ODTUG K-Scope 2009 - Day Three

Saturday the real work began.

Fifty-four laptops were delivered in support of the two Hands-On Labs. All we're cloned by the hardware vendor and should be ready to go. Everything went according to plan. The hardware vendor had the machines in Monterey by 10:00 a.m. and by 1:00 p.m. setup was complete.

Spent the afternoon helping out at the registration desk. I ran into Roel Hartman, Scott Spendolini, Doug Gault in the hotel lobby. Great to see them again in person after swapping emails for the past few months. Afterwards, I got to spend a minute with Francis Mignault. I met Francis last year in New Orleans and really enjoy his company.

Dinner was spent at Fandango's with Jerry Ireland, David Schleis, Marc De Oliveira, John King, Bambi Price, Barbara Morris and Jeff Jacobs. I had my first taste of Cassoulet Maison and it was...magnifique!

Our journey continues...

ODTUG K-Scope 2009 - Day Two

We arose Friday morning to sunny skies. I found the rest of the YCC gang and began helping David Schleis stuff the attache bags to be given to conference attendees. It went very well with both Dianne and Mom helping out. By 1:00 p.m. we'd run out of supplies. We were to report back sometime around 4:00 p.m.


Spent the next couple of hours down at Fisherman's Wharf. Ate lunch at Cafe Fina (a Rachael Ray recommendation). Once again, it was enjoyable as we overlooked Monterey Bay.

Still we had time to drive down to Cannery Row, Pacific Grove and Asilomar before heading back to the Hyatt to rejoin the Schleis and Co. Completing the work in record time and was back in the room by 7:00 p.m.

Our journey continues...

ODTUG K-Scope 2009 - Day One

We drove to Austin on Thursday, Jun 18, to catch a flight to San Jose. From there we were planning to rent a car and proceed to Monterey.

I was pleasantly surprised at the moderate amount of luggage my two travelmates were bringing. I've seen each of them in action before and just let me say, there are different definitions of "traveling light".

The flight was uneventful. Isn't that the best kind? I had brought a "chick flick" for them to watch, but for some reason, I wasn't able to watch it. It's not a boot-leg. What do you guys use for DVD-playback? They pretty much slept anyway, so I most likely would have watched the "chick flick" myself. Things always seem to work out for the best.

Anyhow, arrived in San Jose. Grabbed the rental car and proceeded to Santa Cruz!

I had been to Santa Cruz many times, but it had been several years. We decided to drive out onto the pier and take our chances with dinner. We settled on Stagnaro Bros. Seafood Restaurant. Score! It was extremely good. The chowder was as good as Mo's in Oregon - previously my fav.

By now day yielded to night and we proceeded to Monterey. We arrived at the Hyatt around 9:30 p.m. and were settled into our room by 10:00.

Our journey continues...

ODTUG K-Scope 2009 - Decompression

Put a fork in it! Kaleidoscope 2009 is done.

Now that I'm back home in San Antonio, Texas, I'll take a minute to fill you in on just exactly what you missed and why you should absolutely attend next year.

My job doesn't involve significant travel, so I always look forward to Kaleidoscope. I do love to travel, but I'm sure if it were something I was forced to do regularly I would have the same permanent scowl seen on business travelers in airports everywhere.

This year Kaleidoscope is in Monterey. I've always considering Monterey a special place. I used to frequent that area years ago while living in California. I look forward to seeing how things have changed over the years.

I was asked to be on the Conference Committee back in December. It was a considerable amount of work and obligated much of my time in Monterey, but it was well worth it. Working with the rest of the Conference Committee has been a great expereince. My specific responsibilities centered around the Hands-On Labs. Knowing what "could" go wrong, I kept my fingers crossed until the last session completed.

This year I had my wife, Dianne, and my mother, Judy, in tow. They were as busy as I was and no doubt traveled every square mile of the penninsula by the end of the week.

Next up...our journey begins!