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PDX10Schedule

Page history last edited by John Sindelar 13 years, 11 months ago

 

Pause On Error, Portland 2010 Schedule & Room Guide


 

NOTE: we are expecting nearly 80 100 110 people. We cannot all fit in one room. It is GOOD to have overlapping sessions. There are plenty of slots open. If you are considering hosting one, please do. Session creators, please consider offering your session more than once. We'll likely have most of these sessions in one of the three or four suites we've reserved, so you don't *have* to do your session in your own room. Though if you want to, go for it. 

 

Need this on iCal? click here


 

Adding a Session

 

  1. Click Edit at the top of this page.
  2. Start typing in one of the cells below, following the format already here (try not to paste into these cells). Even if you're not sure about presenting something, throw it in as TBD so folks can see what you're thinking about.
  3. Then grab a word or two in your topic and click the URL icon. Select PBWorks Page as the link type and it will make a new page for you. Visit your link to complete creating the page.
  4. Doesn't have to be fancy. Topics can be as informal as showing someone your laptop over a beer or as fancy as the FMPug presentation you've never had the nerve to present. Rooms are TBD until we check in and get room numbers.
  5. Conflicting sessions are a good thing as rooms are VERY  small. Feel free to go long and
  6. If you want to do something outside the schedule or offsite, just write it down. 

 

One of the roles of the Pause Steering Committee is to "curate" the session schedule so that we all get to enjoy the best possible unconference. We'll probably come back here and adjust the timing of things and assign rooms once we get closer to January. We'll do our best to keep you in the loop of any changes.

 

 


Presentation/Logistics Support

 

  1. If there is a blue link indicating Stuff/Help Still Needed, it means we are still looking for help or equipment to present or record.

 

Thursday 

Room 414:

Sindelar's Suite 

Room 404:

EK/Proof Suite

Room 412:

Navarre's Suite

Room 400:
  Howell's Suite

Elsewhere
Logistics Status
Stuff/Help Still Needed
Stuff/Help Still Needed
Stuff/Help Still Needed [not being recorded] [not being recorded]

All Day

8am - 5pm

       

Welcome Room

 

Suite 200 

 

Come to Court Bowman's Suite to check out changes to the schedule, ask questions, or just relax and...

9:00 am- 10:00 am 

Blue Collar Labor: FileMaker Testing and Implementation

 

Open forum to talk about testing and implementation best practices.

 

Host: Gerald Chang, Eight²

Video: http://bit.ly/9DxD46

Data Integrity And Transactions

 

Host: Danny Mack

 

You think that your users' data is reliably being written to the server... and, in the worst case, you can safely revert to backups... this may or may not be true.

Symphony|Database
 Similarities between classical symphonies and databases from the perspectives of design elements, linear and non-linear user experience, movements, layers, and textures...

 

Host: Matt Navarre

Video: http://bit.ly/9sDqOH

Data Modeling

Party model, General vs. Specific models

 

Demonstration and discussion of techniques that...

 

Host:

Dave Graham

Bit Tailor, LLC

 
10:15 am-11:30 

Migration Strategies

Continued discussion and strategies for Development, QA, and Production approach to development.

 

Host: Vincenzo

Video: bit.ly/bosvUN

FileMaker MVC

Applying MVC concepts to modular and large FMP projects for ease of maintenance and extensibility.

 
Host: TBD, Proof

Video: http://bit.ly/c8Vzlx

fmSearchResults Exposed

See the guts of this cool search tool and learn how to adapt it to your solution. What search problems does it solve, and what was the author thinking?

 

Host: Matt Navarre

Video: bit.ly/chBH6H

HTML Reporting

Combine scripting and calculation techniques to display HTML reports in web viewer or browser: covers dynamic design, content and columns.

Host: Lance Hallberg
 
 
Pause For Lunch           
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Project Management: Reality or Snake Oil?

 

Poss continuing in Gerald's room after 2pm

 

Host: Gerald Chang, Eight²

Google Mapping in FileMaker, a Study of Techniques

 

Explore different techniques for bringing Google Mapping into FileMaker solutions. 

 

Host: Micah Woods and Mike Lee

Video: bit.ly/chz7Zx

Value Pricing - Part 1: Not Just for Sole Proprietors

 

At DevCon 2009 I participated in a business panel discussion as an advocate for hourly billing. Since then I researched value-based billing and found it to be superior in...

 

Host: Kirk Bowman, MightyData

Video:http://bit.ly/c8Vzlx

Presentation Layer Separation

 

Do you use the separation model, but still use globals and calc fields to present your dynamic interface? Let's explore how to de-couple the interface from the schema and end up with a more flexible, extensible presentation layer...

 

Host: Caleb Ruth, Data Performance LLC

 

 

 

 
2:15 pm - 3:30 pm 

Parameter Pandamonium

 

This will be an open discussion of different techniques used for passing parameters to scripts and instantiating variables based on those parameters.  Audience participation will be encouraged.

 

Host: Darren Terry, PDM

Elite Reporting Techniques

 

This will be a fast-paced session for intermediate and advanced developers, showcasing a variety of tips, tricks...

 

Host: Kevin Frank

Global Variable Domination 

 

Simply taking a walk through one of my most recent solutions (happens to be Theme Library 4 - no pitch here) and showcase the various ways I use Global variables to make a really trim solution with a lot of advantages.

 

Host: Matt Petrowsky

Video: http://bit.ly/bYBZod

What's Faster? 

 

Comparing the performance of common FileMaker operations.  Discover the methods to give your clients the optimal user experience.

 

Host: Jason Young

 
3:45pm -5pm

Splitting the Work

 

was: Design Decisions. now: the difficulty of managing FileMaker developers, sharing code, and productivity.

 

Host: John Sindelar

Inventory-based manufacturing systems.

 

Unique ID nomenclature.

 

 

Host: Steve Gerow

Video: http://bit.ly/awm1GW

Automated testing for Filemaker?

 

We'll review an approach to scripting that supports automated testing, look at its pros and cons, and...

 

 

Host: Allen Poole

Phone Solutions including Voice Over IP

 

I'll go over the known options for making calls from FileMaker with the use of VOIP.

 

 

 

Host: Agnes Riley

FM on the Windows Platform

Round Table Discussion

Host: Kevin Frank

Location: TBA

Pause for Drinks     
 

Drinks: Clyde Common

 

Cancelled: Instrumental-only, musician-only jam session

Location: Matt Navarre's house

Chocolate Tasting Festival: with Jimmy Jones [Howell's Suite]

7:00 p.m.

           

 

 

Friday 

Room 414:

Sindelar's Suite 

Room 404:

EK / Proof's suite 

Room 412:

Navarre's Suite

Room 400:

Howell's Suite

Elsewhere

All Day

8am - 5pm

 

 

   

 
 

 

Welcome Room

 

Come to Court Bowman's Suite to check out changes to the schedule, ask questions, or just relax and...

9:00 am- 10:00 am 

 

Typed Dictionnary

 

A demonstration and discussion of the dcTypedDictionnary functions that were briefly talked about during the Parameter Pandamonium session. Typed is the key word here, as in data typed…

 

Host: David Lalonde

Lessons learned in building products

 

I will share and discuss the 11 lessons we have learned in building products, and how they differ from custom software, as well as how they have shaped our newest product focusing on data synchronization.

 

Host: Court Bowman

Gettin' Groovy with ScriptMaster

 

FileMaker is a cool tool - no doubt. However, you can only go so far with FMP. When you really need to exercise some power, the world of Java/Groovy opens up far more than you could ever imagine...

 

Host: Matt Petrowsky

Tagging vs. Linnaeus

 

Using a real-world example of a particularly challenging categorization task, we'll look at data-layer...

 

Host: Allen Poole

 

 

10:15 am-11:30 

Data Modeling Workshop

 

Let's get together to review some in-depth demos that we didn't have time to cover in yesterday's session. Advanced CRM topics, etc...

 

Host

Dave Graham

Bit Tailor, LLC.

Bootcamp Diaries

Experiences in teaching FileMaker centric software practices, development standards, conventions, training developers for collaboration. Wins and losses, building community.

 

Host: Jonn Howell / Laramie Ericson

FileMaker Wish List 

 

Creative people always want FileMaker to do MORE! But we're not very patient so when we need to extend the power of FileMaker we make our plugins...

 

Host: Jesse Barnum & Sam Barnum 

Video: http://bit.ly/cIRe0X

Data Visualization

Charting & Dashboards!

Sure, graphs & gauges are cool, but...

 

Cohosts:

Lee Lukehart, SavvyData

Chuck Melton, Anvil Dataworks

Localization

 

At times, we need to take localization issues into consideration during development. Let's discuss techniques we use to deal with these issues, and how we think FileMaker Pro could deal with them...

 

Host: David Lalonde

Location: 202 or 200 

Lunch           
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Plenty of Pie!

Finding lots of work in good times (& bad)

 

Host: David Knight

 

Applescript Bold and Fearless

Applescript can add powerful features to Filemaker. We will explore and demonstrate a wide range of methods, some simple, some...

 

Host: Bruce Robertson

Fun with FM Search Results 

I am going to show a few ways that I have Use FMSR to do things like search for duplicates while a record is being made as well as using it for value lists and the like.

 

 

Host: Oreste Schiavone 

 

Deploy Your Soluiton

 

In this session we'll go over different ways to get your solutions out there. From Citrix, Terminal Services, Hosting providers, using installers... 

 

Host: Angelo Luchi, The Drooling Dog

 
2:15 pm - 3:30 pm

FileMaker: Design Patterns Work Group

 

Design patterns have prooven to be a powerful idea for both interface and code design (Model View Controller is one example of such a pattern. See the FileMaker MVC session above for more info.) ...

 

Host: Don Levan

 

 

FileMaker Interface: Extreme Makeover Edition

 

Guess what?  You don't have to have a degree in Graphic Design to create beautiful, intuitive interfaces for your clients.  

 

Host:  Deborah Norton,

          Fiddlehead Software

FileMaker Talk: live podcast recording 

 

Most conventions have a live podcast recording somewhere in the mix. This is ours. The panel discussion will mainly be geeky FileMaker issues, taking live questions from the studio audience.

 

Hosts: Matt Navarre and Matt Petrowsky

Error Capture Techniques and Modular Scripts

 

A new technique in error capture, use less screen space while expanding functionality of your error capture. Also, a meaty modular script explained. Walk away with code you can use again and again.

 

Host: Lauren Kuhlman

 
3:45pm -5pm

Introduction to Mac & iPhone Programming for FileMaker Developers

 

FileMaker development prepares one quite nicely for doing iPhone & Mac app development...

 

Host: Don Levan

Value Based Billing: Part 2 The Project: How to determine what your client _really_ wants.

 

Host: Colleen Hammersley

Video: http://bit.ly/bcw3Sd

Tips & Tricks

Yes we'll throw in the obligatory killer keyboard shortcuts, but we'll also look at useful third-party tools, interesting services, and cool FileMaker techniques.

 

Host: Tom Fitch

FileMaker Community 

Let's talk about user groups and how to best facilitate them, what the community needs and the wealth of...

 

Host: Audrey Akhavan

XM Charts for fun and profit 

Informal session

Host: Kevin Frank

Location: TBA

5pm... 

Wrap Party 

 

Wrap Party  Wrap Party  Wrap Party Pause for Drinks: Clyde Common
           

 

Comments (Show all 44)

John Sindelar said

at 7:02 pm on Jan 27, 2010

Little lost and found item: Darren Terry seems to have misplaced a MicroDv adapter. Anyone pick that up?

David Lalonde said

at 3:38 am on Jan 22, 2010

I moved the localization session to 10:15 from 09:00. The 09:00 slot now has a new session in its place: Typed Dictionnary.

Dave Graham said

at 7:43 pm on Jan 21, 2010

I added a data modeling workshop for Friday at 10:15 AM to cover the CRM-related items that we didn't have time for in our first session on Thursday.

Ernest Y. Koe said

at 6:58 pm on Jan 21, 2010

photowalk - 5:01 pm, today; I am planning on heading towards some bridge :)

Bob Patin said

at 1:54 am on Jan 21, 2010

Talking about comedians: virtually ALL comics work out their acts over weeks and months. It may 'look' spontaneous, but I assure you, it's not. I've worked in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe with comics as opening acts, and when you hear it night after night, you quickly realize that it's not as spontaneous as you're led to believe.

Robin Williams, before doing his HBO special, went on the road for a few months doing his act, so that when the time came to do the HBO taping, he'd honed his show to contain only the bits that had gotten the best and most consistent laughs.

So what does this have to do with POE? Not a thing! :)

But I'll add my 2 bits and say that lack of structure is what makes this work; the ad hoc discussions, many of which have already occurred, are what gives this enough value to make me want to fly thousands of miles across the country, seated next to a guy who made *me* look thin (which is a feat in itself).

It's been 7 hours since I got here, and already I'm having a great time; this is a great concept...

MOLLY CONNOLLY said

at 4:40 pm on Jan 19, 2010

How to Present at Pause (my take)

I see a lot of comments that appear to be conflicting information (not canned/no powerpoint/pre-plan/prepare/discussion etc.) What does that mean? How do I prepare for a discussion? How to I convey complex information to a varied audience AND make it interactive AND appealing for a video audience as well? Confusing!

Well--here's how I view it. The ultimate goal of each Pause session is to elicit a conversation. How you do that is up to you. It's not about how you present the information it's about the quality of the information you convey. Not everyone is great at memorizing their speech/information/determine how to come up with on the spot discussion points. So, if you find it helpful to outline your theories ideas and findings in PowerPoint or a white board--well then that's what you're going to do.

In some cases, a lecture (let's not make it 50 minutes) may be useful. Give us your brain dump on what you found and make sure to punctuate that lecture with what you're interested in, what solutions you are seeking, and how you are using the information you've found.

The beauty of being a FileMaker developer is there are a million ways to develop a useful system. We can all yammer on and on about which way is best/faster/coolest but at the end of the day it comes down to personal preference. Pause isn't about telling you how to present what you want to present. The agenda is about collaboration and inclusiveness. Put the information out there as best you can and expect your audience to be engaged, thoughtful and willing to participate.

It's going to be a fantastic time and I would loath for anyone to feel intimidated about exactly how they should present and instead focus our energy and showing up, putting it out there, and being open to new ideas.

Chuck Melton said

at 12:49 am on Jan 19, 2010

I have scored a Sony HDR-SR11 Camera, tripod, and wireless mic for the fourth suite. I do not have extra memory cards for it, but it has a 60gb hard drive.

John Sindelar said

at 8:09 pm on Jan 18, 2010

John Sindelar said

at 7:32 pm on Jan 18, 2010

In the spirit of "crazy new ideas, amazing 'secret' projects, and wickedly cool works-in-progress" (from http://pauseonerror.pbworks.com/Attendees'-Field-Guide) you might take a look at this...

http://pauseonerror.pbworks.com/Synchronization

...and this:

http://pauseonerror.pbworks.com/SeedCode-iCal-Link


Howard Schlossberg said

at 5:35 pm on Jan 18, 2010

I don't think the overall size of the event necessarily has to effect the feel of the event, as long as individual group sizes are limited (by having enough different meetings going on at once in enough different rooms).

What I DO think tends to change the feel of the event is how much of each session/meeting is pre-planned. What I am hoping to find in Portland is what I saw in the videos from NYC: a lot of roundtable discussions where everyone can participate. There needs to be someone to come up with a particular topic and to get it on the schedule, and perhaps they kick off the discussion with a 10-15 minute demonstration of their own ideas on the topic and with a rough outline of subtopics in case the group's discussion slows down. But I feel like the bulk of the time should be spent in group discussion (moderated by the topic organizer so it doesn't get too far out of hand) where everyone is able to participate with their own questions and/or answers.

Back to what Ernest said: It is more about "sharing" and less about"speaking"; more about "showing" and less about "telling." It is all about taking advantage of the collective depth and breadth of FileMaker experience in a really personal way.

Tony White said

at 3:21 pm on Jan 18, 2010

Adding to my 12:56 pm comment ... It would of course be possible to integrate video of the presenter and the audience using Final Cut. That said, I am guessing that what is on the screen is the primary video track and capturing the screen directly has many advantages, including simplicity.

Colleen Hammersley said

at 2:07 pm on Jan 18, 2010

I'm happy to see a discussion of future expectations regarding PoE ... Court mentioned specific aspects that would enhance or curtail his participation in future events. I believe that's most valuable.

Are there other specific elements that others feel must, or must not, be included in order to entice your future participation?

I like Matt's child rearing comparison... but as a parent I don't make formative decisions without consulting my 'team'. I may feel a drum set falls into our 'musical education' experience whereas my partner may not ;-)

BTW Bruce, some of the best 'spontaneous' stand-up comedians are those who've spent hours & hours preparing ;-)

Bruce Robertson said

at 12:56 pm on Jan 18, 2010

Rigidity of format; constraints. What was that Shakespeare guy thinking with all those 14 line thingies anyway? What did that accomplish?
I just can't figure out what degree of randomness and lack of preparation feels authentic enough for you and whether it benefits anybody else.
I've spent weeks trying to figure out how to share effectively on my topic and now I think maybe I should just stay home.

Tony White said

at 12:56 pm on Jan 18, 2010

Video would not be that useful. Screencasting the video and the audio using something like screenflow would be great.

Matt Petrowsky said

at 12:33 pm on Jan 18, 2010

66Just some impressions from reading the comments...

Nothing precludes anyone from "splitting" off and grabbing a few guys/gals and talking in some lounge chairs, meeting at the bar, or even in your room - this seems to facilitate the spontaneity feeling. Of course, it'll happen at any gathering of people.

The structure "required" or "desired" (you pick the word) is predicated on the very premise that if I (the attendee) am not the responsible party for the when, where an how, then I need direction - just tell me what to do - then I can decide what to do with that direction.

Everything that tends to draw people in has an organic nature to just grow - especially if it's good. Having seen what has happened in the world of Drupal, there are the "old guard" and the longing to capture the "old days" this feeling will happen with POE#3 in relation to POE#2. Unfortunately, this is part of growing pains. To this day, I don't know of a single baby, which has stayed a baby. It's more likely about being a good parent, facilitating healthy growth, and a bit of hoping the kid turns out ok.

By the way, I don't have any slides for my "sessions", in fact, I'll just be getting my ducks in a row today so I can just show my solutions competently. ;) <winking>Hopefully, that seems UNprepared enough</winking>

Court Bowman said

at 9:54 am on Jan 18, 2010

I first want to echo what Ernst said, I too am glad this sort of discussion is occurring, and transparently. If not we'd end up with the conference we drift into, not the one we seek.

Bruce, I'm sorry to say, I have no idea what you are getting at with your last comments. Your first one with the custom functions and the people seems like one of those story problems I always needed to make a diagram to figure out. I think the number of people is irrelevant, only the format. For me, the more rigid the format, the less likely it is that there will be the sort of experience I enjoy.

And if I didn't understand the story problem comment, I really didn't understand the married / freedom comment... I've only been married 19 years tho' if it helps <shrug>

Ernest Y. Koe said

at 2:20 am on Jan 18, 2010

[see my previous comment first]

I do want to highlight something Court point out. PauseOnError is an UNconference. We should take the opportunity to do things we don't get to do at regular conferences. I would encourage us to think of the Pause experience this way: It is more about "sharing" and less about"speaking"; more about "showing" and less about "telling." It is all about taking advantage of the collective depth and breadth of FileMaker experience in a really personal way.

This ain't DevCon.

Now, I really do need to pack for this flight out tomorrow. See you all in a few days.

Ernest Y. Koe said

at 2:07 am on Jan 18, 2010

Hi Court,
Really appreciate the comments and love the fact that this sort of discussion is transparent. So, let me weigh in here and offer a couple of thoughts. I see this as a continuation of the original experiment. PoE#1 in NYC was extremely cool and it is one experience, but I don't have perfect sense of what THE PoE experience _should_ be. So, this is the second iteration in which we are explicitly testing what a little more structure and organization will bring us. When I say "little" I really mean it. I think people will be shocked by how little actual central organization there actually is. A big reason we look more 'professional' and less 'ad-hoc' for better of for worse is that we have a significant bigger corps of excited contributors and volunteers. That irony isn't lost on me.

I do hear what you are saying. We've doubled in size (maybe tripled) and it may feel a little less "intimate" for those who made it to PoE01. It will be interesting to see if it plays out that way.

I have said before that this thing we have is "fragile". The fundamental tension for me is that of making this a singularly unique and rewarding experience for seasoned developers (cool people/interesting ideas) and making it accessible to a new generation of FileMaker developers (practically free).

I think I am prepared to accept that the two goals are not compatible, but I am hopeful that we might just defy the conventional wisdom on this.

See you at Pause!

Cheers!

Bruce Robertson said

at 12:17 am on Jan 18, 2010

I'm curious about how long you've both been married; you have such romanticized views of freedom.

Bruce Robertson said

at 11:45 pm on Jan 17, 2010

And if I have 10 custom functions; and 2 people get a chance to understand them - is it bad yet? Or is it bad if 6 people understand them? Or 12 people understand them?

John Sindelar said

at 11:20 pm on Jan 17, 2010

i.e. I'll likely go elsewhere.

John Sindelar said

at 11:16 pm on Jan 17, 2010

"For myself when I start packing the DevCon booth gear" .... come on, that's just not fair, I love my Pelican cases. (You know you want one.) Ditto on the lecture thing.

Court Bowman said

at 10:43 pm on Jan 17, 2010

Bruce,

Interesting comments. I don't think I would call it structure vs. freedom, and I'm not sure how that would relate to your analogy to the database designer in all of us or where the spreadsheet reference is headed. However, I see why you could infer that from what I said.

For me it is more about formal vs. ad hoc. I feel there are great venues for the formal presentation, for the heavily prepared lecture. DevCon, and to a lesser, but far more frequent and accessible extent, the PUG community already fills that niche quite well. What I want from POE is the great conversations I hope we've all had in the bar after the sessions and product showcase closes at DvCon. Those conversations where someone cracks open their laptop and shows you the 10 minute demo of the great custom function they wrote for managing parameters passed into scripts, the the clever window management routine they wrote to handle window naming.

In my case, if I go to a session and it is pure lecture, I'll likely leave. No offense to the presenter, and without regard for their expertise in whatever the topic at hand may be. It's just not the format I'm looking for here. For myself when I start packing the DevCon booth gear, or someone starts mandating speaker presentation proposals or sample files, I'll likely sigh, and long for the gentler times of the first POE in Manhattan. Maybe that makes me one of your cute anarchists, I don't know.

What will be truly interesting is to see if both you and I can get what we seek from the same event. I hope so, and I wish us both luck.

Bruce Robertson said

at 10:14 pm on Jan 17, 2010

Some comments from my unpublished manuscript on the original event:

Somewhat of a cute-anarchist philosophy espoused. No web page, no t
shirts, if you can't figure out how to find the events you don't
belong here. Savory irony of database developer meetup recoiling in
sheer terror at the thought of structure.

Video of events - cool but useless, though you have to start somewhere
and now we have a starting point. If you were there it can serve as a
memory trigger. Would be very curious to see comments from the 200
people who supposedly watched the streamed event. Besides "looks cool,
wish I was there" did anybody watching learn anything? More video
coming, quite possibley LOTS from Shin, very talented young woman
that came all the way from Japan. Remains to be seen whether any
edited video from any party becomes actually useable.

Bruce Robertson said

at 10:00 pm on Jan 17, 2010

Structure vs freedom. A never ending discussion. Why not just use spreadsheet for everything? I have also been talking to John, and my perspective is apparently nearly the opposite of Courts. There is going to be a lot of valuable information, and too much to see at one time. Are there reasonable things we can do for each other to effectively share this information? Is it such a problem that we will not only provide benefits to each other, but also - gasp - possibly the broader FileMaker community?

I believe the video sessions will be of some use but some other things will also be important.

In general I would like us to think about whether we can do a better job of solving the "you can't be everywhere at once" problem.

Video, IMHO, is not the most useful solution to this problem. We should be emphasizing other things; and perhaps asking questions before hand about note taking, followup forum for each subject, example file expectations, etc.
I don't see much if any real impediment to spontaneity resulting from actively planning to be thoughtful and useful to ourselves and others.

Court Bowman said

at 8:19 pm on Jan 17, 2010

(in two parts due to posting limits...)

I think that is the right mood, and in that frame of mind, I'm not sure you would have made the .pdf. Is it helpful, sure, but where is the line between helpful and "official" not sure. Same thing with recording sessions so passionately. Unfortunately, offering services like that makes the process more useful to those who both do and don't go, but for this conference, what I think makes it unique is the complete lack f formality, which os in many ways, the other end of that spectrum.

Now I know that this is not in any way my conference, but I am just saying what I like about it. With enough momentum it will start to compete with DevCon, and when it does, in some ways it will have already lost. I remember when we first talked about it, you said something along the lines of, what would happen if a dozen or two of us happened to be in the same city at the same time? Well lets just plan to be in advance, take a day or two, and talk about FileMaker.

I guess what I feel I may be missing is the spontaneity. I feel in some ways the more you do, or anyone planning, the better it will run, and the more likely we are to miss what made the first one so great. I realize this creates a dichotomy, but if organizing a rocking cool, and successful event like this were easy, FileMaker would do it. ;)

Court Bowman said

at 8:18 pm on Jan 17, 2010

All,

John and I were talking and I gave him some of my thoughts on the direction this POE is taking, and how I liked the very edgy feel it had last time, I sent him an email he thought I should share with you all, so here it is reposted for you to digest and comment on if you wish.

What I didn't like was the increasing formality of the presenting experience. Last time it was, hey, talk, or host a talk about what interests you. The feeling from the guy diving in was, do it in the bar, do it in your room, whatever. The schedule has these three rooms, but do what you want.

This time it feels more 'official" not sure I can put my finger on what is making it feel that way, but let me try. One example is the pdf. not the layout or the efficiency of it, both are well done, but the very fact it exists. Last time someone asked, what about a message and the conversation went something like this.

You said well, that is what twitter is for, everyone here has a phone and knows how to get to that info. Someone said, well, not everyone has twitter, or even wants to install it, and you said, then they are at the wrong conference.....

Bob Patin said

at 10:37 pm on Jan 16, 2010

Way to go Molly! I'm an adoptive parent too--it's the most wonderful thing. My son's 13 now; we adopted him from Vietnam almost 13 years ago--March 9, 1997.

Pictures?

John Sindelar said

at 2:38 pm on Jan 13, 2010

twitter = central message board. I imagine you could also leave notes in the Welcome Room if you feel the need to unplug.

Donovan Chandler said

at 2:29 pm on Jan 13, 2010

Do we have anything planned for a central message board? I'd expect that to be the easiest way to coordinate with people. Maybe a whiteboard or cork-board by the bar/common area?

Court Bowman said

at 1:35 pm on Jan 12, 2010

Molly,

Congratulations, sorry you won't be there, but our thoughts will be with you and your lack of sleep. ;)

Don Levan said

at 12:50 pm on Jan 12, 2010

Congratulations Molly! We are very excited for you.

Martha Zink said

at 11:34 am on Jan 12, 2010

Molly - Congratulations! Keep on staring and take more pictures for us :)

Martha Zink said

at 11:32 am on Jan 12, 2010

I would definitely be interested in a Photowalk!

- Martha

John Sindelar said

at 11:31 am on Jan 12, 2010

We're all so happy for you Molly!! And thanks for all your help!!

MOLLY CONNOLLY said

at 11:20 am on Jan 12, 2010

Hey Pause--I'm so sorry I won't be able to be there but it is for the best reason! We just adopted a baby boy and I am busy staring at him (since of course I never get any sleep). Can't wait to hear about all the excited and fun at Pause.

Bob Patin said

at 7:49 pm on Jan 10, 2010

This is a great schedule; I had a couple of session ideas, but to my pleasant surprise they're already there. Looking forward to taking part in this group.

Ernest Y. Koe said

at 9:23 pm on Jan 5, 2010

This is one killer schedule, folks. PauseOnError is heating up. Thank you all for your thoughtful contributions here. See you in Portland soon.

Ernest Y. Koe said

at 9:21 pm on Jan 5, 2010

Sweet. I hope the weather will cooperate...if anyone has ideas for a route, please let me know. I was hoping to hit one of the bridges either in the morning or during sunset. Bob, yep, I'll have my Nikon with me. Maybe Agi will come out with us.

Audrey Akhavan said

at 6:18 pm on Jan 2, 2010

I got a sweet new camera for Christmas; I'd love to go on a Portland photowalk, Mr. Ernest!

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