March 2008 - Posts

Watch a developer evangelist multitask
29 March 08 11:41 PM | llangit | 0 Comments   

At CommunityNext in Hollywood (a dimly lit bar on a Saturday morning, wierd), networking, listening to Scoble now, working on the demos for the presentation shown below for Monday, twittering, texting, IMing, debugging WCF, talking with Heather about Read More...

Filed under: Southern California, Technical Conference, Annoyances, Fun

Sore arms, but not from coding
26 March 08 04:47 PM | llangit | 2 Comments   

rather from the last of my vaccinations . 8 in total, I am supposedly ready to go anywhere in the world for 10 years now. The big question this year is whether I'll have time to go anywhere. It had been my plan to return to Lusaka, Zambia to do in-country Read More...

Filed under: Annoyances, Fun, Helping

FriendFeed - ok, I give up
25 March 08 05:02 AM | llangit | 1 Comments   

I simply can NOT keep up with all the social networking 'stuff' out there. Now, there's this 'friendfeed' thingee. What do you think - should I do it? Now really, do you actually know what all of those little icons that you can 'hook together' really Read More...

Filed under: Annoyances, Fun

Silverlight for SharePoint Blueprint
23 March 08 04:59 PM | llangit | 4 Comments   

SharePoint Developer? Have you seen this yet? Fun stuff - enjoy. Silverlight for SharePoint Blueprint Read More...

Filed under: ASP.NET development, SharePoint

Singularity RDK
21 March 08 06:20 AM | llangit | 4 Comments   

Ok, I admit it, I 'suffer' from curiosity. While looking around CodePlex for something else, I was interested to see that Singularity was the top downloaded project. Just having finished reading my Expert F# book (and still trying to completely grok that Read More...

Filed under: Fun

SQL Server 2008 PowerShell SnapIn
20 March 08 10:11 PM | llangit | 0 Comments   

Oh, the things you find when you are writing a book. Now, the problem is to spend less time 'finding' and to spend more time 'writing', isn't it? This feature is new to the downloadable SQL Server 2008 CTP 6. Rob has a nice explanation of how to make Read More...

Filed under: SQL Server 2008

The Code Trip is on it's way to SoCal, will you be there?
20 March 08 01:19 AM | llangit | 1 Comments   

There are 5 places to catch the Code Trip in SoCal: 1. San Diego .NET Users Group 6p-9p on Tuesday, March 25 th - you must register here 2. Microsoft Irvine 6p-9p on Wednesday, March 26 th - you must register here 3. Cal State Fullerton 11a-1p (Engineering/Computer Read More...

Filed under: Vista development, Southern California, ASP.NET development, Fun

I'm supposed to be writing, but...
19 March 08 04:38 AM | llangit | 1 Comments   

Apologies in advance to Don Syme here. I'm weak, and easily distracted. F# is my muse. let WriteChaptersAsync (x) = async { use someBrain = Brain.OpenAndThink(sprintf "getIt.tmp" x) let! ideas = someBrain.ReadAsync(thoughts) let ideas' = TransformIntoParagraphs(pages,x) Read More...

Filed under: F#

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 - great information site
18 March 08 05:45 PM | llangit | 2 Comments   

Hey, we did it right for once. As I am researching information for my BI book, I am actually using one of our own sites - it's concise, well-organized and, most importantly, searchable. We even have Virtual Labs, so if you want to to try it out without Read More...

So you think you can blow off Facebook?
17 March 08 08:42 PM | llangit | 1 Comments   

I don't think so. Take a look at this interesting discussion of two big US retailers (Target and Wal-Mart) using Facebook. Social networking is here to stay. The real question is which type of social networking tools will you use and for what purposes? Read More...

Filed under: ASP.NET development, Fun

Why Data Mining Matters
17 March 08 03:24 AM | llangit | 1 Comments   

When I tell people that I am writing a second book on data warehousing, business intelligence, OLAP cubes and/or Data Mining, I generally get the same response, "Huh, wow, that's deep stuff". Well, yes it is, but I don't have any formal training in math Read More...

Filed under: Annoyances, BI

geekSpeak and why it's cooler than a podcast
16 March 08 03:47 AM | llangit | 1 Comments   

Hey - check it out, while at Mix08 in Las Vegas - Glen and I talked to Nikita from Channel 8 about geekSpeak . Like my shirt? Very 'bling, bling' isn't it? That's the shirt we gave out to Mix attendees for making a donation to the YMCA for National Women's Read More...

Filed under: MIX, Helping, geekSpeak

Silverlight Controls
12 March 08 02:29 AM | llangit | 1 Comments   

Have you checked out the Silverlight 2.0 beta 1 controls introduced at Mix last week? Make your life easy... Silverlight Controls Read More...

Filed under: ASP.NET development, MIX, Technical Conference

What actually gets used?
11 March 08 03:27 AM | llangit | 8 Comments   

Living in the world of software, I paused to consider this question. I thought about my daily interaction with software and wanted to recognize and prioritize (in order to simplify) my top 10 applications. So here they are listed in order of my use: 1) Read More...

Filed under: Fun

The Scientist - Natasha Bedingfield
09 March 08 10:01 PM | llangit | 0 Comments   

Great song, great voice - thought I'd share, enjoy. The Scientist - Natasha Bedingfield Read More...

Filed under: Art, Fun

Presentation Zen
09 March 08 05:23 AM | llangit | 1 Comments   

I've been thinking quite a bit about what I call the 'visualization problem' lately - meaning ineffective visualization for presentations, reporting (or business intelligence), search engines, blogs, etc...is it just me, or does the preponderance of crap Read More...

Filed under: MSDN events, Art, Fun

Who are these people? What is this RV?
08 March 08 06:44 PM | llangit | 1 Comments   

Why it's the newest MSDN developer evangelist, Bruno Terkaly and me, in front of the Code Trip RV. What's the Code Trip? - it's a cross-country (well, across the Western Region anyway) drive with a RV full of Microsoft evangelists, developers, electronic Read More...

Filed under: MSDN events, Fun

Steve Ballmer and Guy Kawasaki Keynote @ MIX Online
08 March 08 03:12 AM | llangit | 1 Comments   

Watch Steve Ballmer and Guy Kawasaki Keynote This was one of my favorite things at Mix08 this week. There is a TON of information to absorb and understand from Mix - a great place to start is to watch the sessions from Mix that of interest to you - those Read More...

Filed under: MIX, Technical Conference, Fun

{iGive=y}; at Mix08
06 March 08 11:50 PM | llangit | 1 Comments   

{iGive=y}; Help Microsoft support the YWCA in honor of National Women’s History month in March by exchanging a donation for a limited edition iGive shirt. The shirts will be distributed by members of Microsoft’s Developer Platform & Evangelism team Read More...

Filed under: MIX, Fun, Helping

F# has got me
02 March 08 05:33 PM | llangit | 5 Comments   

I am supposed to be doing real work, but instead, I am exploring... Read More...

Filed under: Fun