Today's Australian news journal features an article about how Dr. Jim Goodnight swept into Australia for the SAS Forum event, delivered his remarks and pressed a few palms, and then was on his way back home -- according to the article -- on the very same day.

That's not exactly how it happened. I mean, Dr. Goodnight did come into town for the event, but he stayed around until the next day to meet with the talented and proud SAS staff who maintain SAS' presence in the area. The trip to Australia was a special stop along a busy tour that included the Premier Business Leadership Series in Hong Kong, among other places.

And of course, I've been here for over a week as a delegate from SAS R&D, visiting with SAS customers in the region. I'm not as sought after as Dr. Goodnight, but I hope I'm not exactly chopped liver either. I'm looking forward to just a bit more time over here to continue my tour, spreading the word about what we're working on within SAS development and gathering feedback and ideas from our Down Under customers.