Ohhh, space junk
JWZ has some links to nice photos of space junk come back to earth if such things interest you.
What US address should I give?
Many of the US forms you will have to fill out when you move will ask for an address. Use your work address until you have a permanent place. A good example is opening your first bank account. The only possible problem with using your work address for your bank account is that some people will compare the shipping address of your online order with the billing address and complain, but you can always change the address you have recorded with the bank once you have a more permanent address. Opening a bank account without an SSN can be exciting too (it seems to be the primary key for a lot of tables over here, you can't get paid without one, get health insurance without one, get some cell phone accounts without one, and so forth). Bank of America did the right thing and let me open an account though, and don't suck too much. Citibank is ok as well, although they seem to suck more for general banking than Bank of America. More on Citibank in a future post about getting money back to Australia.
Relocating to the US, some issues to consider
A fair few people have asked me about relocating to the US from Australia, so I figured it was time to do a little write up. Specifically the question I want to consider here is "how much do I need to earn to live in the US?". I didn't really know the answer to that when I moved, and simply moved in the faith that I would be able to afford to live. At the time it was stressful, but it's all worked out for the best. So, let's try to answer that question... Visa status What visa are you going to be on when you live in the US? There are three main versions that I can think of off the top of my head. There is the E-3, which is what I am on, which allows your spouse to work if he wants, but is only open to Australian citizens. There is the H-1B, which is open to citizens of all nations, but doesn't let your spouse work. Then there are the L "internal skills transfer" visas, which I believe don't let your spouse work, but I could be wrong on that one. To be eligible, the move…
MySQL cluster stores in RAM!
Argh! MySQL cluster currently stores in RAM only. That means if I have 100 machines each with 4 gigabytes of RAM, then I can store 200 gigabytes of data! Hurrah! That's at least what I learnt in the tutorial, feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
MySQL cluster stores in RAM!
Argh! MySQL cluster currently stores in RAM only. That means if I have 100 machines each with 4 gigabytes of RAM, then I can store 200 gigabytes of data! Hurrah! That's at least what I learnt in the tutorial, feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
Conference Wireless not working yet?
So, there are two access points with the ESSID "MySQL-Hyatt" that I can see from my coffee drinking spot here in the foyer. iwlist tells me that they have encryption off, which matches what the conference handbook says should be the case. No DHCP leases are being offered though. I guess that means that the conference network hasn't been commissioned yet. Oh well. Update: Oh, it works in the conference rooms, which have a different ESSID.
Conference Wireless not working yet?
So, there are two access points with the ESSID "MySQL-Hyatt" that I can see from my coffee drinking spot here in the foyer. iwlist tells me that they have encryption off, which matches what the conference handbook says should be the case. No DHCP leases are being offered though. I guess that means that the conference network hasn't been commissioned yet. Oh well. Update: Oh, it works in the conference rooms, which have a different ESSID.
Light rail, oh how I love thee
One thing I think that Canberra really lacks is a light rail system. My travels over the last few years have made me realize that one of the things that makes a city a great place to live is a good light rail system. The first one of these systems that I saw was in Washington DC / Virginia, and it was great -- clean, fast, on time, cheap, and it went everywhere I wanted to go. San Francisco's BART is similar, except that it's a little too slow because it has to travel a lot further. London's tube is a contender as well, although I would argue there that it's too expensive (everything in London is too expensive), and is dirty. Oh, and there is something disheartening about dudes with bombs trying to make you enjoy the train ride less. The Silicon Valley VTA system is great too. My ride to the MySQL User's Conference made me write this post, I hadn't used the train system really until then. I'd caught the Caltrain to SFO once, but the Caltrain isn't really light rail in my mind, and is nowhere near as nice as the VTA light rail. The ride…
Off to the MySQL tutorials
Up at 5:50am, dressed by 6:30am, and leaving the house by 7:10am to get on the VTA light rail by 7:30am. All because the tutorials start at 8:30am, and I want to catch the train instead of using up fuel...
Off to the MySQL tutorials
Up at 5:50am, dressed by 6:30am, and leaving the house by 7:10am to get on the VTA light rail by 7:30am. All because the tutorials start at 8:30am, and I want to catch the train instead of using up fuel...