It s my first time in Louisville, Kentucky and that surprises me. I have been all over the country and criss-crossed it so many times it is surprising that I never stopped here. I suppose the trade show cities are where I keep going. LA, San Jose, Orlando, San Diego, Vegas etc.

One of my coworkers loves horses and is so into the sport of horse racing that he knows the lineage of horses going back generations. He would have loved to been on this trip.

To me, most every stop/city is the same. See the airport, get a cab, go to a hotel, hope broadband works, get some rest, get up and start working. I rarely see sun on these trips and that is probably not a great thing but hey, there is so much to do and I am changing the world right?

When the cab dropped me off last night one of the bellmen was so friendly that I was surprised. He announced himself as Mr. Ed. I promptly tipped Mr. Ed and then tried to get my luggage back. You see about 8 years ago a limo driver took my laptop bag from me — almost by force and put it on one of those luggage carts at JFK. He walked rapidly and I was behind him as he hit a bump that launched my laptop case in the air like a missile. The laptop ended up being ok but I think the horror of watching my helpless laptop flying threw the air scarred me for life.

So now I rarely let anyone take my laptop case for any reason. Besides, I always feel lazy having someone else carry my things. Well in this case I threw all my worries behind because Mr. Ed was very disarming. He asked me my name and then my last name (yes — kind of weird) I answered and asked him the same he replied Mr. Ed. I left it at that. He was also very proud and told me this hotel was the best in the city.

When I got the registration desk the person behind the counter could not have been friendlier. Mr. Ed actually introduced us. I then went into the gift store to buy some water and again, the woman could not have been friendlier. It wasn’t just friendliness there is a level of courtesy and professionalism that must have come from an amazing training program I rarely see at other hotels. I may never have felt as welcome as I did last night. It was like going to my Aunt’s house actually.

I almost forgot — I asked about the internet at the front desk and was told they just switched systems and if I have a problem I can get a refund when I check out. The internet was fine — not as fast as some other hotels but adequate for my needs.

Actually it did give me a problem logging in but then I decided to scroll to the bottom of the terms and conditions window and then press continue — that seems to have gotten me in.

If I have one criticism it is the coffee maker that was wet when I went to use it. Since these things are black to begin with the fact they are also wet inside is not the most pleasant thought because who knows what is growing in there. I washed it before using it and suggest you do the same.

Other than that, the hotel is perfect so far. I am getting ready for my presentation for the Tech Data event which starts later today.