Re: COMMON advice

Everyone is different. I would try to register online and set up your
schedule there. You can really read some details on each session there.
They offer all sorts of ways to look at it.
You can look at it by a certain thread, like administrator, developer,
etc.
You can look at it by speaker
Me? I look at it by timeslots and then fill my day up.

Some might recommend leaving a gap or two to catch your breath. I would
fill every time slot, and if you feel you just have to catch your breath,
blow one off.

I'd also plan on sticking around for the nightly activities. That's a
really good time to network, check out the expo, etc.

Now, some go there and rarely show up and use it as a company sponsored
vacation. Back when everybody and their brother threw a conference my
boss called those "compucruises".

Sometimes I've taken the spouse but often I didn't. I like to immerse
myself into the conference and if I'm not at a session I like to network
with peers. Basically, other than the "free room", what's the reason for
taking the spouse? You still have the expense of the food, travel, etc.
I'd rather spend that money going to somewhere we'd rather both go and on
a real vacation where we actually spend time together.
That's why I like it when conferences are in non destination cities which
are easier to get to, like Indianapolis. Now the tourism bureau may argue
with me about that "non-destination" status...


Rob Berendt