I swear:

If I ever see another angle bracket again, I'm going to freak out. I'll go back to comma-delimited files.

I'll do it! I will!

Actually, that's not true, but it should be, given that Chris and his conference attacked my brain with sharp angle brackets for two straight days. This is serious stuff. Parts of the brain, in case you've never had the pleasure of holding/dissecting/poking one, have the consistency of a stoic custard. You really don't want to mess with the thing.

Still, though, that's just the "day after" talking. The truth is that I loved the DevCon. The PDC is great, but I find myself agreeing a bit too much with what I'm seeing. I'm ready for Indigo, Avalon, and (eventually) WinFS - there's no question.

However, when it comes to XML, that uber-hyped acronym, there's still a lot of convincing to do. I'm not talking about it as something that's useful as a means to an end (in Indigo, Avalon, and WinFS, for example), but as something that's revered and, perhaps, used on occasion where it shouldn't be.

Let me rephrase that...

It's something that's only used on occasion where it should be.

That's better.

What I mean to say is that it's very stimulating to be sitting in the audience, disagreeing with speaker after speaker (as much of what I can understand, anyway - some talks were pretty chewy).

From Tim Bray to Sam Ruby, I found things to disagree with (maybe not in kind, but certainly in intensity). Maybe I'm a little too skeptical, but I don't think so.

Anyway, all things considered, the conference is a marvelous experience in general, and this one (my second) was especially so.

Things that went horribly right:

- The place - Chris chose the perfect venue. The lodge, sitting in the middle of a large patch of damp foliage, was gorgeous, and provided the perfect setting for late night discussions with other attendees

- The price - I paid my own way to the DevCon, and I was a little bummed that it was about $50 more than last year, but it was worth every penny - if that $50 is what paid for the venue, the comfy chairs, the copious snacks, and the lighting, which, bless that little lodge's heart, didn't seem to be fluorescent, then I'm ready to pay the big bucks again next year (provided I can still afford to)

- The people - At this conference, you'll go from watching Scott and Patrick chat up their banking software to a late night discussion on Whidbey with DonXML, Jeff Julian, Jim Blizzard, Steve Maine, and Portland Paul (no site?). You'll run into Ian and Rick when you least expect it. Then, to top it off near bedtime, a fireside conversation with Jay Kimble and Melissa Sells about the kind of difficulties someone faces when choosing to adopt a personal belief system based on Christianity, while rejecting some of the institution of the religion, and how to reconcile the differences that arise - Sweet

I also snapped a few photos...

This is breakfast on Wednesday morning. From top to bottom, we have Rich, Sam (no site?), and Bliz. Bliz decided to insert his head into the photo sideways, so I had to rotate the image 90 degrees (you're a prick, Jim):

This is Steve Maine, mid-chew on some nappy looking pig/egg products (I love Steve):

This is me with Nature and Outside in the background - the bright light in the center is either the reflection of the camera's flash or a UFO, depending on how irrational and paranoid you are:

Because this might be the first time that some of the geeks at the conference had ever seen Nature or Outside, I thought I'd pause for a moment to define these phenomena.

These definitions are taken directly from a very reputable dictionary (as far as you know):

    Nature - That wet thing outside

    Outside - Where nature is

If you need any further clarification, then that's because you're dumb.

Getting back to the show, these were my favorite talks:

- Whit Kemmey - "Using XML For Navy Missile Systems"

- Tim Ewald - "WS-Hope"

Whitney broadsided the entire conference - I don't think anybody was expecting anything quite like him.

His talk was real world, interesting, controversial (he got the audience a-chattering), and funny as hell. I hope that somebody recorded this somehow, because Whit's talk needs to be converted to binary, stored on a DVD, and blasted into space for some lucky space-faring civilization to come across and enjoy.

I can imagine the conversation now:

AlienOne: "This Earthling is mightily entertaining."

AlienTwo: "Yes, Zork - And enlightening."

AlienOne: "Agreed, Rakus. And he looks scrumptious."

AlienTwo: "We shall consume the entire race."

AlienOne: "And then destroy their puny planet."

Both aliens together: "Ha ha ha ha ha ha."

Then, there's Tim's singular specimen of a head. It was tough to see this year because his hair is a bit longer than it was last year, but I know the shape is still there, simply hidden by his golden locks. We can only pray that his scalp will be ravaged by Male Pattern Baldness in the years to come so that he may never hide its exquisite geometry from us again.

In the end, whether you came for Rebecca's jacket, TimE's head, TimB's hat, or, believe it or not, XML, this conference rocks your socks.

I would recommend it to:

- People who like computers

- People who like cereal and cheddar cheese (two dominating snack items (not to be chewed on at the same time - trust me))

- People who can both read and write

- Anybody who wants to spend money on something that doesn't suck

Miss it next year at your own peril.