BSDCan 2006 Open Invitation

By Chris Coleman <chrisc@vmunix.com>

I've attended two BSDCan conferences and I have to say that both of them were very well organized. Dan managed to gather some of the brightest minds in BSD together in one forum. Its always nice to hear about technology right from the person who programmed it. You get insight into how things work that you can't get second hand.

But there are a few things to remember when travelling to this conference that have nothing to do with Dan or the people in the conference. It has to do with Location, Location, Location. The conference is in Canada. This has its good points: Its cheaper than most other conferences. The currency exchange is generally in the favor of the out of country traveller.

Then there are the bad points: Its in a different country than most of us. Its a country that most American's don't understand. We think Canadians are just Americans who say "eh?" too much. This is most likely because America is home to lots of people of diverse nationalities. So, we don't really notice much of a difference when we meet Canadians in the US. To be honest, the people aren't the problem.

Its the travel. For most of the world, travel to Canada poses zero problems. Its commmon sense to carry a passport and all the proper paperwork. For Americans, its different. The large size of the country makes it very likely that the average citizen won't have a passport. Normally you just don't need one. There are 50 states to see and you don't need a passport to go to any of them. Because of this, we assume it will be easy to get into Canada, and we forget stuff. Small things like passports and proof of citizenship.

I attended BSDCan two times without a passport or proof of citizenship. The first time I went, I got through customs so easily that I didn't think twice about not bringing it with me the 2nd time. The first time I had my family with me and I guess they had sympathy on us once they saw the three little kids in the back seat. The 2nd time I had another BSD guy carpooling with me to the conference and they weren't so compassionate.

A few tips on getting through customs:

• Bring a passport. They didn't used to require it, but its a lot more strict now. If you don't have a passport, a drivers license and birth certificate used to work, but don't take my word for it. Just get a passport and make your life easy.

• Bring a few hundred dollars in cash. They sent me back and made me get cash out before I could go through customs.

• If they send you back for any reason and say try again, don't go to a different customs crossing and try there without a good reason. They keep track of people who do that and might just not let you in for it.

• If you have a lot of stuff you are trying to bring for the conference, such as items for a booth or shirts to give away, send them to Dan ahead of time. You really don't want them to search your car.

• If you are taking stuff that you can't send in the mail. Make sure you have the right paperwork. An invoice showing that this is all going to someone in Canada is very helpful.

• Bring paperwork showing reservations at a hotel in Canada.

• Bring a printout of the BSDCan website and schedule of events. They ask you where you are going and how long you will be there. Having a printout of the website with an accompanying hotel reservation is much easier than trying to explain what BSDCan is to people who could care less. If you forget those, you might try using the "Tulip Festival" as your destination. Its always the same week as BSDCan.

• When driving through customs and the hot canadian girl checking your passport asks you where you are going, never tell her you are going to a Eunuchs Conference. It won't win you any points. Fortunately the guy who was driving will never have to see her again and I doubt she will ever learn what a Unix Conference is either.

• If you drive, be careful where you park. The conference is hosted at a college and they are very particular about where people park. They have little machines that you have to purchase a ticket from and place in your window. If you don't you get a ticket. There were several each year who got a ticket, including myself. If you have any questions about where to park, don't leave your car unattended till you find the right place. Dan or one if his helpful staff will be on hand to show you a good place to park. If it doesn't explicitly say "Park Here" don't do it.

That is about all the advice I have. To sum it all up, if you are travelling from another country, you should already know all this and travelling to Canada should be easy. If you are an American who has never left his country, or even travelled through more than one or two states even, you would be well to heed this advice and prepare your trip well in advance.

The better prepared you are for the trip, the more fun you will have at the conference. BSDCan 2006 will be held May 12-13, 2005, in Ottawa at University of Ottawa.

Have fun, and I hope to see you there.

-Chris