What: John Stockton, presenting "Consuming Web Services in Silverlight"

Where: Microsoft Office
6050 Oak Tree Blvd
Suite 300
Independence, OH

When: Tuesday, August 12th, 5:45pm-????^*

John has spoken locally at the GCPCUG VB.NET/C# SIG and at Cleveland Day of .NET. He is also co-authoring Silverlight 2 in Action, of which he will be giving a copy away at the meeting. He has accepted an offer with Ascentium in Seattle and will be leaving us, and we are sorry to see such a talented devigner (developer + designer) go. So come out and see John in one of his last Cleveland presentations.

^* The Bennett Adelson SIG meetings are typically scheduled until 7:30pm. But I'm issuing this challenge to my readers who come to these meetings -- come out with us afterwards. And if you have other people who attend these meetings with you, bring them too!

Where: The Winking Lizard, Independence, OH

Even if you don't consume frosty adult beverages, come out for the conversation.

If you need approval from a spouse or other significant other, talk with them now and explain to them that it's going out with a group of geeks, talking about all things geeky and some non-geeky talk too! It's meeting fellow developers in the area, seeing what they're about. It's networking with others, as you never know who you'll be there and who you can meet. From learning new things to maybe getting help with a problem that you are experiencing with your code, you'd be surprised what you could gain from being there.

So August 12th - see you there!

Labels: .NET SIG, John Stockton, Silverlight

As I was told, July 3^rd was Contribupendence Day. So the challenge was to write 5 recommendations on {insert social networking site name here}. Like James Bender, as soon as I started writing them, my list started to grow. So I have my first five done, and I have quite a few more on my list that I want to tackle throughout this weekend.

So, in no particular order, the 5 recommendations I wrote on Plaxo were:

• Mike Eaton:Whether it's an idea for a presentation, an event, or even for a program, Mike is extremely enthusiastic about technology and knows how to turn an idea into a reality. He's quite involved with planning events for the developer community, and if he hears a good idea, he's one of the first to volunteer to help out. He's also making his rounds as a speaker, and his presentations are practical and easy to follow. I look forward to seeing more of his presentations and attending his events.


• Joe Fiorini: Working with Joe on planning a technology conference, I was extremely pleased at how well he was willing to step up with a little direction. Joe has a lot of passion for technology, which drives him to getting involved in such things as Cleveland Startup Drinks and Cleveland Ruby Brigade. I am incredibly honored to have worked with someone with as much passion and promise as Joe.


• Mike Letterle: I was quite excited to work with Mike on the development of the website for a technology conference that we helped plan. Whether we were looking at adding features or trying to get things more unified, Mike was definitely willing to take anything on. Mike also has an interest in the Ruby language and would be one of those people who could convince others to switch to Ruby with his interest in the language.


• John Stockton: I was honored to work under John's leadership when planning a tech conference. John made sure that we'd meet our deadlines to pull off a successful event. I've also watched him give a presentation. John gears his presentations so that his audience can easily follow them. He's well-informed and his passion will take him far.


• Jeff Blankenburg: From seeking out others who share his love of technology to bringing us together and truly putting the "unity" in community, Jeff is an invaluable asset to the developer community. Whether he's blogging, presenting, or just getting a group together, he continues to provide us with opportunities to network and go far in our careers. His contagious enthusiasm is what reawakened my passion for technology. I've learned quite a bit from him, and I look forward to seeing where he will lead us...

I'm looking forward to posting the rest of these recommendations. Thanks to Jeff for coming up with this idea!

Labels: Contribupendence Day, James Bender, Jeff Blankenburg, Joe Fiorini, John Stockton, Michael Letterle, Mike Eaton, Plaxo