[plug] [OT] ish - LCA

[Leon Brooks]

On Tuesday 14 January 2003 01:56 pm, Simon Scott wrote:
> How much can you *learn* in one of these seminars?

As measured in...?

> What proportion of the
> seminars is actually going to be useful to you considering your (compared
> to the massive breadth of topics presented) relatively limited skillset?

You learn stuff that isn't in the precis, you get to ask your own questions in 
person - not buried with seventy others on a list or chat channel, you get 
exposure to peers as well as gurus (AKA `networking'), you may get a dinner, 
you get to learn some of what you need to know to do your own presentation, 
you get to demystify some of those names, both big and small. In some 
presentations, you get to laugh your R's off, too.

Leaning a bit more on that `networking' item, some of your fellow attendees 
will represent paying work for you, or solutions to your problems.

> or is it going to check out some geek celebrities?

That, too. And as I said in another post, the gaming mini-conf includes cheap 
LAN party time. (-:

> No, Im not a recent grad. Not at all :) I understand your point, but with
> such a scattered set of topics, can anyone really derive much value from
> them?

You keep using that word `scattered' instead of the much more appropriate word 
`eclectic'. Perhaps you should get out and about more.

> I like the mini-conf idea tho - as I said Id love to attend some, but the
> loss of income makes it totally unfeasible.

I lose a week's income, modulo the odd bit of moonlighting, which I can 
ill-afford. I'm still going, happy to have the opportunity.

I'm also *organising* one of the mini-confs, which although not onerous is 
hardly a zero-time endeavour. Organising's been fun so far, although the 
fix-bayonets-over-the-top part is still to come. You get to find out a lot of 
things which mere attendees will never know, you get a sense of personal 
achievement, you get something extra for your resume, should you need it.

It's worth pointing out that for any other Linux conference you would lose at 
least another two days in travel time on top of everything else you're 
bemoaning.

>> I'll get the job you want.

> errrm, so by your standard, the speakers will cover practically everything
> in the subject field? No, Ill answer the question because Ive read well on
> the topic and have experience in real-world situations....... I wont parrot
> dim memories of something AC *might* have said in his limited time :)

If your memories of in-person 3D real-life real-time sensurround events are 
that bad, what hope have you of retaining much from a flat, static, 
monochrome book?

Cheers; Leon