Since returning from LS11 I have been simply swamped with work, but it has been very trying work, and I have made quite a few mistakes, thankfully these have been turned into lessons, the first one is to do with Amazon Web Services.

Now AWS is a very good service, but they do assume that you are not a prat (in my case its not a valid assumption), do NOT make any assumptions with them, take everything they say at face value, so “Terminate” does not mean “force a shutdown” it means TERMINATE

The evil Ben Poole has been sending me links since I terminated LDC’s primary instance (but as he had bang up to date replicas of the Db’s we were working on, I can hardly complain), the most useful of them are this one and this one

but in summary:

1) YOU may treat an instance as mealy a virtual server, but amazon don’t, they treat it more like a temporary session on their system, and will delete it instantly on the bases of one button click (plus conformation)
3) Turn on instance protection (found under the instance management menu in the AWs web console)
4) The nice little “Volume” (or drive) that is automatically created when you make a instance, only lasts as long as the instances life, if you terminate the instance it will delete (while you watch and cry), assigned proper extra ones
5) As soon as you are happy with you instances set-ups, build AMI (templates) of it and take snap shots of your volumes (in addition to backups)

nuff said

Like most people I think a basic brain dump is the order of the day for lotusphere 2011

It was the hardest lotusphere I have been to work wise, I did not get half of what I was due to finish….er..finished.

Lotus idol, a fantastic opportunity for me and a bonus for LDC, one I was grateful to have been given, though personally I think the session proposed by Peter Presnell would have given more to the community.

Numbers up on last year, but hardly any time wasting, even at parties, there was much heads together stuff, card exchanging, serious conversation and plan making

Bill Buchan has been much maligned over the years and is a very easy room mate once you get over the fact he only needs about 2 hours sleep per night (party till 4.30am, up at about 7.00am)

I spent some time with the Nokia boys and admired both the hardware of the new phone and the idea if combining the power of C++ with what looked to me like a graphical library that feels strangely like flash animation (tweening and what not), however I found my self discarding it in the face of android and iphone, later on I expressed this opinion and the expressions of vague disgust on the faces of a couple of colleges forced me to re-evaluate the stance (yet another reason to work in a community), but is this how people think when they compare notes and other platforms? you take the shiny popular one? bearing that in mind I think the largest challenge for lotus in the future will be not technology base, but the re-branding and coping with the poor lotus brand perception without ditching what I personally have found to be the best tech community.

The LDC T-shirts went down well, will have to maintain the same standard next year

think that’s it, everything else has been said by everybody else

Old Comments

Mark Myers(06/02/2011 11:46:06 GMT)

@nathan, our pleasure, as i mentioned to a few of your colleges it was great that after GBS made such an investment in this LS that numbers were up and people were much more positive than last year, a good sign, a good omen for the future

Nathan T Freeman(06/02/2011 02:07:59 GMT)

For the record, the LDC shirts were OUTSTANDING. Thank you so much for mine!

Keith Brooks(06/02/2011 03:14:40 GMT)

Dang, I didn’t get one.
Sorry I missed your idol session, no one told me you won it.

Mark Myers(06/02/2011 11:52:53 GMT)

@keith no worries, well get you one

Yes I know its STILL a ASW title, but there is a new freebie.
This lotusphere is The London Developer Co-op’s second official outing, and while we are not on a stall we are sponsoring (with others) the UK Night, and continuing with giving out T-shirts, this year there will be a design for each day, and you can get them by collaring Matt White, Julian Woodward or myself, as normal there are limited numbers, so grab them no matter how hung over and grumpy we might look

This years designs (20 odd in all) held all sorts of ideas, including the one that has found the higher calling with Bruce Elgort, but as LDC’s resident deviants Ben and I could not resist continuing a side theme of violence and ‘safe for work’ porn, with the same disclaimer*
here are 3 of them converted for wallpapers, enjoy

*if you like them, then all of LDC’s work will provide you with the same joy and satisfaction, if you don’t, then Matt promises not to let me near your projects and assures you that the rest of LDC are people of skill and dignity

Old Comments

Mark Myers(17/01/2011 21:49:19 GMT)

3X t-shirts, check, being an pimp for a naughty nurse, check….heeeey!!!

Mark Myers(17/01/2011 16:25:10 GMT)

xl wasn’t it?, ill hold one for you!

Stuart McIntyre(17/01/2011 15:28:44 GMT)

Genius!

Pedro Quaresma(19/01/2011 13:09:31 GMT)

Can we get different sizes… and more wallpapers of course!

Paul Calhoun(17/01/2011 18:51:16 GMT)

If you have some for the “larger” community I would love to advertise for LDC (3x)

Thanks.

Roy Rumaner(17/01/2011 16:14:20 GMT)

I already have my shirt from last year in the pile to be packed to wear at this year’s show. Now I have to make sure to get the new one to match

Mark Myers(20/01/2011 00:36:54 GMT)

what sizes would you like?, and more will come during lotusphere

Andrew Magerman(17/01/2011 20:12:57 GMT)

Awesome.

You wouldn’t happen to have the phone number of that nurse?
I am feeling faint.

I was going to blog 10 things to do at lotusphere but frankly the best guide for lotusphere is here at Andy’s House O’ Blog, so am going to find and shake the hands of at least 10 types of people instead, these will include:

1) A Community Leader e.g. Bruce Elgort / Paul Moony / Warren Elsmore

2) A Xpage Guru e.g. Matt white / Steve Castledine / Tim Clark / Tim Tripcony / David Leedy

3) A founder e.g. “The Turtle” / Ben Langhinrichs

4) A symphony Guru e.g. John Head / Paul Bastide

5) A Party Animal e.g. Bill Buchan / “the Bob”

6) A First Timer (also introduce this person to one someone else)

7) A Java Guru e.g. Mikkel Heisterberg / Julian Robichaux / Bob Balaban (if he was going)

8) A Celebraty e.g Ed Brill / Vowe

9) A Connections Guru e.g. Clayton Coleman / Chris Lamb

10) A Blogger (who you actually read) and make a comment on at least one thing they have written

Old Comments

Mark Myers(05/01/2011 09:29:15 GMT)

@craig good call

Mark Myers(05/01/2011 15:23:16 GMT)

@Bill, ha!!!, your mild == everyone else’s wild

Craig Wiseman(04/01/2011 22:54:54 GMT)

11?) Find Ed Brill, Maureen Leland, Mary Beth Raven, Darren Adams, Susan Bulloch, Steve Castledine, Andre Guirard or any of the other wonderful IBMers and tell ’em thanks for fighting the good fight!

Bill(05/01/2011 13:36:24 GMT)

Me ? Party Animal ? Those days are gone..

—* Mild Bill

Barry(06/02/2011 01:18:04 GMT)

I was #6 (Met at dinner @ Flying Fish)

Going to Lotusphere is not a cheap experience and in this current climate even less so, it makes sense to share a room, last year I shared with that wretch/neat freak/best man at my wedding, Ben Poole, alas the evil devil is not going this year, so I started asking around to find an alternative room mate, naturally I asked my colleges at LDC first and got the answers “good luck with that” and “id rather fly cattle class”, thanks guys..really….. thanks

So I ask further afield and thus enters a slightly grubby white night in the form of Bill Buchan who is happy to share a room to me, I’m honoured to accept, its like being asked to go for a quick horse ride with Genghis Kahn, fab brill, cool… what do you mean he snores, it cant be that loud….. seismic!!….. what has seismic got to do with snoring…… Oh…… great… I’m sharing a room with the greatest lotus party animal ever who also provides his own nocturnal drum and base, base beat

I’m packing plenty of happy hardcore and enough caffeine to give me a seizure, its going to be a good lotusphere

in Matt Whites defence I did ask for a quote

Old Comments

Brett H(27/12/2010 20:01:52 GMT)

The secret is coffee, strong and lots of it. Not for you but for your noisy nocturnal room mate. Give it to him, he’ll still be awake while you drift off to peaceful oblivion. Then when he finally dozes off and starts sawing logs you won’t notice ’cause you’ll already be asleep!

Duffbert(27/12/2010 01:57:41 GMT)

I suppose you could attempt to turn it to your advantage and see if you can get an ear plug company to sponsor part of your trip… 🙂

Mark Myers(29/12/2010 10:16:50 GMT)

@kevin i am starting to feel that the only solution is to get Bill to drink so much each night that he never makes it to the room, right im off to find the whisky tanker, i may have bitten off more than i can handle

Mark Myers(27/12/2010 20:33:13 GMT)

@brett i will try your suggestion, but there are few chemicals that effect bill, i have heard that a line of coke 12 feet long made can make him “kind’a chipper”

Bill(27/12/2010 02:06:23 GMT)

In your colleagues defence, when they found out, they did all roll their eyes and ask me about my mental heath.

But apparently, you just nest on the floor, which might at least get you out of the direct line of the snoring.

Mr Mooney threw his room at me. Mr McD also snored, rubbed his feet and sang in his sleep (Einstein a-go-go), and latterly Mr Coates also employed ear defenders to great advantage.

I’ve shared with some of the most violent people in the bubble and survived – which only attests to the thickness of my skin and the shortness of the blades they tried to use

Look on the bright side. We’ll have a fully stocked bar. Not, I hasten to add, a Mini-bar…

—* Bill

Nils(27/12/2010 12:35:06 GMT)

Another option is to stay at the Disney’s All Star Sports Resort. I did that a couple of years, the room is just 85$ , and the buses bring you to the SWan in no time at all.

Kevin Pettitt(28/12/2010 15:42:42 GMT)

A very good pair of unobtrusive (i.e. you don’t feel them when you roll over) earphones and the Android app “Relax and Sleep” would be my recommendations. Plays all kinds of white noise and nature combinations to drown out the “ambient” noises. If those earphones are noise canceling all the better.

Disclaimer: I have only experienced Bill’s snoring from the floor below behind a closed door, so it’s possible these defenses will be insufficient in closer proximity.

Bil(27/12/2010 02:23:56 GMT)

@Duff, let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

I recall the rather palatial Casa Mooney, where you kept the entire house awake with your snoring. Mine didn’t even form a harmonic backing to your earth shattering patella fluttering!

—* Bill

Vitor Pereira(27/12/2010 10:02:51 GMT)

Well, having both of you in the same room will definitely make things easier for Disney security

Chris Miller(27/12/2010 16:56:15 GMT)

As a recent victim of sharing a room with Bill, I am still recovering from shock and awe. Both in forms of audio and visual

Mark Myers(27/12/2010 12:51:50 GMT)

@nils yeah I did that the first year, and missed soo much that was going on that i swore not to do it again, the missing stuff might change if what i have heard about IBM putting their staff in the all-star this year is true, but a lot of my best mates are in the swan/dolphin

Mark Myers(27/12/2010 11:11:50 GMT)

@Bill, I am really looking forward it, nesting is the correct way to occupy ANY room, it allows for easy defence in case of wolf (or even 3 wolf t-shirt) attack

@victor, we are getting the social outcast discount room rate from Disney

@Duff I was rather hoping a whiskey or vodka company would sponsor it

Mark Myers(27/12/2010 17:09:05 GMT)

@chris oh now your adding a visual element to it, am I going to need eye bleach?