Add post about trip to Athens

content/post/postgres/pgconf-eu-2024/index.md

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+---
+title: PGConf & Extension Ecosystem Summit EU 2024
+slug: pgconf-extension-summit-eu
+date: 2024-10-29T22:04:22Z
+lastMod: 2024-10-29T22:04:22Z
+description: |
+  Notes and links from the Extension Ecosystem Summit EU 2024 and my first time
+  at PGConf EU. Plus thoughts and photos from ancient sites and archeological
+  museums I visited.
+tags: [Postgres, Extensions, PGConf, Summit, Archaeology, Athens, Greece, Acropolis, Mycenae, Elgin Marbles]
+type: post
+image:
+  src: pgconf-2024-logo.svg
+  class: left
+  width: 100px
+  title: PostgreSQL Conference Europe 2024
+  alt: The PGConf 2024 logo
+  copyright: 2024 PostgreSQL Europe
+---
+
+Last week I MCed the first Extension Ecosystem Summit EU and attended my first
+at PGConf EU in Athens, Greece. Despite my [former career as an archaeologist]
+--- with a focus on Mediterranean cultures, no less! --- this was my first
+visit to Greece. My favorite moment was the evening after the Summit, when I
+cut out of a networking shindig to walk to [Pláka] and then circumnavigate the
+[Acropolis]. I mean just look at this place!
+
+{{% figure
+    src       = "nite-acropolis.jpeg"
+    alt       = "Nighttime photo of the Acropolis of Athens"
+    caption   = "The Acropolis of Athens on the evening of October 22, 2024."
+    copyright = "2024 David E. Wheeler"
+%}}
+
+Highlight of the trip for sure. But the Summit and conference were terrific,
+as well.
+
+Extension Ecosystem Summit
+--------------------------
+
+[Floor Drees] kindly organized The Extension Ecosystem Summit EU, the
+follow-up to the [PGConf.dev original]. While the Vancouver Summit focused on
+developers, we tailored this iteration to users. I started the gathering with
+a condensed version of my [POSETTE talk], "State of the Postgres Extension
+Ecosystem", but updated with a [Trunk OCI Distribution] demo. Links:
+
+*   [PDF]({{% link "state-of-the-ecosystem-eu.pdf" %}})
+*   [PDF with Notes]({{% link "state-of-the-ecosystem-eu-notes.pdf" %}})
+*   [Keynote]({{% link "state-of-the-ecosystem-eu.key" %}})
+
+We then moved into a lightning round of 10 minute introductions to a variety
+of extensions:
+
+*   [Jimmy Angelakos] showed off [pg_statviz], a "minimalist extension and
+    utility pair for time series analysis and visualization of PostgreSQL
+    internal statistics".
+*   [Adam Hendel] gave a brief history of [pgmq], is a "lightweight message
+    queue like AWS SQS and RSMQ, but on Postgres."
+*   [Gülçin Yıldırım Jelínek] introduced [pgzx], "a library for developing
+    PostgreSQL extensions written in [Zig]."
+*   [James Sewell] talked about [pgvectorscale] and [pgai] for managing
+    machine training workloads on Postgres.
+*   [Alastair Turner] described [pg_tde], an extension that provides
+    transparent data encryption for Postgres.
+
+Quite the whirlwind! There followed open discussion, in which each maintainer
+went to a corner to talk to attendees about contributing to their extensions.
+Details to come in a more thorough writeup on the [Tembo blog], but I personally
+enjoyed some fascinating discussions about extension distribution challenges.
+
+PGConf.eu
+---------
+
+Following the Summit, I attended several thought-provoking and provocative
+presentations at [PGConf.eu], which took place at the same hotel, conveniently
+enough.
+
+{{% figure
+    src       = "floor-at-pgconf.jpeg"
+    alt       = "Floor Drees speaking at a podium, next to a slide reading “Why Postgres?”"
+    caption   = "Floor Drees speaking at PGConf.eu 2024."
+    copyright = "2024 David E. Wheeler"
+%}}
+
+*   In the conference keynote, [Stacey Haysler] explained the [The PostgreSQL
+    License Fee]. I'm pleased to say that my employer "pays" license fee!
+*   [Andres Freund] (yes, [that one]) summarized [NUMA vs PostgreSQL],
+    covering some of the issues and opportunities for optimization of
+    PostgreSQL on servers using the [NUMA] multi-processor memory
+    architecture.
+*   [Heikki Linnakangas] offered an overview of [The Wire Protocol], that bit
+    of PostgreSQL technology that lets clients talk to PostgreSQL.
+*   [Ophir Lojkine] and Thomas Guillemard [showed] how a pretty sweet
+    framework, [SQLPage], lets archaeologists like Thomas write complete web
+    applications in pure SQL, enabling rapid data entry while in the field.
+*   [Tomas Vondra]'s [Performance Archaeology] dug into the history of
+    PostgreSQL improvements, mapping their compounding returns over time.
+*   [Floor Drees] (photo above) talked about [Supporting extensions, but
+    really now], making a strong case for the need to organize infrastructure
+    to support the broader extension ecosystem.
+
+There were many more talks, but clearly I tend to be drawn to the most
+technical, core-oriented topics. And also archaeology.
+
+Museums
+-------
+
+Speaking of which, I made time to visit two museums while in Athens. First up
+was the [National Archaeological Museum of Athens], where I was delighted to
+explore the biggest collection of [Mycenaean] artifacts I've ever seen,
+including massive collections from the excavations of [Heinrich Schliemann].
+So much great [Bronze Age] stuff here. I mean, just look at this absolute unit:
+
+{{% figure
+    src       = "mycenaean-krater.jpeg"
+    alt       = "Photo of a Mycenaean Krater featuring a horse-drawn chariot"
+    caption   = `From the museum description: “Fragment of a krater depicting a chariot with
+two occupants. A male figure holding a staff walks in front of the chariot.
+Much of the Mycenaean Pictorial Style pottery (14th-12th centuries BC) with
+representations of humans, chariots, horses and bulls on large kraters, was
+produced at Berbati in the Argolid and exported to Cyprus, where it was widely
+imitated. Birds, fish, wild goats or imaginary creatures (i.e. sphinxes) occur
+on other types of vessels, such as jugs and stirrup jars. Usually only
+fragments of these vases survive in mainland Greece from settlement contexts.
+In Cyprus, however, complete vases are preserved, placed as grave gifts in
+tombs.”`
+    copyright = "Photo 2024 David E. Wheeler"
+%}}
+
+The animal decorations on Mycenaean and [Akrotiri] pottery is simply
+delightful. I also enjoyed the Hellenistic stuff, and seeing the famed
+[Antikythera Mechanism] filled my nerd heart with joy. A good 3 hours poking
+around; I'll have to go back and spend a few days there sometime. Thanks to my
+pal [Evan Stanton] for gamely wandering around this fantastic museum with me.
+
+Immediately after the PGConf.eu closing session, I dashed off to the
+[Acropolis Museum], which stays open till 10 on Fridays. Built in 2009, this
+modern concrete-and-glass building exhibits several millennia of artifacts and
+sculpture exclusively excavated from the Acropolis or preserved from its
+building façades. No photography allowed, alas, but I snapped this photo
+looking out on the Acropolis from the top floor.
+
+{{% figure
+    src       = "acropolis-museum.jpeg"
+    alt       = "Photo of the Acropolis as viewed from inside the Acropolis Museum."
+    caption   = `The Acropolis as viewed from inside the Acropolis Museum. Friezes preserved
+from the Parthenon inside the museum reflect in the glass, as does, yes, your
+humble photographer.`
+    copyright = "2024 David E. Wheeler"
+%}}
+
+I was struck by the beauty and effectiveness of the displays. It easily puts
+the lie to the assertion that the [Elgin Marbles] must remain in the British
+Museum to protect them. I saw quite a few references to the stolen sculptures,
+particularly empty spots and artfully sloppy casts from the originals, but the
+building itself makes the strongest case that the marbles should be returned.
+
+But even without them there remains a ton of beautiful sculpture to see.
+Highly recommended!
+
+Back to Work
+------------
+
+Now that my sojourn in Athens has ended, I'm afraid I must return to work. I
+mean, the event was work, too; I talked to a slew of people about a number of
+projects in flight. More on those soon.
+
+  [former career as an archaeologist]: {{% ref "/post/past/personal/five-things" %}}#2-i-used-to-be-an-archaeologist
+    "Five Things You Don't Know About Me"
+  [Pláka]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaka "Wikipedia: Plaka"
+  [Acropolis]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis_of_Athens
+    "Wikipedia: Acropolis of Athens"
+  [Floor Drees]: https://dev.to/@floord
+  [PGConf.dev original]: {{% ref "/post/postgres/extension-ecosystem-summit" %}}
+    "Extension Ecosystem Summit 2024"
+  [POSETTE talk]: {{% ref "/post/postgres/posette-2024" %}}#i-also-spoke
+    "POSETTE 2024"
+  [Trunk OCI Distribution]: {{% ref "/post/postgres/trunk-oci-poc" %}}#demo
+    "POC: Distributing Trunk Binaries via OCI — Demo"
+  [Jimmy Angelakos]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vyruss/
+  [pg_statviz]: https://pgxn.org/dist/pg_statviz/ "PGXN: pg_statviz"
+  [Adam Hendel]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-hendel/
+  [pgmq]: https://pgxn.org/dist/pgmq/ "PGXN: pgmq"
+  [Gülçin Yıldırım Jelínek]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gulcinyildirim/
+  [pgzx]: https://github.com/xataio/pgzx "GitHub: xataio/pgzx"
+  [Zig]: https://ziglang.org/ "Zig Programming Language"
+  [James Sewell]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-blackwood-sewell/
+  [pgvectorscale]: https://github.com/timescale/pgvectorscale "GitHub: timescale/pgvectorscale"
+  [pgai]: https://github.com/timescale/pgai "GitHub: timescale/pgai"
+  [Alastair Turner]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/decodableminion/
+  [pg_tde]: https://github.com/percona/pg_tde "GitHub: percona/pg_tde"
+  [Tembo blog]: https://tembo.io/blog/ "Tembo’s Blog"
+  [PGConf.eu]: https://2024.pgconf.eu "PostgreSQL Conference Europe 2024"
+  [Stacey Haysler]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-haysler-ssh/
+  [The PostgreSQL License Fee]: https://www.postgresql.eu/events/pgconfeu2024/schedule/session/5869/
+  [Andres Freund]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andres-freund/
+  [that one]: https://www.npr.org/2024/04/11/1244174104
+    "NPR: One engineer may have saved the world from a massive cyber attack"
+  [NUMA vs PostgreSQL]: https://www.postgresql.eu/events/pgconfeu2024/schedule/session/5839/
+  [NUMA]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-uniform_memory_access
+    "Wikipedia: Non-uniform memory access"
+  [Heikki Linnakangas]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heikki-linnakangas-6b58bb203/
+  [The Wire Protocol]: https://www.postgresql.eu/events/pgconfeu2024/schedule/session/5897/
+  [Ophir Lojkine]: https://ophir.dev
+  [showed]: https://www.postgresql.eu/events/pgconfeu2024/schedule/session/5707/ 
+    "Unearthing the Past with PostgreSQL: How Open Source is Revolutionizing Digital Archaeology"
+  [SQLPage]: https://sql.datapage.app/
+  [Tomas Vondra]: https://github.com/tvondra
+  [Performance Archaeology]: https://www.postgresql.eu/events/pgconfeu2024/schedule/session/5585/
+  [Supporting extensions, but really now]: https://www.postgresql.eu/events/pgconfeu2024/schedule/session/5946/
+  [National Archaeological Museum of Athens]: https://www.namuseum.gr/en/
+  [Mycenaean]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycenaean_Greece
+    "Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycenaean Greece"
+  [Heinrich Schliemann]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Schliemann
+    "Wikipedia: Heinrich Schliemann"
+  [Bronze Age]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age "Wikipedia: Bronze Age"
+  [Akrotiri]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akrotiri_(prehistoric_city)
+    "Wikipedia: Akrotiri (prehistoric city)"
+  [Hellenistic]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenistic_period
+    "Wikipedia: Hellenistic period"
+  [Antikythera Mechanism]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism
+    "Wikipedia: Antikythera mechanism"
+  [Evan Stanton]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-hunter-stanton/
+  [Acropolis Museum]: https://theacropolismuseum.gr/en/
+  [Elgin Marbles]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin_Marbles
+    "Wikipedia: Elgin Marbles"