language, um, barrier

Yesterday afternoon I attended a contractor demo for the FAA, about web-accessible flight obstacle databases and automated chart/map generation. The demo was fine... but one of the engineers spoke with a thick Indian-subcontinental accent. Again, no problem, my Ph.D. advisor was an immigrant... but this fellow seemed to have some problems with similar-sounding words. Such as three times saying "data suppository" instead of "data repository"...

I won! (chuckle)

Much to my surprise, I was randomly chosen as "Guest of the Day" at this hotel (a Marriott Courtyard near Dulles airport), so when checking in this afternoon I received a little gift bag and a $10 incidentals certificate. And unlike the Ritz-Carlton, this place has a whirlpool :).