Many of my blog posts are ones that can be read two years down the road and still have technical relevance. This is not one of those. This is about how excited I am to go to the IDUG DB2 Tech Conference next week. I have several things I plan to attend and get out of this conference.
Certification
One of the things I plan to do is to take a certification test or two to work on updating my DB2 certifications. Certification testing will be available during the following hours:
Tuesday, May 15 10:00 – 5:00
Wednesday, May 16 8:00 – 5:00
Thursday, May 17 8:00 – 5:00
Friday, May 18 8:00 – 12:00
The closing time listed is the last seating time for the day.
Am I the only one who is a bit upset that we can only take one for free and have to pay an additional $25 for each additional exam? I thought the last time I went, it was up to 3 exams free. I also wish that the 10.1 fundamentals exam was on the list of free exams.
Networking
To me, this is by far the best part about the conference. The connections I’ve made and reinforced at conference have made a huge difference in my career.
I plan to go to the DBI/HLS Technologies’ PEACE, LOVE, and DB2 PERFORMANCE Party on Monday night at the Hard Rock (http://www.dbisoftware.com/blog/db2_performance.php?id=346). Like much of Downtown Denver, this is a short walk from the Conference Center and the Hyatt.
I also am really looking forward to the Dine-Around on Thursday night. I made some good contacts at this the last time it was in Denver, and it’s nice to discuss more than just the technical with people. I’ve signed up for the Stopfer/Hayes one at Rock Bottom.
Technical Education
I’ve already got at least one slot on each day where I’ve got two different sessions I want to attend. I’m enjoying the online agenda tool so I can be ready with a plan going in. I’m certainly focused on the LUW tracks. I want to see anything Melanie Stopfer has to present – I always learn so much from her. I also want to hit everything related to OLTP and see some good HADR stuff. I’m a geek and love to hear the internals presentations at conferences, so I’ll make those two sessions a priority, too.
I won’t be live blogging the conference or anything, but may tweet about it – follow me on twitter – @ember_crooks. Also let me know if you’re there and want to say hi – I’d love to meet some of my readers!
