CodeMash: What I Learned

What did I learn at CodeMash? First, planning conferences is a lot of work. Second, there is multiple ways to perform any task and you should be able to discuss the options. Third, software development is a human endeavor and, as such, has some very familiar limitations. This third point is really the most interesting to me. Two of the three keynoters - Bruce Eckel and Neal Ford - discussed different aspects of this very same thing. What I found really interesting was that both used art to illustrate their points. This strikes a chord for me since I've attempted to find philosophy in software development for quite some time. It started when I first read the Art of War, written by Sun Tsu over 2000 years ago. Sun Tsu actually seemed to be addressing the Agile versus Orchestrated development (a term I believe coined by Martin Shoemaker) controversy two millenia before the advent of the computer. So what was his stance? Plan carefully, but be prepared for contingencies or, put another way, plan to be agile. Back to my original point - taking the time to study the humanities is time well spent and can help you become a better developer.

So what do I do from here? First off, I'm really looking forward to completing the WCF webcast series. Along the way, I'm planning on learning something about producing professional webcasts. I may never get there, but I should certainly be able to improve my end product. Then I want to jump into Ruby on Rails. I may still do Turbo Gears instead, but my three minutes with Neal Ford has got me thinking Ruby. Functional programming is still an interest and I think it could really benefit me in my current projects. But what about the humanities part? I would like to learn to play the guitar. Music has been a huge mystery to me for quite some time and maybe it's time to address it.

And that's what I learned from CodeMash.

CodeMash: Thank You

Wow! Let me say it again. Wow! CodeMash was an amazing success and we have no one to thank but the community. If it wasn't for you - the organizer, the speaker, the sponsor, the attendee, the Kalahari employee - the event never would have taken place. I would, however, like to thank some individuals for everything they have done. I actually tried to do several posts during the event each of which was going to thank some random group of people. Unfortunately, I could only complete the one. So before I get into some of the specifics of what I've learned, I want to dedicate this post to those outstanding individuals.

Organizing Committee

• Jim Holmes - Our leader and the guy who somehow or another talked me into this crazy venture. Without him, CodeMash would be nothing more than a good idea. Thanks for the opportunity, Jim.
• Jason Gilmore - Another outstanding individual. His involvement in almost all facets of the event was key to our success.
• Brian Prince - Talk about knowing how to get things done. Not only was he heavily involved in all of the prep work, but he made the registration process happen at the event happen among many, many other things.
• Jason Follas - Jason was there recruiting sponsors, designing t-shirts, and anything else that needed to be done.
• Dianne Marsh - Despite her one word mantra during our daily scrums - "Signs" - Dianne, was actively recruiting sponsors, attendees, discussing logistics with her event-seasoned friend, Lauren...Dianne was everywhere. I might also add, she was part of the conspiracy to get me involved. Thanks, Dianne.
• Josh Holmes - He was there from the very beginning and was instrumental in getting things started. After taking his new position at Microsoft, he continued his involvement in many different arenas.
• Drew Robbins - Always a major supporter of our community events, Drew has done a lot not only for CodeMash, but our user groups as well.

A couple of people who were instrumental during CodeMash

• Joyce - Sorry I don't know your last name, Joyce. Joyce is Dianne's neighbor and has little or no interest in anything computer related. She simply wanted to help Dianne. She was a huge help.
  
• Jeff Blankenburg - Jeff designed the logo which is peppered thoughout my blog and worked his tail off at the event.
  
• Alexei Govorine - Worked hard at the registration booth and even got to put his SQL Server skills to the test.
  
• John Hopkins - Yet another event he shows up to and pitches in where he can. The man has done a lot for the .NET community.

What's a conference without a venue. The folks at Kalahari were a real help and deserve a mention

• Kathy Siford - My first contact at Kalahari. Thanks for all of the guidance.
  
• Mary Smith - Great job dealing with all of my requests shuffling people all over the hotel. I know it was difficult.
  
• Kathy Kopchak - If you saw it at the conference, Kathy coordinated it. And you probably noticed there was a lot of coordinating. Thanks, Kathy.
  
• Steve Goris - He was the one that made sure all the things that Kathy promised us came true. Steve, the place was fantastic.
  
• Matthew Dick - Last, but by no means least, Matt made sure all the attendees, speakers and organizers had internet access, making it possible for "live" blogging. Had some great conversations with him and even heard him say that he WANTS TO BE A CODEMASH ORGANIZER! Can't take it back now, Matt. Sorry. You'll be getting a phone call
  

CodeMash, CodeMash and more CodeMash

Ah, yes. CodeMash is coming! As the "Facilities Coordinator", I was very busy making sure all of the details are taken care of. Let me assure you, there are a lot details! But Jim Holmes came to the rescue and has taken over a portion of said coordinating. Whew! Registrations are continuing to come in and we are inching closer and closer to to our original estimates. Dare I say that we'll go over?

Blog CodeMash, Go to CodeMash, Win a Zune

CodeMashThat's right! More CodeMash! And it just got a lot more interesting. If you are planning on going to CodeMash - of course, you are - just blog about the conference and you eligible to win a Zune! As great as it would be to be the first kid in the neighborhood win a Zune, the real prize is CodeMash. Why is that? let's see...

• Bruce Eckel


• Neal Ford


• Scott Guthrie

Two days of code and fun at Kalahari resort is a hard thing to pass up when the conference fee and room will cost you less than $300 (limited time only, those of you procrastinating). Hope to see you there.

WCF Webcasts, Java and CodeMash

First off, I thought I was going to be able to jump right into my WCF webcasts that I promised, but it appears that I am going to have to put a little more thought into this. First off, I want to design my webcasts to be as short and focused as possible - hopefully five minutes or less. Why the limitation? I was listening to Mark Miller on an old episode of dotnetrocks (do yourself a favor and listen) talk about the great features we develop that are only ignored by the customer. Why do they ignore, you ask? Because customers don't know it's there and/or they don't know how to use it. One of his ideas to combat the problem was to was to include brief training videos no more than 5 minutes long in the help "infrastructure". I heard this and said, "hmmmmmmmmmmm....I know! I'm going to steal Miller's idea and tell everyone I came up with it"! Inject the evil scientist laugh here. All kidding aside, I think he brings up a great point for a couple of reasons. One, if you are new to a particular application, you will hit the help files and the internet a lot looking for very easy answers. I do not often find easy answers in help files. I do, however, seem to get a lot out of watching someone explain what they are doing while they are coding. As proof of this, I just recently listened to Miguel Castro talk about web controls on dotnetrocks AND watch similar content on dnrTV. The difference was amazing. I got so much more out of the dnrTV episodes (btw, this is no knock against dotnetrocks. I condider myself a loyal fan). Unfortunately, I can't watch dnrTV for an hour everytime I have a problem. Therefore, I feel very short, well-defined segments are far more helpful than hundreds of lines in a help file. I could be wrong here (or I suppose Mark Miller could be wrong), but I doubt it. Therefore, I'm looking I'm looking at the entirety of what I'm trying to develop before I begin. I'll keep you posted.

Last post, I was talking about Java. If you're one of the two people who read my blog, you'll know that I'm reading Thining in Java. I'm getting ready for CodeMash and want to be able to intelligently discuss platform differences - something I consider a shortcoming of mine. Well, I've read a couple hundred pages and I can tell you there is little difference at the superficial leve between Java and .NET. Makes sense, since Java was a bit of a model for .NET. One interesting point is that I feel I'm learning a lot about .NET by doing the examples in the book. Who would have thunk?


Have you registerd for CodeMash yet? If not, WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!? Here is a conference that has Scott Guthrie, Neal Ford and Bruce Eckel lined up as keynote speakers, something few of us have thought could ever happen. Register now at www.codemash.org. You want to be part of this one.