Data Conversion

I have just finished up a terrific week in Amsterdam. It was a little cold by Houston standards and a little damp, but the mainframe event I attended, put on by IBM Holland, was terrific. From all of the customers I had the chance to talk with, I was not alone in my opinion of how successful an event this was.

In a few hours I'll be boarding a plane for Las Vegas to attend IOD 2009. I know that a lot of you will not be making it this year. However, I also know that some of you will be attending. If you're there, please look me up. If you are at IOD and would like to talk about data warehousing on the mainframe, definitely let me know where we can meet up... breakfast, lunch, coffee... you name it, I'll

IOD has something they refer to as "Meet the Experts". You can either sign up via the web prior to the conference making sure you get time with the expert you want to chat with or just walk up to the "MTE Area". You will find the "MTE Area" just to your left just as you enter the Expo Hall.

This will be real short... You can still get discounts for Information on Demand (IOD) 2009 in Las Vegas. The special rate for the Mandalay Bay Resort and Convention Center has been extended to the end of the end of month, August 31. Don't put off your decision to attend IOD 2009 much longer. You still have time to get in on both the discounted hotel rate and the discounted conference registration

In just a little more than a week, you'll have the opportunity to listen to what should be an excellent teleconference. So why am I so pumped over this particular IBM no-charge teleconference? Well, for a few reasons.

IOD 2008 was pretty cool. Lots of great technical content, fantastic motivational speakers, and a whole heard of IBM senior managers telling huge crowds about the wonders they were about to behold. And through all that, you know what one of the hottest items going was?

IOD is still going strong. So far, I have really not heard any negative comments worth mentioning. Sessions have seemed pretty full. So, all in all, things are going great.

What more can you ask for from a conference than a fire alarm at break time between two sessions. How they timed it so it didn't interfere with someone's presentation was amazing. It's just one more highlight from IOD 2008 for attendees to talk about; "Where were you when the alarms went off".

You read that correctly. Day two of IOD and for the second time they had jumbo prawns in the Expo area as one of the evening reception snacks. These things were great and the cocktail sauce had the perfect amount of "bite". My only question: how do you tell the difference between prawns and shrimp? I was calling them shrimp until I was corrected.

Willie's "Getting the Most out of DB2 for z/OS and System z" blog. It's Sunday and Information on Demand (IOD) Conference is off and running. I arrived at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas this afternoon, settled into my room, registered for the conference, started planning my week, and then