Nor’easter Wipes Out NIST Conference
I was scheduled to speak at the 30th Annual FISSEA Conference at NIST headquarters in Gaithersburg, MD on March 15th. Then nature happened. A big Nor'easter storm rolled through the eastern seaboard last night, wreaking havoc on thousands of travel plans.
A late-season storm ravaged the Northeast and DC area with sleet and heavy snow today. It crippled most of the Washington-to-Boston corridor after an unusually mild winter weather that had people thinking spring was already here. The nefarious Nor'easter grounded more than 6,000 flights (included two of mine) and knocked out power to nearly 250,000 customers from Virginia northward. By the time it reached our friends in Boston, it had reached blizzard mode status, with winds gusting at nearly hurricane force. Also affected was the conference itself, as it relies on NIST Gaithersburg being open. As I would discover early this morning, NIST issued a warning late last night that it would be closed today.
The talk I was intending to give centered around Email Security and anti-Phishing strategies organizations can use. NIST asked me to present in Pecha Kucha format (Lightning Round). I was to have 6 minutes and 40 seconds to present 20 slides, with 20 seconds per slide. It would have been my first time doing Pecha Kucha (or PK), which means “chit chat” in Japanese.
I spent most of the early morning cancelling and getting refunds for flights and Airbnb lodging. Our company is in growth mode so if the conference is a no go, I need to stay put in SF to get things done. Besides, the weather is pretty good here this week =)
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