FOSS4G 2009 - Day 2

The first real day of FOSS4G began today with a spectacular keynote session by Paul Ramsey. I made it's way onto YouTube by lunch and has been all the talk on Twitter. If you haven't seen it yet, you should do so. I'll wait.

Due to my committments to both organisation and boothery, I only managed to make one session during the day. Volker Mische presented his work on GeoCouch, the spatial extension for CouchDB, to a large, but widely dispersed crowd in the Auditorium. The presentation was much better than his ad-hoc explanations over beer; likely due to the reduced heckling that large spaces and microphones bring. I was able to catch the set-up of the first of Jim Groffen's tutorials with Andrea Aime, and the set-up and take-down of the second with Arne Kepp. With back-to-back sets, I held no envy for Jim's afternoon. Even still, the rooms were packed and attendees were leaving happy. At least, those that got a seat were leaving happy.

Tomorrow is another day, and my morning includes assisting Jody Garnett with a tutorial session. As such, we've absconded the venue and hidden ourselves away to complete and rehearse our material.

Until tomorrow then.

FOSS4G 2009 - Day 1

Day one of the FOSS4G conference has come to a close, and by all reports has been a resounding success. I would like to mention a few names: Jeff McKenna (the wisdom of the ages), Daniel Branik (our system and network manager from Arinex) and Julia Vernon (conference manager from Arinex). Without these people things would have fallen apart weeks ago. My thanks to you.

As for the workshops themselves, I didn't have the pleasure of actually attending one, other than my own, but everyone I've spoken to has had nothing but good things to say. The effort all of the workshop presenters have put in to their material both today and in the weeks and months leading up to today have served them well and it's because of these efforts that so many people have finished today with a smile on their faces. Well done to all of you.

Beyond FOSS4G

The FOSS4G conference has been consuming the majority of my waking hours for the last few months, but with the conference in sight I'm beginning to see a little light shining back at me from around the edges. So this begs the question, what to do when FOSS4G is over?

The obvious answer is to code. The code sprint is running all day Saturday and is not strictly constrained to programming. Efforts such as the Live DVD and OSGeo Marketing and Education will be represented as well. Anybody with an interest in an project, subcommittee or endeavour is free to organise a group, or join those already signed up.

While some keeners will be sprinting all weekend, my plan is for a more leisurely walk on Sunday. The Seven Bridges Walk is a 25km stroll around Sydney Harbour, crossing three of the cities picturesque bridges (and four that are more on the functional side). For those not up for the distance, shuttle buses will be running around the course throughout the day to take you back to your point of origin. Having taken part in the walk last year, and having to run the final leg due to a late start, this year I'm heading out bright and early this year. Drop me a line if you're keen to join.

All of this is nice, but it neglects some of Sydney's greatest assets. Where are the beaches? Well, in keeping with tradition, they are found on the coast. No trip to Sydney would be complete without a stop at the worlds most famous beach, Bondi Beach. Public transport to the beach is readily available near the conference center and will deliver you in under an hour to one of the highest density tanning locations in the country. If you're not a fan of the crowds, Manley Beach is another tourist-owned-and-operated destination that is easy to get to, but far enough from the city to ease the congestion on the sand.

And if I'm still not tickling your fancy, there Taronga Zoo, the Sydney Opera House, the markets at Paddys or The Rocks, the Sydney Fish Markets, the Sydney Theatre and Dance Companies and even our very own Starbucks. And that's not even touching restaurants, pubs, clubs and proper cafes.

There are no excuses for being bored in this city.

Speaking Notes

With the conference looming and my own workshop shaping up, I've found myself thinking more about my presentations skills. Fortuitous timing indeed to have this tidbit drift through my LinkedIn notices. While I've made significant progress in the last few years, I'm still a chronic sufferer of 'Aack, people' syndrome. I've found the enunciation trick in the past is very helpful for maintaining pace, especially with some thoughtful pauses strategically placed to allow me to gather my wits before proceeding. With proper pacing comes a certain degree of calm.

There's also the 'Ummm' phenomena that I've seen take down some presenters hard; which Paul has thoughtfully provided some advice on. What else do people run up against when in front of crowds, and what solutions are available?

Have Your Say, the FOSS4G Way

The fact that the submission of abstracts for FOSS4G 2009 closed over a week ago without my noticing betrays that I've been under the pump lately, but I've finally had the chance to hit the voting site and have a look at the results. The line-up is more impressive than I'd hoped. With much of the knowledge and experience of our industry distilled into bite-size chunks, it's hard to know where to start. My recommendation: start by letting us know (before Sunday, June 28th) what you want to see or you may be sorely disappointed. Of the 170 or so submissions, my personal highlights reel includes:

• PostGIS and Oracle Spatial (Greener)


• Geoprocessing in the Clouds (Schaeffer)


• Geodata and CouchDB (Mische)


• Web Mapping Performance Shoot-out (Ramsey)


• Visualising animal movements in 'near' real time (Madin)