An awesome 40

Sadly, not my age

Oh if that were still true (funny how being 40 wasn’t particularly thrilling at the time) but alas and alack, it is not.  OTOH, 40mm can be awesome, when it is in the form of a Bofors.

Why ODTUG is awesome

What on earth does a WW II era anti-aircraft gun by way of Sweden and then Chrysler (just like Merlins were by way of Rolls-Royce and Packard) have to do with Essbase?  Well, as you can see in the snap below, I am manning a Bofors quad mount on the USS North Carolina during one of the two annual ODTUG board face-to-face meetings.  You may think I just splashed a Zero whist defending my ship given my facial expression.  But no, that is not a Victory Flag, but instead an inducement to come to Kscope13, and yes, you are just looking at a geek at play.  And fun is a vital component of ODTUG.  Don’t think so?  Then you haven’t been to a Kscope, because it is fun, and exhausting, and extremely educational.  What more could anyone want in a technical conference?

Is there any point to this?  Why yes there is.

I would love to tell you that ODTUG board meetings (we have monthly telephone calls, too, oh the joy) mostly consist of climbing into, around, and over products of the Washington Naval Treaty with an eye to fully engaging my inner history geek, but alas and alack yet again, my chance to man a crew-served weapon doesn’t actually crop up very often in the course of ODTUG activities.  Nope, instead we examine, discuss, debate, and decide:  how ODTUG is doing (we have to cover costs and yes there is a Treasurer’s Report every month), what ODTUG is doing (are we meeting the needs of our members), and where ODTUG is going (we have today covered, we think, but what about the future).  It is serious stuff and it is how the board serves you, the ODTUG member.  

You would, I think, be astonished at the amount of work (and oh the time) it takes to make Kscope and the SP conferences and the webinars and the website and all of the other initiatives ODTUG performs actually come off.  And that isn’t to slight our volunteers, who are legion (I have been waiting to use that phrase forever – it could only be improved by replacing “volunteers” with “minions” but we are not Super Villains but instead a wholly benign user group) and contribute materially to ODTUG’s success.

All of the above is my tortured way of saying that ODTUG and ODTUG Kscope13 are the outcome of a lot of blood, and sweat, and tears and yes, a bit of fun.  That’s why Kscopes are, in my not entirely unbiased opinion, the best conference anyone in the EPM world can attend.  There’s nothing to touch it.  

Be seeing you in New Orleans.