VMworld2009

Wow! The response to the spouse activities that my wife, Crystal (@crystal_lowe on Twitter) is organizing has been phenomenal. Almost overwhelming, in fact. (You have to keep in mind that she’s not getting paid to do this—it’s all volunteer work.)

With now only a week or so before the conference starts, here’s the latest update on spouse activities. Be sure to refer to this post for more details on the schedule of activities.

First, let’s tackle this year’s most frequently asked question: Can my spouse attend conference-related events with me? The answer: Yes, as long as the attendee has purchased a companion ticket. This ticket is $275 and will get your spouse in to Monday night’s events and Wednesday night’s party. This ticket can be purchased during online registration (or you can log back in if you already registered) or at the registration desk at VMworld. This is not something with which Crystal or I can help you. You need to talk to the VMworld registration team.

OK, with that out of the way, here are a few other updates:

• Mel’s Diner: They do not have enough room to hold 100 people (Crystal originally planned on 35-40 participants) since they also need to be prepared for their other patrons. In addition, we’re not sure we can get the folks going to Korbel on Tuesday out the door in time for their arrival time at Korbel. If you are arriving on Sunday or Monday and participating in the Tuesday Korbel trip, please let Crystal know if you’d be interested in meeting before Tuesday so you can leave earlier for Korbel. We’re not sure what form this meeting before Tuesday would be; perhaps an informal gathering in our hotel lobby (we’re staying at the San Francisco Marriott) or perhaps another meeting at Mel’s. Either way, be sure to contact Crystal if you can meet before Tuesday.
• To Go Lunches for Tuesday: Mel’s has graciously offered to provide “to go lunches” for the sightseeing on Tuesday. These will be from $6 to $10. If you are interested in buying one of these lunches, let Crystal know no later than Monday, August 24. If you don’t respond by 8/24, she can’t guarantee your inclusion in the order.
• Korbel trip: This is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon (some spouses will be going to Korbel, some will be going sightseeing). However, as mentioned earlier, Crystal is concerned about getting done at Mel’s Diner in time for the Korbel group to make it on time. Also, drivers are needed! Please notify Crystal ASAP if you are willing to drive.
• Alcatraz and Napa tickets: Remember, you need to purchase these on your own! Please purchase your tickets right away if you haven’t already. Otherwise, you could miss out on participating because the tours will be sold out. Also, please let Crystal know whether you’ve booked the Day Tour (Alcatraz) or Combination Tour (Alcatraz and Angel Island).

Crystal has been keeping in touch with most everyone via e-mail with this information as well, but I wanted to be sure to post something here to help spread the word. She is very excited (but also very nervous) about the enormous response. Anyone who is interested and willing to help out, please contact Crystal right away. I know she’d appreciate it.

That’s it for now. See you in San Francisco!

VMworld 2009 is rapidly approaching, and along with it are coming the deadlines for us to submit our final presentation for TA2259, Ask The Experts on virtualization design. As you probably already know, this is a joint session with Rick Scherer, Chad Sakac, Duncan Epping, Tom Howarth, and me. TA2259 is scheduled for Thursday, September 3, at 1PM in the afternoon. Now that Schedule Builder is live, you can go register for the session. You are planning on attending the session, aren’t you?

But before you register for the session, take a moment and submit a question to be considered for inclusion in the session. We will be addressing both questions from the audience as well as a handful of questions submitted via our websites. Now’s your chance to get your question in front of this panel!

Update as of 8/14/2009: Sorry, the call for questions for TA2259 has closed. However, if you are attending VMworld 2009, please feel free to join us in person. The session is running at 1PM and again at 4:30PM on Thursday, September 3.

Last year, after attending VMworld with me for the previous two years, my wife Crystal (@crystal_lowe on Twitter) decided to organize some activities for spouses traveling to VMworld 2008. This year she’s volunteered to do it again! If you’re planning on bringing your spouse—or if you are a spouse traveling to San Francisco while your significant other will be attending VMworld 2009—you definitely want to look into joining Crystal for these activities!

Here’s a brief rundown of what’s planned so far:

• On Tuesday, September 1, 2009, there will be an informal “Get To Know You” breakfast at Mel’s Diner on 4th and Mission. This will start at 10AM.
• Following the “Get To Know You” breakfast, some ladies have expressed an interest in going to Korbel; others will be doing some sightseeing in San Francisco. Crystal is recommending spouses purchase the San Francisco City Pass for unlimited use of public transportation and admission to a number of area attractions.
• On Wednesday, September 2, 2009, spouses will go tour Alcatraz together. You must purchase your Alcatraz tickets in advance (they sell out early!). After the Alcatraz tour will be shopping at Pier 39, a visit to the Aquarium by the Bay (free for City Pass holders), and possibly a 1 hour Bay Cruise (again, free for City Pass holders). That evening is the VMworld Party at 7PM; Crystal will be attending the party with me.
• On Thursday, September 3, 2009, a group of spouses will be taking a Napa tour. She’s arranged a group tour (more information here), but must have a firm commitment to attend by no later than Thursday, July 30, 2009 (yes, in two days). We are putting up our own personal funds to secure the group tour if enough people commit to attending. If we don’t get enough firm commitments to secure that tour, spouses will need to individually purchase tickets for this tour and specify the San Francisco Marriott as the pickup hotel.
• For spouses not interested in visiting Napa (or perhaps for spouses who have already visited Napa or will be visiting Napa with their husband/wife), some of the spouses will be doing more sightseeing in San Francisco on Thursday instead of doing the tour. Crystal will be sharing more information on available activities at the Get To Know You breakfast on Tuesday.

It’s quite an ambitious schedule that Crystal has put together this year; I think she’s outdone her schedule from last year!

If you are interested in participating in these activities, here’s what you need to do:

• Drop Crystal an e-mail at vmworldspouses@gmail.com. This is the e-mail account from which all communications will originate.
• If you use Twitter, follow Crystal (or me).
• Subscribe to this blog, if you’re not already subscribed. I’ll be posting more information as VMworld 2009 draws closer. (Besides, this is a great site anyway, and you know you want to go ahead and subscribe.)
• Purchase your Alcatraz tour tickets in advance using the URL linked above. These tickets sell out, so you won’t want to wait until the last minute.
• If you are interested in doing the Napa tour, give Crystal a firm commitment by no later than Thursday, July 30, 2009. An e-mail is fine.

If anyone has any questions, you’re welcome to ask them in the comments to this posts, or you can just e-mail Crystal directly. Again, if you are interested in going on the Napa tour, we need a commitment by no later than Thursday, July 30, 2009.

Thanks for reading! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in San Francisco.

Time is running out! As most of you already know, I—along with Chad Sakac, Duncan Epping, Tom Howarth, and Rick Scherer—will be speaking at VMworld 2009 at TA2259, Ask the Experts.

One of things we wanted to do was to poll the VMware community ahead of time for questions that you wanted to include as part of the discussion, in addition to the questions raised by the audience. If you have a question you’d like to submit, time is running out! We need you to visit one of our sites and submit a question. The link for question submission on my site is here.

Don’t just sit there—click the link and go submit a question!

As many of you probably already know, I’ll be participating in an Ask The Experts session at VMworld 2009 in San Francisco, CA, this year. Together with Rick Scherer (of VMwareTips.com), Chad Sakac (Virtual Geek), Tom Howarth (PlanetVM), and Duncan Epping (Yellow Bricks), we’ll be taking questions on virtualization design.

If you have a question you’d like to see addressed during the session, here’s your opportunity to submit your question in advance! Use the form below to submit questions to be considered for inclusion in the Ask The Experts session. The panel will select a small number of questions that will be addressed during the session at VMworld 2009, along with questions submitted by the audience during the session.

Thanks, and I look forward to seeing many of you in San Francisco later this year!

Update as of 8/14/2009: Sorry, the call for questions for TA2259 has closed. However, if you are attending VMworld 2009, please feel free to join us in person. The session is running at 1PM and again at 4:30PM on Thursday, September 3.

Via Twitter, a number of people have tagged my wife, Crystal, with questions regarding spouse activities for VMworld 2009. As some of you may already know, she successfully organized some activities last year in Las Vegas for a group of about 25 ladies. By all accounts, they had a fabulous time—went to the Hoover Dam, drove to the Grand Canyon, and visited lots of sights there in Vegas!

<aside>Given the success of last year’s activities, maybe VMware will hook Crystal up with a free pass to the VMworld party this year…you know, as a token of appreciation (hint, hint).</aside>

Anyway, she is planning on organizing a set of activities during VMworld 2009 in San Francisco this year. If you are interested in participating in activities, stay tuned to this site (you can always subscribe to the RSS feed) or follow me or Crystal on Twitter for more detail. As soon as more information is available, she or I (or both of us) will be sure to let everyone know.

If you are interested in helping, I know that Crystal would love to have your help. You can add a comment to this post or contact Crystal via Twitter, whichever works best for you.