A few people have noticed and a few people have asked me about it, so to clear the air, no, I am not speaking at Flash on the Beach this year. But yes, I will most likely be attending. No bad blood anywhere. In fact I was hanging out with Mr. John Davey extensively last week at Multi-Mania in Belgium, having many a Belgian beer and good laugh.
I’ve spoken at FOTB every year since the beginning. It has become more than just my favorite conference, but a kind of personal mecca. Something about the atmosphere and the people who assemble there and the town and the venue just all adds up for a great experience for me. I would certainly love to speak there every year. But last year, I was talking to John and he was mentioning the need to mix things up a bit, not have the same line up year after year. So I said that if he wanted to bench me, that was fine. And so I have the year off.
I’m still very much looking forward to attending the conference, and probably even more so, knowing that there’s no pressure to speak. I can just relax and soak it all in. I also hope to get up to London for a bit to spend some time with Tink and any members of the LFPUG that are around. Always a good time.
So I’ll say what I say every year, If you haven’t been yet, get your butt to FOTB. If you’ve been before, I expect you there again. Tickets are on sale. You won’t regret it!