I attended the CINNUG meeting on May 20, 2008 and it was a open panel discussion on Software Development as A Career. There were a many people at the meeting and it was a great discussion. The guest speakers were Jim Holmes, Tim Apke, and Ed Summerfield. I finally got a chance to introduce myself to Jim. I've heard good things about him and Dayton .Net Developers Group is so close. I saw him at CODODN but I was too shy to introduce myself with it being my first event.

It's difficult to really cover this one because there were so many things being discussed but I got so much out of it and it was very inspiring. Some of the things that really stood out, they discussed the difference between working for a small company and working for a large company. They discussed certifications and gave their honest opinions and experience from the field. They answered many of the questions I had. They also talked about consulting. Another topic I was interested in and I was able to get a better understanding of the consulting world. I was able to talk to some my tweeps during the break.

After the break Mike Levy gave a quick presentation on Pattern Grok. This is something new the .NET Group is trying. There will be short sessions at the end of the meeting to allow people to get a chance to present a topic their interested in to the group. The discussion was on pipes and filters and was interesting as well as funny. I think the short sessions are a great idea. It gives people an opportunity to speak to a group of people. This may allow them to be comfortable enough to become a speaker or give a presentation in the future.

I attended my first Cincinnati Programmers Guild (CincyPG) meeting on May 21, 2008. Joe Wirtley was speaking. I really enjoyed this group. It's a smaller group which gave me a chance to relax a bit and actually talk to people. Before the meeting started I got a chance to speak to Leon Gersing, Matt Brewer, and Joe Wirtely (tweeps). I feel like I'm getting to know people a bit so now I not as stressed. A step forward in my journey.

The topic was Pragmatic Architechture and the Role of the Architect. Joe did a great job defining an architect as well as discussing the role(s), responsibilities, and some overall challenges. There were many good discussions that went along with some of the topics. This meeting had a more open format than some of the other I've attended. I really enjoy both. It does depends on the size of the group. For this group, it worked. I didn't jump into the discussion. I know I was welcome to but I'm not quite ready for the spotlight. :)

I hope to attend more CincyPG meetings. I was able to get a better understanding of what software architech's role is and some of the expectations. This related to the CinArc meeting I attended recently perfectly.

I attended the first annual Cleveland Day of .NET on May 17, 2008. I arrived in Cleveland around 10:00 P.M. and went to the room to meet my roommate (and a tweep), Maggie Longshore. Very nice lady with some great experience. So cool to finally meet another female programmer.

I was anxious to meet some of the tweeps that were in town. One problem. Some tweeps were at a karaoke bar and some tweeps were at the hotel. Decisions, decisions. I should have taken the entire day off to be better prepared, life lesson #1.

I ended up hanging out at the hotel bar with Maggie, Dan Hounshell, and Mike Eaton. Overall, I had a good time. It was difficult to hear them because the bar was JUMPIN'. I have never seen a hotel bar that lively. Cleveland, you really do rock!

I caught up with the second set of tweeps later, for a bit, and it was really great to see everyone. I was able to reunite with and/or meet Joe O'Brien, Amanda Laucher, Jeff McWherter, Alan Stevens, Dave Redding, Eric (sorry I cannot remember your last name), Justin Kohnen, and Leon Gersing. I wish I would have had more time to hang with everyone but it was still a great experience!

Let me just say this before I start my recap. Twitter is awesome and it was great to see all the twitter names on the badges at the event. Great idea! I met so many people that I didn't get a chance to hang out with. Too many to name. Perhaps another event.

The Event:

WCF Security by Richard Broida. I'm not real familiar with WCF (Windows Communication Foundation) yet but I'm interested in it and in security so I wanted to attend this session.  When I think security I think SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), transport level protection, so it was good to hear the details of message level protection. Richard had some good demos and advice. There's a lot to learn about this topic. As a matter of fact, there was so much to cover I believe we only got through the first of four demos. I wish this would have been a two part session. I was really interested in seeing the other demos. Maybe next year. :)

LINQ to SQL by Joshua Clark. Joshua gave an overview of LINQ (Language Integrated Query) and went over the different ways you can use LINQ. He covered LINQ to Objects, LINQ to DataSets, LINQ to SQL, LINQ to Entities, and LINQ to XML. I still haven't found the right tutorial to really get my fire burning for LINQ but Joshua also suggested a couple of good blogs that may do the trick. I think the problem is I'm a SQL chick so I just don't see it yet.

Sofware Ninjitsu: Designing for Change by Nate Kohari. I'm interested in design and know the importance as efficient code so I decided to attend this presentation. I didn't know what to expect but I'm really glad I did attend this one. It got me thinking about making each program as flexible as possible. Getting the most out of each line, thinking of it as a piece of the jigsaw. I learned so much from the session. I need to review the material again before I'll be able to get a good grasp of everything. It was just packed full of good information. 

A Look at F# by Amanda Laucher. This was a must attend. I've heard so much about Amanda, F#, and this presentation. She lived up to my expectations by far. Amanda did a great job of explaining what F# is and how to use it. She also showed some great examples that I will try soon. It seems pretty structured and I do like that. I'm really inspired to learn some F#. I enjoy command line programming. It reminds me of my roots. After attending this presentation I see why Amanda toots F#'s horn, because it's worthy. ;)

Understanding HttpHandlers and HttpModules by Joe Brinkman. This was a great presentation. Joe had some great graphics that broke down the "when, why, and how" of controlling each. He also gave some great demonstrations that dealt with Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 and IIS7. I enjoyed seeing the difference between the two and how it interacts with ASP.NET. There was even a moment in the presentation when things didn't go so smoothly and Joe stopped and debugged on the spot like a true pro. I was really impressed. I also plan on launching a site using DotNetNuke soon so seeing Joe in person was exciting.

WPF for Developers by Joe Wirtley. I finally got a chance to see Joe's presentation of WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation). I missed him in Central Ohio and Indy. I had to catch him in Cleveland. On top of that the topic was exactly what I had on my mind. I've heard about this for so long but still couldn't help to think of this as more of a tool for graphic designers. I now realize there is a benefit for developers to learn some WPF. Joe covered a lot of ground in a short time and I was able to learn enough to feel comfortable trying a WPF project now. 

When the event was over I wanted to go to dinner but couldn't do PF Chang's. I have food allergies. I wanted to go somewhere else and meet the crew after dinner but knew it would be getting late soon. I had a long drive back to Cincinnati so I figured it was best I get started. Life lesson #2, when going to an out of town be prepared to stay the night of the event. It was my first time in Cleveland but next year I'll be better prepared.