Monthly Archive for April, 2008

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Lynx bait & sh meme

Published on April 16, 2008 in Geekery. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Well, traditional lynx bait might be more along the rodent line, or at least well-designed web pages. But a good enough title for some miscellaneous… er, links.


server:me:~ > history | awk {'print $2'} | sort | uniq -c | sort -k1 -rn | head
167 ls
97 cd
28 rm
22 wget
22 mv
20 cat
17 unzip
16 tar
15 exit
14 cp

How to get home from ApacheCon Europe

Published on April 11, 2008 in ApacheCon. 0 Comments Tags: , .

A few tips for getting home. I had a whole list ahead of time, but it’s been a bit hectic, so this is all I’ve got for the moment.

  • Packing: don’t forget to save space for your extra t-shirts and goodies. Be sure to pack your souveniers, stroopwaffles and the like safely too. Yum.
  • Hotel Shuttle: the Moevenpick has a white shuttle van that leaves approximately every 30 min; you can call the desk to ask when. They to to Centraal and will go other local places on request, usuallly.
  • Walking: weather today and tomorrow is nice, so if you’re hearty, just walk to Centraal. By now you should be used to the bridge and have no problem.
  • Tram: the 25 & 26 (ones across the street from Moevenpick) come reasonably often; there is a schedule, but as with any major city tram system, it’s not always reflective of reality.
  • Get your train ticket at Centraal. Most trains for Schipol seem to leave from tracks 13/14, but you can always look at the train schedule. The train conductors are used to people with luggage asking silly questions.
  • Or, don’t buy a train ticket. Mid-day, I haven’t seen a single conductor on the train checking tickets. There is a hefty (reportedly 35EUR) fine for being on the train without a ticket.
  • If you have time at Schiphol, definitely walk around the airport. The shops are fairly nice – the Etos? toiletry shop has a great selection from Europe and the US, although unfortunately they have no travel sizes, only normal sizes.
  • Schiphol’s roof observation deck is definitely worth the trip if you have time.
  • Clearly, you’re in a rush to be on time for your international flight. Look on the monitors just inside the airport: one number is the terminal (1-4) the other is the checkin line (1-20 or something) where you can e-checkin or talk to a human, check your bag (with passport) and etc.
  • Then comes passport control. Be sure to find the right line; sometimes the non-EU passport line is only on the far end
  • You checked with your airline before going to the airport, right? Some international flights open up the boarding area surprisingly early, so be sure to allow for plenty of time
  • Sit back, collapse, and sleep through the flight if you can – you’ve probably had a very busy week – and a fun one, we hope!
  • Be sure to check our website for details on ApacheCon US, November 3rd – 7th, in fabulous New Orleans!

- Yr host, Shane, ApacheCon US 2008 Conference Lead

ApacheCon EU day… what day is it?

Published on April 10, 2008 in ApacheCon. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Wow, time flies when you’re busy – I was going to complain that PlanetApache has been so quiet this week, but I look at my own online activity, and it’s pretty much limited to working emails and occasional tweeting. And I think it’s Friday already, although I’m not quite sure.

ApacheCon has been going great; lots of people to see, delicious (if expensive) food, and lots of late nights. Unfortunately for those helping to run the conference, there really isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done. So I’m going to collapse for a few hours, then work on planning for the next ApacheCon later today and tomorrow…

You can see what’s happening with our live video streaming partner… Keynotes are sent out free.

The Amsterdam Metro

Published on April 9, 2008 in Local. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

For all 3 of my Universal Hub readers who were just about to drop my RSS feed after seeing all my ApacheCon stuff. No, not their public transport system, silly, their cheesy free newspaper available near their public transport system.

Amsterdam “Metro”

Yes, it’s true, the Metro’s pages clutter the floors of trams, buses, subways, and sidewalks the world over. It almost makes me feel at home. Sniff. But not necessarily a brand I’m proud that the US has exported…

Oddly enough, the bins were mostly empty, although I didn’t see nearly as many pages littering tram seats as I usually do on the T.

Why I’m naked today

Published on April 9, 2008 in Geekery. 1 Comment Tags: .

Yes, this blog supports CSS Naked Day.

Not only is it a hip meme to join along – yes, I follow the crowd sometimes – it’s also a good way to force myself to ensure my blog is reasonably well-designed in terms of output and structure.

More importantly, it’s crucial to realize that not everyone can see. Whether it’s language, color, bandwidth or choice (i.e. using a text-only browser), or personal choice of stylesheets, it’s nice to allow your readers to see things their own way. But it’s even more important to provide your content for people who actually can’t see.

I’ve always tried to provide for that, and recently working closely on a team with someone who is blind reinforced that. It was also quite amazing both to see how they thought, as well as to see the different way they read pages, even ones that you thought were accessible. There were a number of websites that he could read, but that didn’t make as much sense as they should, mostly because of layout (not just CSS) that made sense on the screen, but doesn’t quite make sense in the reader. Even basic attempts to include accessibility in your sites is really appreciated.

The really amazing co-worker is one who works on compiler design. I find it hard enough to understand how modern compilers work, and I can see the architectural diagrams, and quickly scroll up and down the stack of tokens and layers. Imagine not just understanding a compiler, but building a new one when you’re blind – and to some degree only have sequential access to data. Now, that is an organized mind.

Read more about accessibility in software at IBM’s ABLE site.

Welcome to ApacheCon Europe!

Published on April 7, 2008 in ApacheCon. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Registration is open; the line has finally died down. Continental breakfast is available for trainings and registered hackathon attendees. Drat, I forgot to take a picture before people swooped in.

Key notes for travelers: the coffee is caffeinated, and the small hot pitchers are hot water for tea; the large ones are coffee. Almost everyone is tired this morning, even a number of the local travelers. One gentleman from Seattle was surprisingly chipper for having arrived yesterday. Personally, I’m somehow adjusted, and even woke up at 07:30 this morning myself, without an alarm. And with enough sleep, too!

ApacheCon US: CFP still open!

Published on April 7, 2008 in ApacheCon. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

There’s still a few more hours to submit for the next ApacheCon, this November in New Orleans. We’ll have plenty of space, and we’re looking for new ideas, so submit your talks now!

Note: late submissions will still be accepted, although depending on the timing they may be more difficult to schedule.

And now, back to our new channel: ApacheCon Europe is starting! I hear the coffee cups clinking and keyboards tapping as I type…

Amsterdam Travel Tips for Americans at ApacheCon

Published on April 6, 2008 in ApacheCon. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

I know, it’s probably a major bit of hubris for me to try to provide travel advice for most folks who come to ApacheCon, but if this helps even one person to not forget their conditioner, my job here to occasionally inform while entertaining (at least myself) will be complete.

Pack

  • Pack your favorite toiletries! The Moevenpick‘s supply of soap and body wash is much less “designer” than you would find in a US hotel of similar price levels.
  • Pack your rain coat, or at least a good hat.
  • Pack comfortable shoes. Remember, this is the rest of the world, where people walk places, bicycle, or take the tram, or a bus, or a canal boat. I love coming to Europe because all the trucks are so cute compared to US trucks.
  • Pack a life preserver. No, just kidding. But the relationship of this country to water is definitely interesting. Half the time you’re crossing a road, you’re never realize if it’s got a canal alongside it or not.

Arrive

  • Take the train to Centraal, and then walk east to the Moevenpick. Or read our much more detailed instructions (including taking the tram if you have lots of luggage).
  • Don’t forget (if you have time): at Centraal, on the lower level, find the Kiosk or other shop, and buy a strippenkaart, or multi-ride subway, excuse me, tram ticket. This will prove useful later.
  • The train to Centraal leaves regularly (at least during daylight hours) and takes 15 min. It can be crowded, so watch out for your luggage.
  • Walking will take another 15 minutes. Google Maps readers, take note: there has been some construction and slight canal changes around the Moevenpick since the last satellite shots.

Enjoy

  • The staff at the Moevenpick, and at most shops, speak a fair amount of English.
  • Many signs, of course, are in Dutch. Getting around is fine, since street/straat names and tram numbers are pretty obvious. Don’t forget kanaals, too!
  • Moevenpick rooms are very nicely appointed, but small. Don’t forget to put your room key into the room’s light switch immediately after you enter the room.
  • Moevenpick rooms include a private bath w/shower (no tub), TV, mini fridge, just enough storage space cleverly hidden in the cabinets, and a water heating pot. The Idee Kaffee packets are make better instant coffee than at home.
  • For an additional 20EUR or so, you get a full buffet breakfast in the Silk Road restaurant. I’ll report on that later

Hope you got more sleep on the flight over than I did!

I forgot! Voltage! If you have modern electronics, you may not need a voltage converter. My Lenovo laptop and iPhone power converters are both happy with 240 volts, so I’m all set. However you will need a plug converter to the two thin pin plugs they use in most of Europe. The plug converter will be much cheaper than a voltage converter. The Moevenpick also lists plug converters as items available at the front desk, so no stress if you forgot.
Oh, and double-check that your power converters list 240 volts before plugging them in.