Upcoming events on RobsHouse.net

Drupalcon Boston, 2008

Robert Douglass — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 10:04:58 +0100

I’ve booked my ticked and found a hotel - Boston here I come! I plan on leading a session demonstrating the new ApacheSolr module that I have written. Go vote on it if Solr is of interest to you. I’m staying at the Doubletree hotel where Mike O’Connor and I found a double room for $149. I’m also looking forward to the hackfest that will take place on that Friday.

FOSDEM 2008

Robert Douglass — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:35:10 +0100

I will be presenting the ApacheSolr module.

GoPHP5.org countdown for PHP 5.2.x ends.

Robert Douglass — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:05:37 +0100

Köln/Bonn Drupal Users Group

Robert Douglass — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:56:29 +0100

The Drupal users group of Köln/Bonn will meet in HALLMACKENREUTHER to enjoy some Kölsch and a lot of Drupal. The agenda is not yet set, but anyone who is interested in the ApacheSolr module will be able to see a nice demonstration on my laptop. Everybody is welcome… hope to see you there!

On Google Maps.

Drupalcon Boston: Solr Bof

Robert Douglass — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:11:09 +0100

At 1:00, in room 252A, we'll be having a "Birds of a feather" meeting to discuss the future directions of the ApacheSolr module. I'll be giving a short demonstration of what the module can currently do, and then we'll talk about:

- Solr features that aren't yet implemented
- How to expand the test coverage
- The relevance of search results and how to measure/improve them
- The state of ApacheSolr documentation
- ApacheSolr for Drupal 6
- Search and Drupal 7

Köln/Bonn Drupal Users Group - April 2

Robert Douglass — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:20:24 +0100

Starts at 19:30

The Ibis in Bonn will be the site of our next meeting. We have a conference room with tables, chairs and a screen (but no projector). There is a bar with drinks and snacks in the hotel, and a fantastic pizza restaurant across the street.

Meetup location: Ibis Hotel, Bonn

UPDATE: Photos attached

Minnesota Search Sprint

Robert Douglass — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:57:52 +0200

Some of the things I’d like to achieve:

The steps that are taken during indexing (and later during query parsing) should be made atomic and chained, similar to input formats and filters. This would combine the preprocess hook with text transformations that already happen (stripping punctuation, lowercase, etc.) I’ve considered building a prototype with the current filter system.
hook_search(‘name’) needs to return more metadata. Ideally modules could provide multiple searches and allow themselves to be configured (such as adding elements to the search form, or defining their own search form). Perhaps other $ops are needed.
The type column in all search tables should be removed and each type should maintain its own tables.
The keywords should not persist throughout the request in the form of a string, but rather an object that handles adding fields, removing fields, cloning etc. I have such an object that is very near general purpose use in the ApacheSolr module.

In Austria (near Salzburg) with Kimiko

Robert Douglass — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:39:03 +0200

In Andover, MA, with Acquia

Robert Douglass — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:40:37 +0200

My birthday =)

Robert Douglass — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:45:12 +0200

Move into new apartment in Köln

Robert Douglass — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 10:44:01 +0200

We've bought a new apartment in Köln and are moving. August 4 is the day the moving trucks come.

Do it with Drupal - New Orleans

Robert Douglass — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:55:35 +0200

On December 12, 2008, I'll be in New Orleans to talk about the exciting world of Drupal Search. In a first-of-its-kind event, the Lullabots have organized a "large-scale, 3-day learning event" that will bring together some of Drupal's most sought after speakers, as well as a number of other prominent internet personalities and luminaries. I'm looking forward to meeting some of the speakers who aren't necessarily known as Drupal rockstars (meaning they did something else to get famous):

Chris Pirillo (Gnomedex, Lockergnome.com)
Tara Hunt (Citizen Agency, HorsePigCow)
Brian Oberkirch (Brianoberkirch.com)
Lane Becker (GetSatisfaction.com)
Heather Champ (Director of Community at Flickr)

My session will focus on practical solutions for common problems encountered when building Drupal sites. I'll look at core search as well as some of the other solutions available (like the ApacheSolr module), and explain why we can expect more (and get it!) from Drupal search. If you're going to be there, and have any requests or questions, I'd love to hear those as well.

Many thanks to my employer, Acquia, for being a sponsor of Do it with Drupal, and for sending me and my colleague Gábor Hojtsy as speakers.