Further proof (as if any were needed) that Baltimore can turn even a natural disaster into a public relations opportunity was demonstrated this week, as the security software company staged its second annual user conference in Orlando, Florida.

With perfect timing, Mother Nature also decided to unleash Hurricane Gordon in the general direction of the Sunshine State. Delegates arrived to find that the entire conference was themed around hurricanes - from the postage-paid postcards illustrated with palm trees battered by galeforce winds ("Greetings from Orlando" across the front, "Baltimore takes Orlando by storm" on the back), to the stickers on the complimentary Wall Street Journal delivered to attendees' doors the first morning, reminding people of CEO Fran Rooney's keynote the following day: "Direct hit by Hurricane Baltimore tomorrow".

Rooney's keynote was preceded by a "weather report" complete with spectacular footage of hurricanes in action. His speech? It was entitled "Winds of Change".

On every seat was a t-shirt with the same windblown palm tree image as the postcards, and the slogan, "Global-security 2000 blew me away".

Enough already!

Rooney insisted that Baltimore had decided to use a hurricane theme well in advance and that it was simply coincidence that Gordon happened to slam into the state at the same time. But who is he fooling?