Kaleidoscope 2010...Finally

Finally. After months of planning and preparation, Kaleidoscope 2010 is upon us. It's great to be back in D.C. because this is the same city and this same hotel that I in which I attended my first Kaleidoscope in 2006. I was surprised the decision to return so quickly, but based on the numbers the decision was a correct one.

Here's a brief rundown of the week.

Highlights: Too many to list, but I will make mention of a few.

• APEX 4.0 Announced
• Battle of the Bands
• Java Bus
• Mike Riley receives Oracle Ace
• My first Werewolf experience
• Watching Netherlands advance in World Cup
• First MySQL track
• Hearing Jonathan Lewis speak

Lowlights: One

• Broken tooth. Damn you trail mix. A pox on your house.

As usual, I couldn't attend many sessions in their entirety while making my appointed rounds, but I'm sure I stuck my head in each and every room at some point or another. It was great to catch up with old friends like Francis, Dan, Andres, Joel, Dimitri, JES, Cary, etc. That's the greatest thing about Kaleidoscope is that you can get around to meeting every single person.

Friday, was a fun day. Dianne, Maddie and I met on old ODTUG friend, Andres Lomp from Estonia and went down to the waterfront for shrimp and crabs. It was an unforgettable time.From there we met up with ODTUG President, Mike Riley and his family to tour a few of the Smithsonian Museums with Dianne and Maddie. The American History Museum was probably my favorite. Saturday we made our way to Dulles and back to Houston.

Our journey continues...

ODTUG Pays It Forward

Each year as has been the tradition, ODTUG kicks off Kaleidoscope with a Community Service Day. In New Orleans, we painted an Elementary School. In Monterey, we rehabilitated a section of shoreline and earlier today we made various improvements, both inside and out, to Ron Brown Elementary School located in eastern D.C.

Was it hot? You better know it was. Washington D.C. is suffering through record heat. As important as the the actual improvements themselves is the spirit of teamwork the event fosters. I was able to spend time with Lucas Jellema, Mary Lou Dopart, Tim Tow and fellow ODTUG Board members, Jerry Ireland and Jeff Jacobs.

My group was tasked with cleaning and painting an outdoor recreation area. Here's a group shot. (I'm holding up the 'K')




I would certainly recommend arriving a day early to participate in ODTUG's Community Service Day.

Our journey continues...

Thoughts on Kaleidoscope 2010

In roughly three weeks, hordes of Oracle Developers will descend on Washington, D.C. for the annual pilgrimage to ODTUG Kaleidoscope.


We go there to learn from our peers and industry experts alike. We go there for hands-on training supervised by those who author the books we read. And in the case of Oracle Application Express 4.0, we go there to see history in the making.


But for those of us who have attended previous conferences, it also represents an opportunity to reunite with friends from across the country and around the world.  This can be just as important and beneficial as any aspect of the conference. It’s what separates us from the pack. Let’s start with Kaleidoscope’s Community Service Day. You won’t find anything like it at competing conferences. In the past two years, Kaleidoscope attendees have painted a New Orleans public school devastated by Katrina and helped protect a threatened stretch of California coastline. In Washington, D.C. we’ll make memories and friends as we partner with ‘D.C. Cares’ to refurbish a public school campus. Talk to those who participated in the past and they’ll tell you it was absolutely a highlight of their conference.


Once the actual conference begins, networking opportunities abound. Sign-up to be an Ambassador. Participate in “meet-ups” or “birds of a feather” events held throughout the week. At breakfast or lunch, strike up a conversation with your table-mates, who may well be a Duncan Mills, a Steven Feuerstein, a Dr. Paul Dorsey, a Peter Koletzke, or one of the multitudes of Oracle Aces and Ace Directors who have declared Kaleidoscope as their “can’t miss” summer event. And like you, they’re there to talk shop. Ask your questions. They’ll be sure to point you in the right direction.


At Kaleidoscope, whether the person next to you is from Paris, France or Paris, Texas….Portland, Oregon or Portland, Maine, don’t let the opportunity to network pass you by.


Our journey continues...

Kaleidoscope 2010 - Planning Mtg

As previously announced, Kaleidoscope 2010 will return to Washington, D.C. The Executive Conference committee met at the Wardman Park Marriott to whittle over 500 abstracts down to around 175. A daunting task made harder by the quality of the abstracts.

I'd like to thank Jeff Jacobs for giving me the opportunity to serve as Program Chair, and to the rest of the committee

• Edward Roske
• Barbara Morris
• Mary Santry
• Mike Riley
• Kathleen McCasland
• Crystal Walton

What's Kaleidoscope all about? Click here to find out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbiQLvhEVs4&NR=1

We're already getting some feedback from our selections. The majority of people seem to think this years lineup is the strongest ever. Others feel we should have concentrated on the topics of past conferences like traditional Forms and Reports. I understand there are many of us that continue to use Forms and Reports on a daily basis. It's debateable as to whether such topics would be enough of a draw to fill a room.

Our journey continues...

ODTUG K-Scope 2009 - Day Five

Bright and early, Monday morning, I met Derek Hill in the Hands-On Labs. I skipped the keynote address, but knew it was most important for Derek and myself to have the labs ready to go.

I hated to miss Mike Riley's talk on volunteerism, but I knew he'd understand. Before we knew it, the rooms began to fill up with attendees.

The rest of the day went extremely smooth.

That evening I was invited to attend supper with Jeff Jacobs, Steven Feurstein, Mike Ault, John King, Michelle Malkin and Marc de Oliveira. Dinner was great. The conversation stimulating.

When it was over instead of piling into a cab, John, Michelle, Marc, Dianne (wifey) and myself hoofed it all the way back to the Hyatt from downtown. It was a beautiful night and a fitting end to a wonderful day.

Our journey continues...

ODTUG K-Scope 2009 - Day Four

Sunday is symposium day at Kaleidoscope - topics included ApEx, Web Development, Essbase / Hyperion, and SOA. Reviews were all very good.

I spent the day helping out with registration and making sure the labs were "rocking on ready". The traditional Speakers Meeting was held and while I saw a number of familiar faces, I noticed a significant number of new faces.

Next up was the Sunday Keynote presentation featuring Steve Miranda. Conference Chairman, Jeff Jacobs, and Mike Riley presented Steven Feuerstein with the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award. It was most deserving. Steven has helped ODTUG out in countless ways. His presentations are always some of the best attended. He's a great guy and I was able to spend more time with him at this conference than any other. I'm sure he's forgotten more about PL/SQL than the rest of us will ever know.

The next award was given to the ODTUG Volunteer of the Year. I should have suspected something when Crystal and Kathleen were insisting I sit up on the front row. Mike began by reading off a list of duties and responsibilities we've held during the past year. As soon as he mentioned Volunteer Coordinator, the gig was up. I was shocked as I thought my work with the Executive Committee would remove me from consideration. I really couldn't believe I won. When you consider past winners include Dr. Paul Dorsey, Maggie Tompkins, and Kent Graziano, makes me wonder if there should be a recount. I should only hope one day to deserve to be mentioned amoung such company. To those responsible, I say thank you.

Steve Miranda gave us a preview of some upcoming Fusion eye-candy. Looking forward to getting my hands on it at some point. Next it was off to the Sunday Meet and Greet where I bumped into a gentleman from Berlin, Ralf Schroeder. I've seen him now at three of the last four conferences. I consider him a good friend. Met Michelle Malcher of IOUG and introduced her to my friend Ralf. Little did I know Michelle's husband is of German descent. Michelle and Ralf spent the next 10 or 15 minutes chattering in German. It was really something else.

I made my exit and ended the night in the hotel bar with Steven Feuerstein, Jeff Jacobs, Barbara Morris, Lisa Riley, Dianne Latiolais (wifey), and others. We got a little loud, a little crazy, but nothing compared to the spirited game of Jenga the AppliedOLAP crew had going.

Our journey continues...

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!