrical supply, indicating that the city as a whole was in fairly good shape, and not the zone of mass destruction we all feared it would be three weeks ago. The ride into downtown was uneventful and quick, without detour or even slowdown. The downtown area itself came through the quake with little damage. In my hotel room at the Holiday Inn (not the one close to the convention center, but another one a few blocks farther away in a seedier neighborhood) was a letter assuring me that the building had been inspected and deemed safe for occupancy. The room itself is comfortable, and comes equipped with a hair dryer and a small coffee maker in the bathroom. The Midwinter conference is noticeably smaller than the Annual. The exhibition space is smaller -- only 2 or 2 1/2 times bigger than Blaisedell (excuse the spelling -- I don't have an Oahu phone book handy). It does give me hope that one day Hawaii will have a facility big enough for at least a Midwinter conference. Though Midwinter conferences are "working" conferences without the programs that make Annuals the fantastic educational opportunities that they are, there is still a lot that you can learn by sitting in on meetings and presentations. In addition to various committee meetings, there are interest group meetings, and those can be quite fascinating and useful. Although we didn't plan on a formal SLIS reunion, a number of us made individual dinner plans, choosing by coincidence the same spot as a meeting point. Between 4:00 and 5:30 on Saturday afternoon, Dean Jackson, Dr. Osborne, Sally Roggia, LeAnn Garrett, Stefanie Buck and her mother Dagmar Buck of LAPL, Carol Yamaguchi, Michele Speck, Janet Black and I gathered in front of the message center at one time or another. For Sally, it was a homecoming, as L. A. is her home town -- the sight of LAPD officers walking through the convention center brought back memories of her youth. I haven't been able to do so much sightseeing so far, except out to the Pasadena Public Library for the Geac reception -- an absolutely beautiful building. The Central LAPL is also impressive. I did get to see a Jacoby and Meyers commercial on TV though -- a law firm previously known to me only through Hollywood-based talk show monologues. From the Internet Room at the L. A. Convention Center, Ralph Toyama / 73 and Aloha Automation Librarian /__ from University of Hawaii - Leeward Community College / Radio NH6PY/6 rtoyama@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu / Los Angeles, CA, USA