We use PostgreSQL for SpatialKey and because of that I have learned a lot about system administration with PostgreSQL. While debugging an issue with tables that had ballooned up I ran into this article which has some great tips for isolating db and table size with a few quick commands. http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2009/05/15-advanced-postgresql-commands-with-examples/

Also check out 15 Practical PostgreSQL database administration commands and backup and restore PostGreSQL with pg dump and psql.

There is nothing more frustrating than taking 30 minutes filling out some text in a long form only to submit and have your session reset and lose all of your data. Here is a simple solution to keep a session open on forms where users may need an extended period of time for data entry. I included this code on any page where I need the session extended. You can remove the javascript include if JQuery is included on everyone of your pages already.

<!--- Include this file on any page where users may take a 
long time filling in text and you want to keep the session open --->
<cfparam name="variables.refreshrate" default="60000">
<cfoutput>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/js/jquery-1.3.2.min.js"></script>
<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(function(){
 
setTimeout("callserver()",#variables.refreshrate#); 
 
});
 
 	function callserver()
 	{
 
var remoteURL = '/emptypage.cfm	';
    $.get(remoteURL,  function(data){
      //alert(data);
      setTimeout("callserver()",#variables.refreshrate#);
    });
 	}
</script>
</cfoutput>

James Ward and Jon Rose recently published the latest episode of Drunk on Software with members of the SpatialKey team, including myself, Tom Link, and Doug McCune.

In the video we talk about Universal Mind, how SpatialKey came to be, a lot about what SpatialKey is and how it works. I dive into the architecture a bit and how we leveraged the cloud to build out our infrastructure.

Thanks to Jon and James hosting us, we crashed Jon's house for the video. I think Doug tossed back the most beers I can't keep up with him and still talk.