Zombies and punny grilled cheese (SIGGRAPH part 2)

The first time I went to SIGGRAPH (computer graphics conference) was 2003 and I felt stuck in a rut.  I'd lived for five years in a city that didn't really fit with me (Seattle).  The whole five years, I felt like a fish out of water, vaguely dissatisfied in a way I couldn't name.  By the end, I wondered what was wrong with me, and how I could change my personality to become more of a content person.

Then I went to SIGGRAPH and I was so deliriously happy, every minute.  I went to amazing talks on camera technology and environment maps.  I presented my sketch on cloud rendering.  I looked at the latest motion capture technology.  I skipped most meals because I was so energized that I didn't need to eat.

I decided I didn't need to change my personality.  I just needed to move.  Two months later, I moved to California.

I went again to SIGGRAPH the next year, to present on rain and snow rendering.  Then not again for eight years, until last week.

The expo floor. There is a lot of eye candy at SIGGRAPH (in terms of beautiful renderings, not booth babes).

These zombies were advertising the 3-d software package used to create the TV show "Walking Dead".

O M G.  Here you see three panels pieced together to form a panoramic display.  You move your viewpoint around the scene via a joystick.  I experienced a tsunami of awe and coveting.  

I saw at least 3 motion capture exhibits on the expo.  Every time I go, there are more mo-cap companies.  Eventually it'll be like Starbucks -- every exhibit on the floor will be a mo-cap studio.

...

The food booths in the main convention center looked bad.  There were long lines for a Chinese take-out box and a sandwich on a plate.  They did not look fresh, or tasty.

Then miraculously there was this grilled cheese stand.

When I got up close to it, I realized all the sandwich names were puns on computer graphics luminaries.  Ed Catmelt sandwich, labeled as "tech achievement"!  Perlin Peach for a sandwich with ricotta and peaches!  (That's what I ate.)  The Phong.  The Blinn.  I literally cried out in amazement when the sandwich names sunk in.

Then I wondered...  does this stand only exist for SIGGRAPH?  Do they change the sandwich names every week for different conferences?  Do they always ask find a conference organizer to help them devise the sandwich names?

The Perlin Peach was an exquisite sandwich.

As I was standing there, I was seized with a fervent desire to contribute enough to the world to get a cheese sandwich named The Wang for one week.