Yeah! Been to Kubecon EU twice, I think you're right. Valencia and Amsterdam. Way too expensive, corporate and marketing(ish) in my view. I couldn't have gone without employer's support. It's not the same crowd one would meet at these events though.
The popular hallway track! Talk to the people while you queue up, what they are working on, what their interests are etc may be super interesting than the actual talk itself. It may be intimidating at first but almost everyone I have encountered at fosdem are fellow nerds and easy to talk to. Remember there (almost) always streaming and recording, don't be so disappointed if you miss a talk.
Yes video stream and recording has proper audio.
Always be ready for layering up and down when visiting FOSDEM. Probably not helpful this time but for the next.
Its the 25th anniversary of this volunteer organized event. Potentially Europe's largest open source festival. I feel so darn privileged to attend it in person on the ULB campus.
> South India has a very strong "Brahmin" influence ..
Oh dear! That notorious Tambram superiority shit. I agree it is still largely at play. However, considering how it is played in the North of India, South is light years better.
> large parts of population in South Indian states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala no longer have surnames that are tied to the caste.
I agree with that general conclusion. I have roots in Kerala and my family purposefully didn't add the caste part in my name. My father has it but not anyone in my family in my generation. That being said, don't forget that the Tamil Brahmin(Tambram) superiority shit is still present at large everywhere.
"...Every. Freaking. 30. Seconds."
Absolutely frickin true. I was at a 09.10AM session at building [UB 5.*] where the doors are right beside where the speaker stands. One person per 30S was hopping in, till the end of the talk.
In the "Observability Track" the Fosdem staff member was totally pissed that no single person listened to his repeated continued pleas to stay back till the Q&A finishes and the talk concludes.
Everyone attending Fosdem must have some level of courtesy towards those who speak and those who are attending.
Dosa and Idli are from the South Side of India. I have roots there, specifically Kerala. In my childhood days, my mom used to make Idli and/or Dosa every single day. She soaked the dals and rice around midday in water and used a blender(Indian blender btw, they start at 500W motor rating and are the 4x4s of the blender world) to grind them to a batter, add salt and kept overnight on the kitchen counter for fermentation. Next day morning, we'd make amazing Idli and/Dosa for breakfast.
Here in Amsterdam, we have a 'Saravana Bhavan' restaurant in De Pijp, they have the best South Indian cuisine in the country. They are a global chain and you may find 'Saravana Bhavan' in North America and in the UK.
The chutney you have encountered is most likely one of the following