Presenter Mentor Kickoff…

October 10, 2008

finlogo1.jpgIf you’ve ever wondered if you could get into speaking at the local user groups but just haven’t been sure where to get started, then this is the group for you. Whether you need help with that bad case of stage fright or you’re just looking for help in getting that deck/code combo just right, we can help.

And you are??

This group is comprised of some really passionate folks with diverse experiences and styles in technical speaking. We hope to create a highly interactive and focused group that will help to grow and hone those skills that you need to be effective and interesting as a speaker. Come join us and see if we can help you find your voice – hey, we’ll even help you find a speaking spot once you’re ready.

Details

We are happy to announce that we are finally ready to have our first meeting (or so we believe). Granted, this is as new to us as it is to anyone so I’m sure that it’s going to be a process but I’m really looking forward to see what comes of it and I know that we’re going to have a good time helping folks. If you’re interested, please go sign up on CodeZone so we can get you on the attendance list as well as letting you know about future events.

Hope to see you there.


David O’Hara is a Principal with Improving Enterprises in Dallas, Texas.


Honored…

October 7, 2008

MVPLogo.gifHaving only thrown myself into the community relatively recently, I was honored (and a bit surprised) to have been given this award. I look forward to the opportunity to continue sharing the things that I’ve learned and spreading the motivation to become a better developer. I want to thank my family for putting up with my extracurricular activities and being supportive of me following my passions. Also, a thank you to Microsoft – I take back like 3 of those things I said about you last week.

Next on my list of awards to achieve, an honorable hair mention from Justice Gray


Introduction to CodeRush: Part 1

September 1, 2008

I believe that anyone not using a productivity tool with their IDE is wasting time and, quite possibly, ripping off their employer/client. I don’t care if it’s CodeRush, Resharper, CodeSmart, or whatever but you should get a tool, get familiar with it and use it for everything it’s worth. I enjoy using the CodeRush/Refactor Pro! tools. As a matter of fact, I feel like I can’t hardly use Visual Studio without them. The only drawback I’ve found with CodeRush is that discoverability is just not there and with the vast array of capabilities, a lot of folks would rather do without than flounder so I’m hoping that this will help to ease that learning curve.

This “episode” is the first in a series screencasts I’ve been trying to put together for a while and I’m hoping that it will introduce the new user and maybe even show some existing users a few things that they didn’t know. I’m certainly no professional video editor so please excuse the quality while I try to find the right mix but I would appreciate your feedback.
Anyway, we’ll take a look at the structure markup that CodeRush does to help enhance readability and decorate code to make certain aspects visually evident. And we’ll be introduced to the mnemonic templating system and how just a few keystrokes can turn our intent to code.


Gemma Lynn…

July 20, 2008

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More Than You Care To Know About Me…

July 11, 2008

Randy tagged me with this meme so here goes…

What I was doing ten years ago

I had always believed that I was supposed to become a doctor; an orthopedic surgeon, specifically. But in 1998, I realized that it was not what was in my heart and I had to go a different direction. Unfortunately, at that time, the direction didn’t much matter to me so long as it was away from medical school. I was working at a buddy’s ISP (Internet Service Provider) and slinging drinks at a local bar. It was fun for a time and I am where I am today because of my experiences but I can’t say that I always made the best decisions. I’m just thankful that I had my family and friends around for support and that they were there when I was ready to move my life in a more positive direction.

Five snacks I enjoy

  1. Granola
  2. Starburst jelly beans
  3. Mixed nuts (but not the cheap crap with all those peanuts)
  4. Salt & Vinegar Kettle Chips
  5. Whatever is closest to my keyboard

Five things on my to-do list today

(This one is a really hard one for me since I have my to-do list split into contexts – I’m a GTD guy, what can I say)

  1. Call Lewisville Shoe Repair re: boot resole
  2. Call Adam Keys re: lunch next week
  3. Hang up all tools over workbench
  4. Upload starting codebase to Google Code for presentation
  5. Locate host service for CodeRush screencasts

Five favorite recipes

  1. Italian Egg Scramble
  2. Man-Mac
  3. Sausage & Peppers
  4. Genius – 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration
  5. Thermite – sorry, not handing this one out

Five jobs I have had

  1. Bag boy at country club
  2. Graphic artist and typesetter at college newspaper
  3. Skiptrace
  4. Veterinary technician
  5. Grocery clerk

Five bad habits

  1. Talking to myself a little too loud
  2. Snore (like it’s my job)
  3. Monitor touching when explaining/reading code
  4. Knowing I’m right
  5. Reminding people around me of #4

All the places I’ve lived

  1. Chicago, IL
  2. Louisville, KY
  3. San Antonio, TX
  4. Medina, OH
  5. Hillsborough, NJ
  6. Oxford, OH
  7. Denton, TX
  8. Flower Mound, TX

Five Random Things

  1. I sweat like a person twice my weight.
  2. I placed at state in 8th grade Science Olympiad.
  3. I went by the name “Michael” for a while.
  4. I collect antique fountain pens.
  5. Nutmeg is toxic if injected intravenously.

Five people I’m tagging

  1. Tom Opgenorth
  2. Brett Bim
  3. Chris Koenig
  4. Jason Portnoy
  5. Joe Ocampo

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