#OOW12 - Day 2

Lets just say it was a rough morning trying to get out the door.    I am not sure when I arrived back at the hotel but I know it was late.  

I didn't realize what time it was until my co-worker texted me asking if I was ready to leave.    I was still in bed.   Needless to say I jumped up, grabbed a quick shower and headed off to my first session.

As an EBS DBA a mandatory session for me is Steven Chan's EBS Technology Roadmap.   It provides a great overview of certifications, where you should be, what you should be planning, etc.

My next session was Tim Gorman's RDBMS Forensics, Troubleshooting with ASH.    I have to say, this was a great session.   I didn't take many notes as it was very interesting and I wanted to understand the context around the slides for when I download the presentation later.

Tim has quite a few scripts he uses in troubleshooting and he has graciously provided them online.   Be sure to bookmark his website: http://www.evdbt.com/tools.htm

I skipped my next presentation in order to line up for the keynote.  I only go to 2-3 keynotes and I like to sit near the front so I can snap off a few photos.    I took advantage of my blogger pass (Thanks Oracle!!) and was granted early access to the hall which allowed me to get a front row seat.

Unfortunately working in a small shop means most of the topics discussed have no relevance to my day job.  However, I do enjoy keeping tabs on Oracle's direction.

My last session was on the Application Management Pack for E-Business suite.   We are in the process of implementing this pack and I was looking to hear about some of the new features.  Unfortunately my sinuses started to act up and I ended up leaving.   Pretty sure the people around me were getting pretty annoyed at my sniffing.

After a quick stop at the Hotel I met up with a co-worker and we headed out to a vendor event at LuLu's restaurant.    Even tho Oracle is a huge conference, its amazing how often you run into people you know.   Earlier in the week we were introduced to some people who actually work less than a few km's from us back in our hometown.

They happened to be there, so we talked shopped for a little while before heading up to Union (opps... Oracle) Square to see Joss Stone.  


If I had known there was already a crowd there,  I would have left earlier.   In the end we still managed to find a decent spot to stand.   The only annoyance was the guy in front of me trying to take pictures and video on his phone.   Every time I tried to snap off a shot his arm/head/phone would get in the way.

For all those trying to take pictures with a cell phone, your wasting your time especially in low light.   The pictures this guy was getting were out of focus, blurry and not exposed correctly. Cell phones do a horrible job of metering in difficult environments such as a concert.

Also, don't zoom! Unless the camera has an optical zoom your better off leaving it as is and cropping it later. Its one thing to grab a pic for Instagram, Twitter or to upload to facebook to make your friends jealous, but taking 200 pictures with it over the course of an hour is an absolute waste of time. Unfortunately most don't realize this until they get home and see the pictures on their monitor. Anyways, thats my rant for today!