Fred Mastropasqua

This weekend I attended the Orlando .Net Code Camp, 2010.  It was really good and I’m glad I went.  I even won a book, Professional ASP.NET 4 in C# and VB in a raffle drawing; I never win stuff :) I want to say thanks Microsoft!

Silverlight Animations 101

by Henry Lee from www.newagesolution.net

My first class of the day. This was a good class for me, because I wanted to know more about Silverlight animation. Granted some of it I already knew from using Blend and recently developing a business tool in SL, such as the VisualStateManager, but other little things I picked up were nice to knows and stuff I would like to dive into more later when I have time.

Behavior Driven Development (BDD)

by Sean Chambers, files at http://github.com/schambers/orlandocodecamp2010
http://www.lostechies.com/blogs/sean_chambers/

This was a great class in learning a new way of thinking and testing.  Developing test cases and application requirements from the outside in. Similar to GWT (Given When Then). I got a lot of good info from this on BDD vs TDD.  A neat tool that was mentioned was SpecUnit which reads your BDD and generates a cool Html document from it.  Also, due to the nature of Ruby on Rails, there is a good book on BDD for Ruby. Though it’s for Ruby, the theory is the same. It was recommended. The RSpec Book.  The method was developed by Dan North.

Some tools mentioned were CruiseControl.Net, Resharper or Coderush templates and Autokey Bdd.

Successfully Running Your Own Business

by Paul Swengler

Good class for someone that’s never run or had a business before. I thought I’d get something out of it, but unfortunately I already knew all the info. Went over a lot of basics and obvious that people overlook.

WCF RIA Services

by John McFetridge http://jmcfetridge.blogspot.com/

I’m sorry John, but I had to walk out of the class. I just couldn’t sit in there anymore.  I’ve already developed SL apps talking with WCF but not with RIA or Entities or Domain Service. However, this class was way to fast and just all over the place that it hurt my head and I had to leave. Best thing I got out of it was Saurabh Pant’s weblog.

From there I went into a jQuery class halfway in, but already knew the material.

Introduction to Azure and SQL Azure

by Joe Healy http://dfwiki.devfish.net

Now, this was a great class. Great and better understanding of Azure since the first time I sat in on it, when it was still fresh out the womb at Microsoft.  Makes so much sense for small companies or even large ones to have tools developed that can be scaled to fit sudden bursts and spikes in traffic for a fraction of the cost if you were to house your own sever farm. SQL for Azure has come a long way as well and it was exciting to see it in action.  There’s also the free pricing model for small apps and testing.

I got a lot of information out of this class. Some things I want to look up for later is Jeff Bernes’ case study as he in Tampa like myself.   Jim Zimmermon and the Tampbay.net group.  Using Bizspark or Website Spark to get access to the MSDN and 8 months of Azure for free.

Note, need to use SQL Manager R2 with Azure and also I want to look more into SQL 2008 Geospacing. 

Local SQL to SQL Azure and SQL Azure to local SQL tool, SQLAzureMW at codeplex.

Understanding Lambda’s in .Net

by Scott Dorman at http://geekswithblogs.net/sdorman/

This was about Lambda expressions in C#. Was good but since I mainly develop in VB.Net, just made me a little jealous :p

Design for Developers

by Diane Leeper at http://www.dianeleeper.com/ and blog at http://www.42stars.com/blog/

This was another great class where I walked away with a lot of information on design. She gave out 5 rules.

#1 – Alignment & Grid
#2 – Focus
#3 – Art
#4 – Pictionary
#5 – Community

I won’t dive into those and take away her thunder but it will help me remember. Some books that were recommended.  Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, also The Back of the Napkin, which is more up my alley.

Some community links she gave out..

http://abduzeedo.com/
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/
http://www.visitmix.com/
http://2009.max.adobe.com/online/
http://videos.visitmix.com/
http://www.microsoft.com/design/toolbox

The End

And that about wraps it up.  Also, came across Russ there who does Silverlight training. http://www.russtoolshed.net/

They say it will all be on Channel9 soon at msdn.

Developer Tools, Education, Travel, Web Tools, Training & Learning CodeCamp

I'll make edits to this if anything else matters.

Not sure if they time zone change has hit me or not. I got in last night at midnight and didn't get into hotel and room until about 2 or 3am Sunday and it was only about maybe 5pm Saturday back in Florida? Kind of weird. So I went to bed, slept 4 hours and woke up at around 7 or 8 am and it was still only 11pm or so Sat back home.

So I think I'm good now. I'm still hoping I'll see Benny Lava on MTV haha, but they have other stuff on the TV that's cool.

Not sure what to do today, kind of don't want to venture out yet. They having free alcohol later from 12 to 3pm.. so... you know where I'll be. There's going to be some Indian wines and stuff so I'll have to go "taste test" for the culture. Haha, wish someone was here to enjoy with me.

I packed so much food from Publix back home my room looks like a little shopping mart. I have bottled water, gatorade, tuna fish, v8 juice, chef boyarde, jello, applesauce and all kinds of dry chips and crackers and snacks. Just in case. though the food in the hotel wasn't bad, I just had steamed chicken and veggies and some fruit and a waffle.

I need chapstick, lost mine.

Dinner at 6 with client.

Oh yeah and the whole money thing throughs me off. Taxi ride was 1200ruppess which is only about $26 but it sounds funny when someone tells me 1200. shutup, how much?

Travel

So for anyone that might not know, my company sent me to India for evaluate a few things for a client of ours. anyway...

Traveling to India was pretty much uneventful. If anything it felt strange traveling for so long, 24 hours of travel, though in India somehow I would arrive two days later. Mix that al in with the time zones and I feel like I've stepped through a time machine into the future. All my friends and previous life is in the past in another world.

I was sitting in the airport in Paris, and I kept watching people and something was strange about everyone. Beside the fact that I had no idea what anyone was saying as they all spoke french.. then it hit me, I hadn't seen one fat person. Everyone was skinny or just a little over, but no fat people. All the women are different, such a wide range, not saying they were all hot but I was kind of mesmerized. The black females were different as well, more sophisticated it seems no ghettoness about them. Then they spoke french and sounded.. intriguing. One girl came up to me to talk to me and seemed highly disappointed finding out I couldn't speak french.

Luckily over 24hrs and I didn't have to go t the bathroom. Though on the last leg to Bangalore they plane had a strange smell to it. Not sure what it was, so I faught back in my own way and kept passing gas haha.

I'm a fast driver and I appreciate a good speedy drive to get from point A to pint B, but man they drive a bit crazy here. they don't drive in the lanes like they should and though I read a sign every mile saying to do so. In stead they drive over the stripped lines diving the lanes like a remote controlled car on a toy track. They only move over if someone ties to pass them or push them with their car. They all honk and flash their lights as they practicly sidewipe everyone. I appreciated my speed course through the highway driving on the "wrong" side of the road, but I wonder how many accidents they run into.

On my ride to the hotel I noticed the radio playing Indian music on a very low volume. I asked the driver, without trying to use slang, "can you make the music louder?" he just nodded and says yes sure and kept driving, so I waited a few minutes... and asked again, "Music louder?" and again "yes" and no action. finally I pointed to the radio and give a thumbs up and shook it to the ceiling. finally he turned it up haha. I sat back and was enjoying whatever was playing. A few minutes into he turns the station.. station.. station... stops on one playing bad american 80's music. then the Dave Matthew's Band starts to play on the radio. I'm like ugh, come on. I didn't just fly 3000 miles to listen to Dave Matthew's play on the radio and crappy American 80's music. I finally told him "Indian music. Put back. Indian music" I know I sounded like a cave man but I'm trying to limit the words he has to translate.

I love the music and dance here, esp Indian's MTV.

I couldn't see much on the drive it was midnight when I flew in. Though the buildings on the sides of the highway looked like someone took gigantic coke and pepsi soda boxes (like the kind you buy at the store and put in your fridge and it has 24 cans) and built structures out of them. I don't think I saw a solid colored wall. It wasn't graffiti, just looked like sections of large soda boxes and advertisements everywhere.

Hotel has double security, I kind of felt like I was going to get stripped searched. Taxi drove through one gate and car was inspected with about 10 security guards. Then through another gate into the hotel. Makes me feel safe though once you're in, just in the back of your head in the middle of the night, you're thinking.. am I going to get out of here alive? haha.

Everyone in the hotel was extra nice and friendly. Too friendly it seems. Not sure why I feel every Indian I meet is timid and shy. I feel like I just want to start ordering them around. Do they have confrontations? Well other then driving.

Travel travel, india

Well I've sent away for my U.S. Passport so that I can take a trip somewhere. Not sure where I'd go yet, but open to suggestions! Wold rather go where there is someone I somewhat know or met online, rather then go somewhere where I know no one.

Personal, Travel personal, travel