(Sun Feb 18, 2007) [/Speaking] #
Bob Payne set up an impressive array of podcasting equipment at The Rails Edge conference last month and chatted with speakers and attendees throughout the show.
When the lights came down on the conference the last day, he invited me into his virtual radio
studio to talk about conferences, training, and other Pragmatic Studio offerings on
the horizon.
I'm looking forward to hearing the other recordings he's planning
to release over time. In the meantime, check this one out if you're curious about
what we have in the Pragmatic Studio hopper.
(MP3, 16 digitally-mastered minutes)
(Wed Jan 17, 2007) [/Speaking] #
My friend Dan Benjamin invited me onto his new podcast show for a conversation about Ruby, Rails, Pragmatic Studio, and all that stuff.
He expertly worked his interviewer ninjutsu by putting me on the spot about the slow
trickle of blogging going on here. I've been Dan'd!
(MP3, 32 digitally-mastered minutes)
(Thu Aug 03, 2006) [/Speaking] #
I really enjoyed chatting with everyone at OSCON last week. Ruby got
a lot of good play, which was good to see. Dave and I gave another
Ruby and Rails Guidebook as a warmer-upper. Kathy Sierra gave a brilliant
keynote that I continue to draw inspiration from. And I had the pleasure of
getting a Seaside demo from Avi Bryant.
It all stretches the brain... in a very good way.
If you're looking for the slides to my Capistrano and testing talks,
as promised I've posted them
over here.
Enjoy!
(Wed Mar 09, 2005) [/Speaking] #
I'm tickled pink, er, red to report that I just received confirmation
that my automation with Ruby talk proposal has been accepted for the
O'Reilly Open
Source Convention (OSCON) in August.
I (heart) Ruby, and the number of real-life applications being built
with Ruby is on the rise, thanks in large part to the Rails juggernaut. Thankfully,
the Ruby community has crafted good tools for automating many of the
chores that go along with building and supporting these applications.
And the Ruby language lends itself well to quickly automating
repetitive tasks on any project.
My Getting Off the Treadmill talk will cover at least the
following:
-
Using Rake and Test::Unit
to create a one-step build and test process.
-
Continuously building and testing your code with
DamageControl. (Hey, it's
written in Ruby.)
-
Packaging, deploying, and installing applications with ease using
RubyGems.
-
Using Ruby to generate project metrics and synoptic displays.
-
Turning step-by-step manual chores into push-button Ruby scripts.
-
Monitoring builds and running programs with email, RSS, your cell
phone, and other feedback devices.
-
And I'm sure I won't be able to resist showing off a
Rails application (or ten).
Yes, I'll bring my lava lamps, X10 controllers, orbs, and any other
yummy automation gear I can scrounge before the conference. (Airport
security can pry them from my cold, dead fingers. Well, maybe not.)
Hope to see you there!
(Tue Mar 08, 2005) [/Speaking] #
Like many conferences, I find the real action happens along the
fringes. It's there that you find one-on-one conversations that
tickle your brain. TheServerSide Java
Symposium this weekend in Vegas was certainly no exception for me.
Above all else, it was a great opportunity to hang out with good
friends and meet new ones.
I was pleasantly surprised that my automation and TDD talks were
so well attended (and rated!) at a conference focused more on
technology than technique. Thanks to all of you for not only
listening, but also for asking thoughtful questions and for your kind
comments afterwards. I hope it was as fun for you as it was for me.
As well, I appreciate that many of you pre-registered for a signed
copy of my book or stopped by the booth to say that you already owned
a copy. It was gratifying and humbling to hear from all of you. Thanks!
(Tue Jan 04, 2005) [/Speaking] #
Yours truly will lead a Java seminar titled "Better Software, Faster"
on February 5th hosted by Hurricane
Electric in Fremont, CA. I'm looking forward to the opportunity
to speak as part of their series of seminars promoting continued
education in technology. The press
release has all the details.
I'm particularly excited about this seminar because the whole day is
focused on three topics that I'm passionate about---topics that I hope
are near and dear to all Java developers:
-
Clean and Green: How to write clean code that works and refactor
legacy code to prevent code rot.
-
A Dozen Ways to Get the Testing Bug: 12 practical ways to start
experiencing test-driven development on your project.
-
Pragmatic Project Automation: Recipes for automating your software project chores.
If you're in the area, I hope you'll consider registering and joining
me for a day of learning and discussion. Hurricane Electric charges
$199 to attend, which includes lunch, one free month of colocation at
their facility, and a free copy of Pragmatic
Project Automation.
(Tue Dec 28, 2004) [/Speaking] #
If hallway talk and evaluation forms are any indication, this weekend's
No Fluff, Just Stuff symposium in Reston, VA was a smashing success. You could almost feel the energy in the air throughout the weekend. As a result, I came back fully recharged.
Just a few highlights from the weekend:
-
Friday night I met Dave Astels and Erik Wenberg for dinner. One of the great things about traveling is meeting new folks and hearing what they're up to, and I really enjoyed exchanging ideas with Dave and Erik. While listening to them, I couldn't help but think that their team is fortunate to have them both. Good developers are hard to find, even in this economy.
-
Uncle Bob made his first appearance on the symposium tour. I had just finished helping a client start using
FitNesse, so this was an excellent opportunity to chat with Bob about how he and Micah are building it. We need more applications like this that are developed with simplicity as a design goal.
-
Patrick Linksey, fellow co-author of
Bitter EJB
and VP of Engineering for SolarMetric, treated a few of us hungry speakers to an outstanding dinner on Saturday night in downtown DC.
-
After dinner on Saturday night, we walked around the Tidal Pool visiting all the monuments and memorials. I've toured DC many times, but this was my first look at the mall after dark. I was struck by how it takes on a different kind of beauty with the illuminations contrasting the night sky. Jason helped me hone my nighttime photography skills and discover the value of inanimate objects as tripods. I thought this picture captured the mood of the nation. It's taken looking across the Korean War Veterans Memorial with the Lincoln Memorial in the background.
(Tue Dec 28, 2004) [/Speaking] #
If you're expecting to see me at the No Fluff show in Virginia this weekend,
I won't be there. I canceled out a couple weeks ago, but as of
this morning the site still has me slated to give three talks.
I don't know what's up with that, but I wouldn't want it to misdirect
anyone.
I will be speaking at the
Denver show next weekend.
(Tue Dec 28, 2004) [/Speaking] #
I'm gearing up for the
No Fluff Just Stuff symposium
tour this year. We had a grand time last year on the tour, and this year I
predict it will go over the top. If it's coming to your neck of the woods,
let's hook up!
On that topic, Duncan scores a bulls-eye with his timely blog entry
On Working for Free. In it he shares his candid thoughts:
If all the speakers at a conference aren't payed, then they are either pushing product (or themselves) or inexperienced. Just the two things that attendees of a conference don't want. They want to get access to the good stuff. The good presentations. The good speakers. The people that will help them have the thoughts that will help them with their careers.
I couldn't agree more. That's exactly why I've paid to attend conferences. Settle for nothing less.
(Tue Dec 28, 2004) [/Speaking] #
I'm headed out to Austin tonight for the kick-off of the 2003
No Fluff, Just Stuff
symposium tour this weekend. Check out the map on their newly-redesigned
website to see all of our stops this year. James, Jason, and I arriving a
day early at this stop to take in some local sites and hang out with a few of
James' old friends.
I'll be speaking on the following topics:
- Test-Driven Development with JUnit
- Bitter Tunes: Performance Tuning Antipatterns
- Bitter Messages: JMS and Message-Driven Bean Antipatterns
What I especially like about these events is the close-in feel. That is,
I don't feel like I'm wading through a sea of nameless faces all weekend.
The relatively small number of attendees at each session allows me to
tailor each talk. Indeed, you have an opportunity to participate. With a
smaller session I can focus on making sure all your questions are answered
to the best of my ability, either during or after the talk. And although all
the talks are rich in technical content, often times they're only the
beginning of a deeper conversation. You can always collar me anytime throughout
the weekend to pair program or just chat.
Yeah, I know, training budgets are tight, but you just can't beat the price point
of this symposium. Jay Zimmerman and crew do an outstanding job coordinating 4
concurrent sessions throughout the 2.5-day event. The
lineup of speakers is impressive and they're all available to help you. I'm confident that by
attending one of these shows you'll be making a great investment in your career.
See you there!
