Just a quick note from Ohio.
I’ve had very little time near a network connection, in spite of having attended a Linux conference. That’s been ok, though.
I met up with Skippy last night, who took me on a whirlwind tour of OSU (making up fictional histories for every fixture on campus) and his amazing office building. We had dinner, then went out and waited for Rich Bowen (DrBacchus) to show up. We hung out for a while, then they dropped me off at my hotel after my long day on the road.
Today was pretty wild. It started early - out the door at 7:10. Skippy dragged a bunch of laptops into the convention center and had everything set up by 8:00. I hung out with Rich around the vendor booths, and stole some swag. I got a nice little stuffed penguin with “Novell” stamped on his belly and a few linux CDs that I probably won’t give to the kids.
Just before the first presentation, Rich introduced me to a few of his co-workers, including Chris Davis, which was a surprise. Then we all headed off to see the keynote, the speaker for which was swapped due to strange incoming flight delays from Australia. Seriously, but I won’t get into that.
Rather than detail all the speakers now (for which I will review the schedule and some mental notes) I’ll skip on to the social bits.
Lunch a Buca di Beppo was great. There were 12 (I think) of us in the “Pope Room”, where a bust of a pope (ah, but which?) sat on the giant table’s lazy susan within a plexiglass case.
After the conference (did maddog’s closing notes run over or was it the penguins?) we headed back to the Blue Danube for dinner and discussion of our new secret project. The new secret project for which there are already 5 lines of code, which, by the way, I don’t think should be implemented that way, Chris.
After dinner it was on to the con’s “after party” where there were refreshments, prizes, music and a room upstairs for “All-Access Pass” people, including the lot of us. In this secret paradise, we were introduced to the wonders of the card game Fluxx. I think the game’s publisher has a few new customers coming their way after tonight.
So, back to the hotel after everyone started getting tired, and here it is already 1am, a very long day. And no juggling or White Castle.
Tomorrow, we’re out to breakfast before I head back to Chester Springs. So far, it’s been great fun, and everyone I’ve met has been awesome. It’s nice to put faces to names and meet new people who are passionate about Linux and open source.
Ok, time for sleep.
