It was a great day at CCS for day 1 of the Mideast IDSA district conference. Paul Magee (organizer, wrangler, MC) opened with remarks and thanks, and then it was off to the big box with keynote speaker Charles Fishman, author of the fascinating The Walmart Effect. (Tidbits: A typical Wal-Mart sells 60,000 different products; you could buy 50 products a day for 3 years and never buy the same product twice...a WM superstore has 120,000 different items. 54% of Americans live within 5 miles of a Wal-Mart; 90% within 15 miles.)

Matt DeLorenzo, senior editor at Road & Track, took the audience through a comprehensive history of Ferrari and Porsche, concentrating on how they've both overcome competition and downturns, making their way through the 90's by thinking more offense, less defense. (Best tidbit: Porsche ignition is on the left of the steering wheel so that people could pull off a "running start": ignition left hand, stick shift right.) Finally, Bill Fluharty, VP of industrial design at Johnson Controls, powerpointed his way through the position and role of industrial design at JCI. (Best tidbit: Johnson Controls controls not only the Sears Tower, but the Pentagon and Capital building as well.)

Then it was off to visit core veteran Mike Doyle at o2, dinner with Mike and Beth at Union Street restaurant, and a crazy, rain-swept drive through Detroit--past the flaming smokestack of Ford's Rouge plant--back to the hotel. Oh: 2-year anniversary of Dorkwave tomorrow night, Saturday, if you're in Detroit and are ready to rock.