Windows 7 on Netbook Cast 1 from Chris Woodruff on Vimeo.

http://deepfriedbytes.com/podcast/episode-36-what-happens-in-the-speaker-rsquo-s-lounge-is-supposed-to-stay-in-the-speaker-rsquo-s-lounge/

I have wanted to use Workflow Foundation on a few projects in the past but just never got the chance. It is a very cool tool that enables not only developers but the business owners to have clear business process developed. So I was excited to get Brian Noyes on the podcast to discuss Workflow Foundation. Brian is a great presenter and developer and I had the pleasure to meet him years ago when he came to one of the first Lexington .NET User Group meetings. Brian always gives clear explanations and great stories to share his knowledge of technology and development.

I have hated the word programmer for as long as I could remember. I cannot remember why or when I started this hatred but it still stings me when I hear the word. I get asked what I do for a living and I usually tell people I develop software. I just want to crawl out of my skin when people ask me if I program computers. Makes it sound like all I do is flip switches and turn knobs. Hard to make people understand what I really do is solve problems and help people use tools they have at work, play and home. I think of myself sometimes as a samurai sword maker that has to take raw steel and form it into the supreme weapon. That takes a lot of dedication and practice. More than just typing words into a computer.

Just had to get that off my chest.

Now that I am almost 40, I feel sorry for the people that rushed through college and may not have experienced everything college life has to offer. Looking back after almost 16 years beyond that great part of my life, I can honestly say that I do not regret taking my time and enjoying learning outside the classroom.

I was not the best student but I did enjoy each class I took. I was and continue to be a weak memorize information type of person. I rely on being able to look up the needed details I need for the task at hand and the Internet and Google (now Bing) have helped me cover a weakness I have had for a long time.

What was one of my strengths in college? Finding new people and learning from the connection I made with them. I found that at Michigan State University with over 40,000 students and faculty, there was always someone I did not know and could learn from. I had many friends in college in many different circles. I really have no connections to most of the people I knew in college (before LinkedIn and Facebook) but I learned from each person I knew all of college or only briefly.

What I really learned in college was to get out of my comfort zone and see the world through others eyes. I grew up in a majority white community with a majority middle class set of friends. I was very shy as a kid and introverted. When I left for college I knew that I had to change and be more outgoing. I made it a purpose to meet a lot of people wherever I went. I had many friends in college and most were not like me. The ones I enjoyed the most were people that lived their lives to the fullest. I had friends of all races, religions and sexual preferences. I had a few friends that would have thought of as extreme geek and some that were jocks. They helped me to deal with the differences and commonalities of relationships that we all should have in our lives.

Looking back on those years they made me who I am and I am thankful that I had time to grow as a person and find myself before I had to get grown-up in the so called real world. I still try to meet and find interesting people in the communities I participate these days. I do not have as much time and energy to dedicate to these relationships but I hope I am still growing as a person.

(The photo included in the post was from a Michigan State football tailgate probably 1993. I am the guy with the blue hat on in the back.)

1. Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction
2. Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules
3. Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams
4. Head First Design Patterns or Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software
5. The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master
6. Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code
7. Framework Design Guidelines: Conventions, Idioms, and Patterns for Reusable .NET Libraries
8. Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications
9. Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change

None of these books cover any .NET or language specific topics. I would argue that even the book covering frameworks could be used by developers outside of the .NET platform.The purpose of this book list is to change your view of the world so that you as a developer design, architect and develop better software. This list is not the only books you can or should read but the ones I have found in my years of reading and working that helped me get better in my craft. A few of these books may be out of print but I would advise finding them used or borrowing them from friends.

There are many technical conferences throughout the Midwest and Great Lakes region. Some are very technical like the West Michigan .NET University event that recently happened in Grand Rapids. Some are not so technical and are even more fun. The KalamazooX conference that will be on April 25, 2009 is one of those conferences where you may not see a line of code and be the better for it. I promise you will.

I will just let the organizers explain what the conference is:

The Kalamazoo X Conference is a one-day software development conference hosted in beautiful Southwest Michigan. While there are many great technical conferences in the region, their focus tends toward new technologies and programming languages. The Kalamazoo X Conference intends to uniquely complement those conferences by enabling attendees to boost their process, design, and communication skills in the following areas:

• Human interaction, including social, personal, and career development.
• Interface and graphic design
• Development processes and best practices
• Requirements analysis, architecture, design, and modeling

I have been waiting for a conference like this to appear and I am very happy that Mike Eaton, Anne Goodrich and Michael Markel have stepped up and created an event that will give attendees knowledge that is often overlooked by people that is highly valuable.

I will be speaking on Measured Innovation and I am very excited to get to speak on this topic after years of waiting for that right event to spill my guts over a very needed topic.

The following is a run down of the speakers and their talks:

• Soft Skills
  Brian Prince
• Branding 101: Growing your brand
  Clovis Bordeaux
• Social Networking for Geeks
  Sarah Dutkiewicz
• How to use Measured Innovation when developing new Technology
  Chris Woodruff
• A little bit of Lean with Kanban
  Tim Wingfield
• 5 Classic Patterns in Everyday Code
  Mike Wood
• 3 Tips to Improve Your Development Process
  Jim Holmes
• The Process of Designing Experiences
  Andy van Solkema  
• The Art of Simplicity
  Josh Holmes
• Six Tips for Improving User Experience
  Jeff Blankenburg
• Change
  Leon Gersing
• Organizational Dynamics
  James Bender
• Effective Customer Communication
  David Giard
• Leadership 101
  Jim Holmes

The West Michigan .NET University at GVSU Pew Campus

When

April 4, 2009

Time

7:30AM to 5:00PM

Where

Grand Valley State University Pew Campus

What is a .NET University event?

A .NET University event is a free day long community event for spreading knowledge of the latest Microsoft and .NET technologies. We will have morning and afternoon sessions that are longer and teach from the basics to the intermediate levels for IT workers to learn from some of the region’s top experts.

Registration is Open!

Join the West Michigan .NET User Group for their first ever West Michigan .NET University. We only have 250 spots open so sign up now!! The day will include lunch!

Register here.

I wanted to pass along some details that were flushed out today concerning the MVP Summit Geek Dinner on March 4, 2009 at the Tap House Grill in Seattle across the street from the Sheraton Hotel.

• Dinner will be at 6:00PM and we have 2 rooms we will be seated in each with room for 35-40 people.
• After Dinner the party will move over to the Billiards Lounge (pictured in the post) where we will have a bar and many pool tables to play and mingle around.
• Happy Hour will start at 10:00PM until close with $4 beers and $5 cocktails along with happy hour food

Get your Geek Dinner tickets at mvpsummitgeekdinner.eventbrite.com

Here is the beer list:

Sara Ford (PM for Microsoft CodePlex) and myself are planning a Geek Dinner for the last night of the MVP Summit. We hope our friends can make the dinner at the Tap House Grill at 6:00PM after the last sessions at the event wrap up. The Tap House Grill is right across the street from the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Seattle. We currently have 75 spots open for the dinner and you can get a ticket to get your seat. We may open up more seats if we fill up and if the restaurant can accommodate us.

Just for your information the Tap House Grill has 160 beers on tap and features many of the best microbreweries from the Northwest US.

Where — Tap House Grille http://taphousegrill.com

When — March 4, 2009 at 6:00PM

Why — Why not!! Let’s enjoy a dinner before we all go home from the Summit

RSVP tickets — http://mvpsummitgeekdinner.eventbrite.com/