PostgreSQL New Zealand Visit

I will be in New Zealand next month for LinuxConf AU.  In addition to a PostgreSQL replication tutorial at LCA, I will have other events to get in touch with the PostgreSQL community in Auckland and Wellington:

Auckland (Jan. 11 to 16)

Monday night (Jan. 12), at 7:30 PM, we will have a PostgreSQL 9.4 BOF at the LCA venue.  Members of the Auckland PostgreSQL community who can't otherwise make it to LCA are allowed and encouraged to attend this BOF; please contact me so I can get a headcount for pizza.

Wellington (Jan. 18 to 21) 

Tuesday, January 20th from 9am to 3pm we will have an extended PostgreSQL replication tutorial, hosted by NIWA New Zealand in downtown Wellington.  This will be the same tutorial I give at LCA, only the extended 4.5 hour version which covers things like replication slots and performance tuning replication.  Contact NIWA if you are interested in attending this; there is a fee.

On Tuesday or Monday night I would really like to have a Wellington PostgreSQL user meetup.  However, I need help finding a venue and getting in contact with PostgreSQL users in Wellington.  Please contact me if you can help, and check back here for updates on the meeting.

UPDATED: please see this wiki page for more information.

PostgreSQL Down Under

It's my first trip to Oz!  I will shortly be visiting Canberra and Melbourne and making a number of presentations on PostgreSQL.  If you're an Australian PostgreSQL user, come say hello!

First, I'll be speaking twice at LinuxConf.AU in Canberra.  First, for the SysAdmins Miniconf I'll be doing "How To Crash Your PostgreSQL Server" on January 28th.  Then on Friday, February 1, I'll be doing "PostgreSQL 9.2: Full Throttle Database" again.

After LCA, I will fly to Melbourne, where Experian/Hitwise will be hosting the first-ever Melbourne pgDay on February 4.  I'll be co-presenting there with Italian PostgreSQL hacker Gabriele Bartolini, and MelPUG leader Jason Golden. We haven't decided on talks yet for this event.

If you've never met me or any member of the Core Team, or you have questions about PostgreSQL, or you want to get involved in the community, come to one or both of those events!  If you're going to be in Canberra in time for Australia Day and want to bum around, I get there on the 25th.  I could also use some recommendations on cloud hosts with a Australia data centers I can easily use for doing demos.

(Yes, I realize my blog has been nothing but events and conferences lately.  It's that season.  Your technical content will return eventually.)

An open "Dear United" letter

Dear United:

I'm afraid that we'll no longer be seeing each other regularly.   I've been seeing some new airlines, and they've made me realize what an abusive partner you've been.  You've taken me for granted, cheated and abused me, and I'm not putting up with it anymore.

I fly a lot for business.  As a result, I've had frequent flyer status on United/Star Alliance for years ... generally either Gold or Silver, depending on how many international trips I make.  The benefits and perks you gave me kept me coming back to you, even as you fell further and further behind technologically, and have been treating your customers with steadily declining courtesy.

This year, you stripped away all of my useful benefits as a Silver member.  I no longer get Economy Plus seats, free checked baggage, free upgrades, or really anything else which makes spending time with you less unpleasant.  I'm in the back of the plane with the proles, and you've made the back of the plane into a pretty nasty place. 

The new airlines I've been seeing (VirginAmerica, JetBlue, and Southwest), are all younger, hipper,  better looking, and have much better senses of humor than you.  More importantly, they appreciate me and treat me like a valued person.  Jetblue and Virgin have more leg room in coach, onboard entertainment systems, wireless internet, and decent quality food and booze on sale.  Southwest is plainer, but makes up for it by being "fast" (if you know what I mean), and checking my luggage for free.  All three of my new airlines' web sites are an entire generation of technology ahead of yours.

We've both known this was coming since you acquired Continental.  We knew that being bigger and fatter wasn't going to make you more sensitive to my needs.  You've treated me shabbily, and it's time to end it.

Sincerely,
A former Mileage Plus member

P.S.: I have a suggestion for a new United motto:

"We know you don't have a choice when you fly.  That's why you're on United."