This week my family and I are in New Orleans for ApacheCon US 08.

I didn't really know what to expect when coming here, other than the stereotypical stuff, the craziness of Bourbon street, good food, street musicians. You know.

I was not prepared for how gracious and warm the people are and how beautiful the city is. Heather, Jakob and I have walked around the French Quarter quite a bit, and sampled various fairs.

First, the food

I have never, without a doubt, had finer food or better service than here in New Orleans.

Most of the restaurants here have 3 servers for each table, one for just your drinks, one for your food orders and one for... well I am not sure what the third one is for, they were just there. At one of the cafe's, the waiter escorted my wife to the bathroom area. Escorted her there.

The restaurants here pride themselves on fresh ingredients and authentic recipes and man, do they deliver. The best vinaigrette I have ever tasted was on a spinach salad here. I am thinking of going back to the restaurant today for lunch and just getting two of those salads.

Second, the architecture

New Orleans has changed hands 3 times in its history, it was first ruled by the Spanish, then the french and finally it was absorbed into the US via the Louisiana Purchase. Because of this fact the city is resplendent with opposing architectural motifs. Walking down St. Charles or Chartre you can pass from one cultural landscape to another as the architecture changes. There is even a building here that was built during the reign of Napoleon.

I am not sure there is another place in the contiguous states that you can find architecture this old.

Third, the music

I love music. Love it, and one of my favorite genres of music is jazz. New Orleans bleeds jazz. From the clubs along Bourbon street, to the street musicians that dot every corner, this is a city that revels in her musical heritage, as well she should. Most nights I just want to sit outside the hotel and drink in the smells of food and sounds of jazz that waft through the air.

I just got done with my presentation, and it was a great experience again. I am passionate about Meritocracy, and it feels so amazing to see people getting it. For those who would like to see my outline slides, go ahead and take a look see. But remember these are just an outline for my talk, not the talk itself.

Well, time for a nap and then more ApacheCon action.

As the good doctor has noted, registration is now open for ApacheCon New Orleans. I will be giving my world famous, better than ice cream, guaranteed to re-grow your hair, Meritocracy talk. You should come and listen. I talk good.

Tonight is my last night in Amsterdam, and I plan on passing it in quiet and reflection.

Mostly due to the fact that I am at the end of the money I budgeted for this trip. This has been one of the more difficult, and most enjoyable trips I have taken. It was difficult because I had to leave my wife and son behind. I have felt their absence very acutely these last few days.

But in many ways it has been one of the best trips I have taken. Amsterdam is a beautiful city full of life, energy and beauty. Walking the streets here one can easily get lost in the hum of the city, the many side streets that bridge wide canals filled with boats, and the smells of a thousand different cuisines. Just don't get too lost and end up in the Red Light district.

But most of all, it was great to be able to spend time with the folks who make Apache so great. I feel privileged to be able to sit and listen to them discuss the future of our industry. Because make no mistake, these people are the ones who made it possible for everything we hold dear on the web. And let me tell you, they aren't going to be sitting on their laurels.

Another highlight for me was the talk I gave this year. I think I have found the topic that I can really own. I am passionate about meritocracy, and the ways it can revolutionize both open source and closed source development. Not to mention that it makes us all better people. Clicking on the cover will take you to an HTML version of the presentation.

When I gave this talk at OLF, one of the audience members asked me if I had this all documented somewhere. They wanted a "manual" that they could download, print out and hand to their employers. I think that after giving the talk again, and again having someone ask this question, I am finally convinced that there is a real need for it.

So yeah, I am going to write a little booklet about meritocracy, the way we use it in Habari, and how it can be applied in businesses to make the world a better place.

Should drive me crazy. We'll see. Oh yeah, and I helped launch a new Apache.org site. Not too shabby for a week in Amsterdam.

I must say that my last day in this fine city has not been my best. I woke up, had an over priced breakfast and then got down to some hacking. Things went fairly well until I needed to go out for some lunch. Walked for an hour trying to find a place that served what I wanted to eat and took plastic. No luck. I am very ready to be at home again with my family.

So, you can see what I was helping work on now. Check out the new Apache Software Foundation website. For contrast, here is the old site.

It's Day 2 of Apachecon, and things are going fairly well I think.

I spent some of yesterday, and all of the morning working on a project with a couple of the big brains here at the conference, and I must say it was fun and gratifying feeling I finally had something of real value to contribute.

I often feel like the mentally challenged cousin that everyone tolerates at these conferences, so to feel useful was a nice change of pace. Today is my day to speak, and as in Stuttgart I have been placed opposite a talk that I would like to attend.

I will be surprised if I have 5 people in my talk. Le Sigh. On a high note, I got out yesterday and did some sketching. You can see the one sketch I like in my Flickr stream.

Today was a good day.

I slept on a decent schedule, and was up at 8:00 am for a delicious, but over priced breakfast. Next was a bit of a nap, and then I moved on to doing some hacking on a side project I am working on with a certain someone, finishing up said work in time for the members/commiters reception (I was a guest of course).

Then it was off into the city with a group of geeky types for some Chinese:

Along the way I saw some killer graffiti:

All in all, a very good day. Tomorrow starts the conference proper, so no more touristy/hackiness for Chris. I speak on Thursday this year, so I am going to attend some talks and polish up my own tomorrow. Or at least that is the plan!

So my first day in Amsterdam in drawing to a close (it is only 8:00pm here, but since I didn't get much sleep today I am planning on retiring early) and I have to say, I am very impressed with this city.

The architecture is a rich mix of classic and modern sensibilities that would be at odds with each other one would think, but in actuality complement each other quite nicely. I am looking forward to seeing more of the city tomorrow.

You can follow along with my flickr stream to see what I see... mostly.