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I just upgraded a Cobalt RaQ 2 (1U MIPS machine, circa 1999(?)) from Debian Etch (released 2007) to Lenny (2009), and then from Lenny to Squeeze (2011). While it was in use. Remotely. Blindfolded, and with one arm behind my back.

I’m fortunate enough to be speaking at Berlin Buzzwords again this year. As usual, chats over beer or currywurst (or both) are always welcome. Hope to see you there!

I’ll be at Berlin Buzzwords again this year, this time talking about Acunu Castle and Cassandra. Buzzwords is definitely one of my favorite conferences; I’m really looking forward to it. As usual, if you think we’ll cross paths and want to meet for beer, coffee, or currywurst, let me know!

See you in Banja Luka!

I’ll be presenting at Berlin Buzzwords again this year, this time on CQL. This is shaping up to be another great conference (schedule here) so I’m really looking forward to it. This year, the organizers are arranging for a number of hackathons and workshops to precede and follow the main conference. One of those will be a Cassandra event hosted by Acunu and Datastax (date to be announced). If you’re in the Berlin area (or can be), and are interested in search, data analysis and NoSQL (and especially if you’re interested in Cassandra), I’d recommend you plan to attend....

I was recently reminded of a quote from a German General, Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord, in 1933: I divide my officers into four classes; the clever, the lazy, the industrious, and the stupid. Each officer possesses at least two of these qualities. Those who are clever and industrious are fitted for the highest staff appointments. Use can be made of those who are stupid and lazy. The man who is clever and lazy however is for the very highest command; he has the temperament and nerves to deal with all situations....

Last year, if you’ll remember, I did a half-assed job of putting together a musically coordinated christmas light rig, and promised to Do Better this year. Lucky for me I was vague because under-promising made over-delivering a lot easier. :) What I did manage to do was tackle last years technical debt, and get the code cleaned up. I’ve named it Lumen and put it up on Github. Lumen has two modes, record and playback....

I’ll be attending Berlin Buzzwords on the 7th and 8th of next month, and presenting on Cassandra. This is shaping up to be a great conference (schedule here), and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve also managed to work in a couple of days after the conference to poke around Berlin, (this will be my first time in Germany). If you’re in the area and want to meet up for beers and/or keysignings, or if you have suggestions for sights to see, drop me a line....

April is shaping up to be a busy month; I have several trips lined up. Texas Linux Fest on Saturday April 10th (tomorrow!) in Austin. POSSCON on April 15 and 16 in Columbia South Carolina. The Cassandra Hackathon at Digg HQ in San Francisco. I’ll be giving talks on Cassandra at Texas Linux Fest and POSSCON, and I’ve organized a Debian booth for Texas Linux Fest (a first for me)....

If you’ve been around for more than a few years, you’ve probably bore witness to how susceptible the tech industry is to hype. Some new-shiny comes along, people lose their minds, and seemingly overnight The Next Big Thing has spread like wildfire. Like it or not you find yourself bombarded by blog posts, tweets, articles, and water cooler chat from wild-eyed co-workers. Clearly, Ted Dziuba knows what I’m talking about....