Another Saturday night and I’ve got lots buddies … a take-off on a Sam Cooke ditty from the 60’s. Denver came alive once I arrived at the Hyatt and went full tilt until the wee hours of the morning. Saturday was all about catching up with friends. Some of these people I have been hanging out with for 22 years at these conferences, and they are more like family. First task today was registering, which was a breeze. There have been mega improvements in this process as the IT solutions become more mature. The whole process, including bag pickup, took less than 10 minutes.
Next stop was a high availability session provided by Larry Carpenter and Joe Meeks from Oracle. I have heard these two speak together and apart many times, and as usual, they were intoxicating. The material they covered was familiar, and I was fluent in most of it. We got bogged down when discussing ASM, and the gentlemen up front eventually spearheaded a redirection of the discussion to get back on topic. Joe is a perfect example of why we like presenting at Oracle Open World so much. A number of years ago, I gave a session called Stand by Your Standby and even played Patsy Cline’s Standby by Your Man as people filed into the room. At the end of the session, a handful of black shirts came up front to chat. I noticed they were from Oracle, asked what SBU they were, and was told data guard and high availability. I asked how I did and if I misled their clientele during my session. Joe in particular gave me some positive feedback and told me it was fine. Sigh of relief … but that type of immediate feedback is invaluable and welcome.
Lunch was on 16th street with a handful of colleagues, followed by a session in the leadership track sponsored by the IOUG back at the convention center. It was enlightening, and the discussions were fruitful. The day was great and met my expectations, except for one thing. The internet connectivity in this convention center is abysmal. Our connections are on and off, and it is very annoying. I noticed the same problem when I was in for RMOUG, and it was just as annoying. I am not sure if this is deliberate or just the way it is. We smartly try to stay off the local cell networks as the roaming and out-of-home data charges are ridiculous.
Tonight starts with an IOUG 20th anniversary celebration from 5-7pm, then we’re off to the ACE dinner at Maggione’s. Tomorrow starts early with a trip to Mile High ballroom 2A to test my Air’s compatibility with the software we are using for the COLLABORATE virtual conference. At the end of my rman session on Wednesday, I want to demo table level recovery. I need to take advantage of the magnifying engine on my Air since the code listing will be the size of the head of a pin from the third row of the session room, not to mention the back. If I cannot use my Air, I cannot do the demo.
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