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It's about what you'd expect. A group of people from all over the country - well the world, actually - are converging on South Lake Tahoe for a couple days of Geek Fest. What do they want to do? Watch the presidential debates and have WiFi so they can blog about it while it happens. Heheh... Freakin' hard-core blodgers...

I might even join in on the debate action, except that I actually try to stay away from political positions on this site. I lean a little to the right (politically, now stop that), but mostly hang in the middle somewhere. I know who I like for this election (and am glad I feel that I have someone/thing to vote for, rather than having to vote against someone).

On a personal note, I had the opportunity to meet someone here whom I have always held in high regard, ever since we first conversed on the Internet back in 1996. [Sidenote: In our big-small world, it seems people tend to judge others without having actually met them. That has always bothered me, it's a mistake to do that. Forgive the analogy, but fact is you can't tell a book by its cover, and you can tell even less about a book from a picture of it's cover on Amazon. Believing its possible to know someone on the Internet the same way you would know them if you met them face-to-face is short-sighted and plain wrong.] So, while I have always suspected as much, I have now had the opportunity to confirm that Chris is a good and likeable guy, and a hard worker. And Ponzi is very cool, too. Oh and BTW Chris, it was PowWow by Tribal Voice - anyone remember that one??

There are others I am looking forward to meeting, as well - people with whom I have had professional or blogging contact frequently, but whose analog voices I have never heard and whose non-virtual hands I have never had the opportunity to shake. Thats the best part of this event for me - making the virtual relationships real.

By the way... The BlueGo Networks via Proto Networks WiFi hot-spots here suck. If I have to pay through the nose for WiFi, it sure as hell better work, and this service is worse than bad. Argh. It worked last night for the most part, and today it connects for 5 seconds and then drops out, then comes back for a minute or two, then drops. What a freakin' tease! Highly non-recommended.

I picked up a pair of SoundShield headphones from the Brookstone store in the PDX airport on my way out of town today, after a friend of mine showed me his and recommended (strongly) that I get some of my own. I was telling him how flying on jets causes me to get all tense and stressed by the time the flight is over, and he said it was the loud background noise, and that these headphones would make a world of difference.

He couldn't have been any more correct.

Not only do the headphones cancel out nearly all the background noise on the airplane, they also plug into my MP3 player or laptop (or the aircraft audio jack or whatever), and the sound reproduction is very good. The noise cancellation idea is amazing - I found myself asleep and arriving in Reno relaxed and without the muscle tension that normally ruins the plane flight for me.

Recommended - highly - for travelers.

Arrived in South Lake Tahoe this afternoon, and have already started meeting a lot of cool people, some of whom I have interacted with in the past, and a few new acquaintances as well.

Who I met today:

• Tom Novak (http://tonova.typepad.com/) from Atlanta
• Michael OConnor (http://www.ocomik.net/blog/index.html) from Oswego, Illinois
• Dave Belfer-Shevett (http://www.stonekeep.com) from Boston
• and Chris Pirillo (http://chris.pirillo.com) in person, finally

A bunch of great people. We talked geek stuff, politics, constitutional law, you name it (your typical tech conference fodder of course). I helped stuff bags for the attendees. Putting on a conference like this is a ton of work, something very few people actually understand, especially when you're a small company or organization running a show labor-of-love style. And that's what this is - there's no huge up-sell to come out of this, it's all about getting together, geeking out and learning from each other.

Quality is what this is all about, and the more I speak to people about it, the more excited I am to be here. I'd choose a conference like this, with a killer crew of really smart and talented people, over a thousand-attendee marketing fest any day, month or year.

USGS officials are holding a news conference right now, and have just announced an explosive event on Mt St Helens is possible, and the alert level has just been raised by the USGS for the mountain. The lava dome in the crater has apparently moved a measurable amount, and seismic activity has taken a noticible upturn.

They are now seeing quakes at the rate of 4 a minute. They are larger quakes, 2 to 2.5 in magnitude. Describing the seismic activity, they say it is definitely ramping up and plateauing in phases, not falling back down. Explosion and ash are the risks. This behavior is similar to what was observed on the mountain in 1986: Big increases in seismic energy over past 8 hours.

I'm at the airport flying out to Reno at 12:45, mobile posting from my handheld device. I hope it keeps its top on.

Update: USGS Advisories and information about the mountain activity available here.

Dexter-Southfield Schools via NB

SpaceShipOne, piloted by Michael Melvill, just completed the first of a series of two flights into space with an equivalent load of three people. One more flight within the next two weeks (sounds like they will try for Monday next week) would net them the coveted X-Prize.

The goal behind the contest is to build a private, reusable space transport technology that can be licensed and used in business. The design for SpaceShipOne is pretty darn cool - it's wings fold back about 45 degrees to act as brakes for re-entry. Already people are signing up and buying tickets to fly into space, and one Las Vegas businessman is looking for someone who can build an orbital "hotel destination" for four.

More and more amazing, every day. Wow.

The other day I mentioned about how I heard a rather popular blogger from Seattle on the radio, and essentially had a "wow what a 'big small world' this is" moment. The Internet has done that - effectively shrunk the world as we know it, while maintaining its true non-virtual size and mass.

Yesterday a co-worker, Steve, saw me in the elevator along with another co-worker, Scott. He said that he had just been communicating with someone he knows who lives in Alaska, and was talking about something interesting, when the friend asked him if the Corillian he works at is the same Corillian that employs the guy who tore apart his MP3 player for the hard drive inside. Steve was surprised and had a good story to tell. I bet that kind of thing almost never happened 40 years ago. Again, it's "big small world" we live in.

Today I'm leaving on a trip that will help turn the tables again and make my world just a little smaller again. Let's call it the "small big world" trip (it's subtle, take you time, heh). I'll be meeting people I've never had a chance to speak to face to face, and I am looking forward to it. There are people for whom I have great respect but have never met in person. I see this as a great opportunity.

If you think about how much technology (specifically electronics and the Internet and everything you can do with them) has changed the world in the past 10 years, it's pretty darn incredible. It makes me wonder what the next really big thing will be. I guess we'll just have to hang on and see.

I've neglected myself three times over the past few years by not attending Gnomedex - which was both my mistake and my loss. This year I am going, and it's looking to me like this may be one of the best conferences I've ever attended from the total-geek-fest standpoint. I'm flying to Reno tomorrow and making the quick drive over to Lake Tahoe, where the conference is being held at Harrah's.

Probably the thing that I am most looking forward to is meeting people that I have conversed with on the Internet (mostly through the blogosphere, as they say) face-to-face. There are a number of people for whom I have great professional respect that will be in attendance, and that alone will make this more than worth the while.

Chris Pirillo's Lockergnome is the power being this conference. I am sure it will be fun, interesting and memorable.

Below is some info ripped from the Gnomedex FAQ, and yes, I will blog from the conference when something stands out to me.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go do some laundry so I can pack clean clothes.

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Q: Will there be Internet access?

A: Is the sun a mass of incandescent gas?

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Q: Who's Gnomedex 4: Geeks Gone Wild! for?

A: Technology enthusiasts, professionals, and folks who just love hanging out with geeks. In past years, we've had fantastic presentations, vendors, and sponsors - and expect this year to be no different in that respect.

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Q: Is this conference family-friendly?

A: It's recommended that anybody below the age of 18 go to Disneyland instead.

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Q: Can I bring a friend?

A: Only if s/he likes to have fun, too.

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Q: Why is yours better than other conventions?

A: Because it is.

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Q: Do people really read FAQs?

A: No.

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Q: How many people do you expect to be there this year?

A: Including you? A lot. Close to 1,000, according to our estimates.

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Q: Where's Gnomedex 4: Geeks Gone Wild! being held?

A: Harrah's.

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Q: Is this a place for me to make business contacts?

A: Yes, and to make them life-long friends as well.

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Q: Can I blog this event?

A: If you don't, the gods will be angered and virgins will (most likely) be sacrificed.

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Q: What is a blog?

A: Nobody really seems to know.

Great software announcements today... Nick Bradbury has announced that FeedDemon 1.5 Beta 1 is available.

Why is this a big deal? There's a great new addition to the mix:

“Starting with version 1.5, FeedDemon users can create a Bloglines Channel Group from their Bloglines subscriptions. When viewing a Bloglines Channel Group, items you read in Bloglines won't show up in FeedDemon, and items you download in FeedDemon won't show up as unread in Bloglines. It's very easy to synchronize with your Bloglines subscriptions so that FeedDemon reflects feeds you add or remove from Bloglines.”

Looks like I may need to go back and try BlogLines again. This is what was missing for me - synchronized integration with my feed reader.

And just in time - Blackberry has announced (but not released) BES 4.0, which will (finally) get some much-needed changes in place!

For example (my filtered feature list of what really stood out):

• COMPLETE WIRELESS SYNCHRONIZATION - Yes!!!
• View pictures on the device
• Better graphical browser with Javascript and some CSS support
• More wireless calendar features (accept tentative, add comments, notification of conflicts)
• Global search (email, contacts, calendar, tasks, across the whole thing)
• Wireless management of Out of Office message, email filters, signatures, etc.
• Lots of back-end wireless security and management improvements

More detailed info is on the Blackberry web site - click the links below.

The latest release of the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution will feature:

• Simplified Device Deployment for IT
• Improved Wireless Security
• Simplified Management and Tracking
• Improved Corporate Data Access
• Completely Wireless User Experience
• Application Enhancements
• General Improvements

Nice, nice nice! Time to go renew that TSupport subscription that's about to come due...

Blackberry customers running a BES can sign up for possible inclusion in a BES 4.0 preview if interested. Done.

A good introduction to using RSS on the Internet is available in both quick-video-tutorial format as well as a more detailed, yet easy-to-absorb text format at c|net.

If you are not familiar with RSS, and you work in the high-tech industry, I do hereby declare you to be old skool, out of touch, and truly negligent in your professional career path - and it won't be long before you're declared incompetent, so watch out. I mean, can you imagine what you would think of someone who did not know what email is? Trust me, it's a lot like that. I know there's a lot to learn, but don't get caught behind the eight-ball, people...

When you need a RSS feed to subscribe to, so you can learn without hurting yourself, just start with this one:

There - now if that doesn't motivate you, nothing will. Now go learn something fast!

By the way, a couple of interesting (to me, at least) things:

• NewsGator (if you're an everything-in-Outlook fan) and FeedDemon (my own personal choice in RSS readers) are both featured in the video (and the product reviews). Either one sells for about $29, and is money well-spent.
• Misplaced noun of the year: I wish the freakin' emphasis on "news" when talking about RSS would just go away - It's not a news reader people, it's a feed reader. News is just one type of content you can get in an RSS feed format.

(shamelessly plucked from Scoble and others)

Addy Santo has updated BlogWave and released the first beta version. He released a pre-beta version back in July, and has since updated the software.

Say hello to BlogWave Beta 1 - Download and what's new info is available here.

What is it? what does it do? Answers to your questions ripped straight from Addy's web site:

Q. What is BlogWave?
A. BlogWave is an "RSS Generator": a tool which can pull information from a variety of sources and publish it as RSS.  This process is very easy to configure and can be scheduled to run automatically.  For example, using BlogWave you can create an RSS feed from Sharepoint announcements on your company's internal site.  Or you can publish event logs as RSS.  Or even merge multiple sources into one feed (aggregation) and/or publish a feed to multiple destinations (cross posting).

Q. What content sources does BlogWave support?
A. BlogWave currently supports the following sources
   • RSS Feeds
   • Google Searches (new)
   • Event Logs
   • WSS Lists and Document Libraries
   • SPS Searches
   • NNTP newsgroups
   • Custom sources can be added through a pluggable architecture and a simple .Net programming interface.

Q. Which destinations can BlogWave post to?
A. BlogWave supports the following destinations:
   • .Text based blogs 
   • FTP sites
   • Local or Network URNs
   • Any WebDAV compliant website (such as Sharepoint or WSS)
   • Custom destinations can be added through a pluggable architecture and a simple .Net programming interface.

Ahhhh, now here's some cool news. FlexWiki is being released to shared source. From David Orenstein's blog:

FlexWiki posted to SourceForge.net

This evening FlexWiki took the next step in its life and has been made available at SourceForge.net under the Common Public License. With this step, the developer community will have the latest source (including all the WikiTalk features), better access, better tools, and a better legal environment.  The FlexWiki developer community has kinda stalled out a bit over the past few months as I've worked to get FlexWiki to this point.  Now we can really get going again!

FlexWiki is based on WikiWiki, and has a lot of nifty features.

Not to spark a war of words or anything, but for those who are interested in the "Windows will or will not scale" debate, here is some info definitely worth talking about.

I work at a company called Corillian Corporation (as the corporate IT team's manager). Microsoft just released a case study they did with Corillian, and it's worth taking note of. Scott Hanselman, our Chief Architect, posted these facts and figures on his blog earlier today, which illustrate the numbers quite well. They are, frankly, pretty darn amazing numbers:

• Currently, more than 19 million end users—or about 25 percent of U.S. online banking customers—use Corillian technology when they use their institution's online services for transactions such as checking balances, paying bills, and transferring funds between accounts. (Not bad for a Microsoft-based platform, eh? .NET works.)
• Voyager 3.1 was able to support 70,000 concurrent users across multiple lines of business.
• Voyager 3.1 was able to support a sustained throughput rate of more than 1,268 transactions per second — about 4.5 million successful transactions per hour—and a sustained session creation rate of more than 208 new sessions per second.
• Voyager 3.1 supported more than 129,000 concurrent sessions across the system at peak load. This includes both active sessions, in which a user is executing transactions, and inactive sessions.
• Voyager 3.1 supported a ramp-up from 0 to 70,000 users in only 15 minutes—without any adverse impact on performance—demonstrating that Voyager can sustain a large burst of users accessing information in a short time period without overwhelming the system.
• Voyager 3.1 surpassed its previous benchmark of 30,000 concurrent users by 133 percent, with only a 32-percent increase in overall hardware cost.

Another interesting note comes from some questions I asked of a Corillian employee involved in the testing. He told me that the bottleneck that stopped the test from going into higher numbers was not Windows, nor was it Voyager (our online banking application); It was the hardware (which is amazing hardware by the way). The test simply used up all the hardware resources available in the lab. In other words, both Voyager and Windows Server 2003 had more room to spare and would have kept scaling, had the hardware allowed. When you consider the test systems are some of the biggest and best in the industry, that's saying a lot. That just doesn't typically happen.

From the case study, this quote sums it all up:

Hugh Wade, one of the Microsoft engineers who spent time analyzing the Corillian code and recommending some changes to the company, notes that "Voyager was the best-performing non-Microsoft application" he had seen in the lab.

This is pretty amazing stuff, and it says TONS about Windows Server 2003, as well as Corillian Voyager - and the people who are involved in developing both products.