JRubyConf: The Best Conference Ever?

This past week, I had the pleasure of attending JRubyConf in Washington, DC on the campus of Gallaudet University. It is possible that this was best conference I’ve ever attended.

What’s so good about it?

  • The talks – they were almost all great, especially the keynotes. Normally I skip a talk or two to hang out in the hallway or just to take a break, but not this time. The talks were recorded – I recommend watching them whenever they get published.
  • The people – it was great to talk to so many smart, enthusiastic folks. It gives me great hope for the future of JRuby.
  • The food – the conference fed us breakfast & lunch both days, and dinner the first day. The food was top notch – no bag lunches or ‘continental’ breakfasts.
  • The wifi – since the conference was on a university campus, the wifi was excellent. Coming home to my slow DSL was painful :)
  • the whisky – the organizers brought in @whiskycraig from Scotland to run a whisky tasting. It was almost three hours of whisky history, along with five whiskies to taste. I’ve never had whisky, and just assumed they were all kind of the same. It was interesting to see the large variety in flavor across different brands, and the history of whisky was fascinating.

Thanks

I’d like to thank Joe O'Brien and the other folks at EdgeCase for knowing how to put on a conference – I’m already looking forward to the next JRubyConf!