Antinormal

After the first day

The Welcome Reception was pretty nice, which took place about an hour after the with some speeches by TopCoder staff, people went around getting to know each other and there was plenty of good food to go round. I was pretty exhausted so I couldn't write an update at that time.

The sponsors (AOL, betfair, NSA, BT, Verisign, Eli Lilly) were all set up and apparently, they're competing for more attention from coders. Every one of them have gaming systems with large screen displays setup, except for the NSA. Small wonder no one really likes them. Okay, just kidding.

Looking forward to the algorithm semifinals tomorrow. It's going to be fun. We're just getting warmed up! Additionally, AOL is organising a scavenger hunt for a chance to win an iPod Touch. Looks like AOL is in the lead for grabbing everyone's attention so far.

I put something together to help out with knowing what games are available.

AOL
System: XBox 360
Games: Guitar Hero III (although I've only watched it being played, this game is awesome), FIFA 08

betfair
System: Nintendo Wii
Games: Mario Kart Wii, Wii Sports

BT
System: Nintendo Wii
Game: Mario Kart Wii

Eli Lilly
System: XBox 360
Game: Burnout (I'm not sure of which version)

Verisign
System: Nintendo Wii
Game: Mario Kart Wii

Meanwhile, some more gaming at the event

And did I mention that Guitar Hero rocks?

Chances are there'd probably be a six-way Mario Kart showdown. I'd like to see that happen.