FOSDEM 2019 — The Tradition Continues

Another year, another FOSDEM. It’s funny how natural this feels now — packing my backpack, checking the schedule, making overly ambitious plans about which devrooms I’ll attend (knowing full well that FOSDEM always has other plans for me). This will be my fourth FOSDEM, and somehow the excitement hasn’t faded even a bit.

If anything, it feels like it’s growing.

DNS: A Year of Evolution

The DNS world never sleeps. And every FOSDEM makes that painfully — and wonderfully — clear. Between new resolver work, privacy improvements, DNS-over-everything, performance tuning, and the never-ending personal interest into that ver basic foundation of todays internet. I’ve learned to arrive with a wide-open notebook and a cleared mental buffer.

I’m especially curious this year to see how people are handling the increasing complexity of DNS deployments, and how the community pushes back with elegant tooling and clever standards work.

As always: if you’re a DNS person, I’m probably not far away. Come say hi.

Ada: Quietly Becoming Part of My Toolbox

Ada started as a curiosity for me, then a challenge, then a fascination — and now it’s slowly becoming a familiar companion. I’m far from fluent, but I’m also no longer the newcomer wandering into a devroom thinking “I hope I understand something.”

This year, I’m looking forward to catching up with what the Ada community has been up to: compilers, tooling, formal methods, embedded work — all the things that make Ada so, well, Ada.

I love how this devroom always gives me a sense of calm rigor amid the FOSDEM whirlwind.

The Growing Network of FOSDEM Friends

Something changed these past few years: FOSDEM is no longer just a conference I attend — it’s a community I return to.

Each year I recognize more faces, reconnect with people I only ever meet in Brussels, and stumble into conversations that start with “Hey, weren’t you in that DNS talk last year?” or “Didn’t we end up discussing Ada in the hallway?”

I expect 2019 to be no different — full of spontaneous chats, new friendships, and the kind of nerdy enthusiasm you only find in a place like this.

The Usual Chaos, the Usual Magic

By now I’ve accepted the FOSDEM truths:

  • You can’t see all the talks you want.
  • You’ll get lost at least once.
  • The weather will be terrible.
  • The food trucks will save your life.
  • The hallway track will devour your schedule.
  • And somehow, in between all that, you’ll learn more than seems feasible in 48 hours.

And honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

FOSDEM 2019, Here We Go

So here we are — another year, another trip to Brussels, another chance to soak in the energy of thousands of people who come together simply because they care about open source, open standards, and learning from one another.

If you’re going to be there, let me know. DNS talks, Ada talks, surprise detours into entirely new technical territories — I’m ready for all of it.

See you at FOSDEM 2019.