FOSDEM

I gave a talk at FOSDEM (Free and Open Source Developers European Meetup) this morning: “Introduction to MongoDB”. It went pretty well, I think. Slides are up at scribd.com and it was recorded, so the video for it should be somewhere soon (I’ll update when I find out where).

The trip across the Atlantic was interesting. It was so bumpy that one of the stewardesses serving drinks fell over and the captain announced “All flight attendants, take your seats with your seat belts fastened!” Takeoff had been delayed to fix something and, in addition to the regular dropping a couple dozen feet in altitude, the engine kept making funny noises, and I was pretty sure we were going to go down. I considered putting my shoes on, but I decided that the last thing I wanted while floating on a raft in the North Atlantic was wet shoes. The plane pulled through, though, and eventually we got to Belgium. So, no excellent story (or fiery death) for me.

One of the cool things about being here was that I got to meet chx, a Drupal developer. He’s helping integrate MongoDB and Drupal 7. We have been wanting to send him some schwag but he’s on an extended visit to relatives who live on a hill that the postman can’t climb. However, I knew he was going to be here, so I carried a mug all the way to Belgium and got to give it to him. Mongo devs: neither snow nor sleet nor gloom of 3000 miles of ocean keep these swift couriers from delivering mugs. Woot.

My talk was at 10am (4am New York time… ugh). Andrew and I went to the conference’s cafeteria beforehand so I could get some coffee. It was… interesting. I have a theory on how Belgians make coffee: they brew a pot of coffee, and then let it sit on a burner until only a cup is left in the pot. Then they serve you that cup. Now, I am grateful, because I managed to drink it (with the help of a chocolate croissant) and it kept me upright for my talk, but I am glad I live in a country where people like their coffee watery.

Andrew and I are at what I think is the Belgian equivalent of a diner, where we’re having some coffee and beer. I feel like a total philistine, but I can’t actually tell the difference between Belgian beer and a decent American beer. Obviously more data points are necessary, I’ll be looking into it further tonight.

Giving talks is fun, but stressful. I feel like my whole body is relaxing now. I’m looking forward to sleeping at least 12 hours tonight.