My favorite tutorial at the UC2009 : Build and release management

I am looking forward to the MySQL Users Conference and Expo 2009. Since I am a tutorial speaker, my choice of tutorials to attend is limited. Upon completion of my duties, I will attend Greg Haase's tutorial on Build and Release Management for Database Engineers. There are many reasons for that. For starting, Greg is the winner of the MySQl 5.1 Use Case competition where he has shown his DBA skills, and then, he is using the MySQL Sandbox among the tools of the trade recommended in hist tutorial. So you know that I haven't much choice but to attend it!

Free Webinar: How to give a good presentation

Sheeri K. Cabral, one of the most active speakers in the MySQL community, will give a presentation on the art of making a presentation. Tuesday March 17th at 10am PDT. (= 1pm EDT, 5pm UTC, 6pm CET) The event is dedicated to the presenters at the MySQL Users Conference, who should have received an invitation. If you were not invited and wish to attend, see the information below:

Event address for attendees: click here
Date and time: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 10:00 am
Pacific Daylight Time (GMT -07:00, San Francisco)

Tuesday, March 17, 2009 1:00 pm
Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -04:00, New York)

Tuesday, March 17, 2009 5:00 pm
GMT Standard Time (GMT 00:00, London)
Duration: 1 hour

Event number: 590 329 510
Event password: Attendee1

There is voice streaming. In case it doesn't work, you can dial one of the numbers below:
Teleconference: (US & Canada): 866-224-2652
International: (281) 913-0892
Code: 474700 #

• You may log in to WebEx 15 minutes prior to the meeting start time, this is advised as there may be downloads that WebEx might need to perform on your system
• Copy and paste the attendee link in to your web browser (this seems to work better than clicking on the link)
• PASSWORDS FOR WEBEX ARE CASE SENSITIVE

Tutorial on Partitioning at the MySQL Users Conference 2009

Another approval has arrived. I will be co-presenting a tutorial at the MySQL Users Conference 2009. Partitioning in MySQL 5.1. My co-speaker is Sarah Sproehnle, a well known MySQL trainer. The topic is one of the flagship features of MySQL 5.1.

The tutorial will cover the basics, several practical scenarios, tips and tricks, and some sneak peeks of the latest enhancements being developed.

Speaking about the Event Scheduler at the Users Conference 2009

The approvals are coming. I will be speaking at the MySQL Users Conference 2009. Using the event scheduler. The friendly behind-the-scenes helper. My co-speaker will be none other than Andrey Hristov, the designer and implementer of the Event scheduler, one of the main features of MySQL 5.1.

My proposals for the Users Conference 2009

In addition to participating to the reviewing committee for the Users Conference 2009, I have also ambitions of being there as a speaker. Thus I am thinking about the topics I could talk about. Being the theme of the conference "innovation everywhere", I will not propose any of my previous talks (as I hope everyone else will, since I will strike all the carbon copy proposals).

I have some ideas already.

A tutorial on partitions

Since I have done much testing and writing on partitioning, I feel the need of presenting something in public. Performance, administration, use cases, are all aspects of partitioning with which I am well acquainted.

Row-based replication

Another 5.1 feature that I have been testing at length. It is perhaps too narrow to deserve a tutorial, but I have material for a couple of good sessions.

The Community Replication Monitor

This is a project that has started several years ago as pure speculation, and it is now being shaped into something that can be used.

Testing with MySQL Sandbox

I have applied many changes to MySQL Sandbox since my last presentation, and it is now time to show some cookbook cases.

Community hacks

many interesting community contributions are entering my radar. While I don't know which ones would make their way to the official release, I would like to show how life could be if we put all these clever additions together.

using Bazaar and Launchpad to develop a small project

Unlike previous presentations about Launchpad and Bazar and MySQL or Drizzle, this is a small project oriented session, where I show how to use Launchpad to plan, develop, and maintain a moderately complex application, with blueprints, revision code system, bug tracking, and forums.

Your comments will be highly appreciated. Especially if you suggest something not in this list (and falls within my abilities, of course!)

How to get your proposal accepted to the MySQL Users Conference 2009

The call for papers for the MySQL Users Conference and Expo 2009 is open. Proposals are accepted until October 22, 2008. This post will tell you how to get your proposal accepted. First: READ the following posts. I mean it! Baron Schwartz's advice on how to write a great proposal. If you follow these guidelines, you can't be wrong. Colin's list of 10. If you still had doubts after reading Baron's post, this one will clear your mind.

Sorry is we sound harsh, but we have the responsibility for the quality of MySQL UC sessions, and the only way to ensure quality is to be picky in our choice. Here are a few more rules of the game for the next conference.

Make sure you know the subject you propose.

We may ask you to prove your claims. We have had a few surprises during the last conference, with a couple of sessions lasting 20 minutes because the speaker had exhausted the topics. We are going to be stricter in our acceptance. We will accept some proposals conditionally. If that happens, we will inform the authors that we need more material before the final acceptance. If the material is not provided, we replace the session with some other proposal.

Always assume that someone else has proposed the same topic.

The competition is fierce. We usually reject two proposals for each one we accept. If you want your proposal to be selected, don't be lazy. Write a comprehensible abstract and a good bio. Work hard on it. For each subject, there are probably two or three more people who have spent days polishing their proposal. We will be only too happy to choose the best one! If you put together a half baked proposal in 5 minutes, you won't get in. Period.

A good abstract is not too short.

If your abstract is just a few lines promising the wonders that everyone knows you can deliver, that won't do. You may be a well known big shot in the field, but we won't default to "accepted" if we recognize your name (see what Colin says about rock stars). If that's the case, prove your status by writing a superb proposal.

A good abstract is not too long.

If you have written an article on a given topic and you simply cut and paste 13,000 words in the abstract box, it will only show us that you can't summarize, and your session would be unbearably boring.

Don't even try to advertise your company in a proposal.

The review committee is full of open source enthusiasts and technology lovers. We smell a stealthy marketing message a mile away. If you want to boost your company business, don't propose a session, but look at the conference page for sponsorship opportunities.

Read the above posts by Baron and Colin again.

Seriously. If you want that pass for the conference and a podium to greatness, you need to work hard. How hard? well, consider that, according to Damian Conway, you need to prepare from 10 to 50 hours for each hour of presentation. Some of this work must show in your abstract. If you read the above posts and follow the advice you are given, some of the hard work will show for sure.

All done? Sure? Have you read all the above twice? Good. Then, SUBMIT A PROPOSAL!.