Click the photo to see it on its Flickr page.
One nice thing about PDC: there are plenty of free snacks, some of which are healthy, some of which, well, not so much…
Choose wisely, my geeky friends.
…but I have a very good excuse. I was still in mid-flight from Toronto to L.A. because I attended Cory Doctorow’s wedding last night. It was a little bit magic show, a little bit Alice in Wonderland, a little bit steampunk and a lot of fun. Here’s a photo from last night:
I’ll post more on the wedding sometime this week at my personal blog, The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century.
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Off to PDC!
Image courtesy of Miss Fipi Lele.
I’m on my way to PDC2008. I expect to land at LAX at 11:00 Pacific and should be there for the afternoon sessions and evening hijinks. See you there!
If you hang around the Accordion City software development scene, you’ll eventually meet Kristan “Krispy” Uccello. In addition to running his own software development shop, Krispy is also the scene’s unofficial vidoegrapher, capturing notable events like DemoCamp and Rubyfringe for posterity.
His latest project is Byte Club, an online video show that puts a spotlight on the local tech culture. Each episode features a Toronto tech company or nerd event and runs for about four to six minutes. I believe Krispy has plans to put a new video online each week.
The first episode went online last week and features my former place of work, b5media. The clips were shot back in the summer, back when I was still their Technical Project Manager. As one of the flashier, higher-profile, more telegenic and better-voiced employees, I got a fair chunk of screen time. In accordance with the Law of Conservation of Irony, the video got posted on the same day I announced my becoming Microsoft’s newest Developer Evangelist.
Here’s the video. It’s got some really good production values, so be sure to switch it to HD mode, watch it full screen and crank up your speakers or headphones:
Krispy says that he’s been working on the Byte Club project with LifeForce Entertainment for the last 6 months. They’re accepting offers from sponsors; if you’re interested in sponsoring Byte Club, please give Krispy a shout!
No tech conference is complete without a Bingo Card, and I noticed that nobody’s made one for PDC yet! As a brand-new Microsoft Developer Evangelist who’s trying to make a splash during the three-month probationary period, I took matters into my own hands. Pictured below is the PDC2008 Bingo Card — simply fill out a square as you see or hear what’s described in the square at any point in the conference:
I would’ve make a “Keynote Bingo” card, but as someone still new to this particular scene, I haven’t been to a Microsoft conference in a very long time, and I don’t know what Ray Ozzie’s particular keynote mannerisms and speech patterns are. Hence this card, which is generalized to cover the entire conference and not just the keynotes.
Developer Evangelism is all about helping you make your own stuff, and conference bingo cards are no exception! Click here for a blank version of the PDC Bingo card where you can supply your own text. I recommend you use the “Segoe UI” font, which comes standard with Vista.
If you make your own bingo card and post it online, send me a link in the comments!
Credit Where Credit is Due
I can’t finish this post without mentioning my fellow evangelist (and tech training buddy) John Bristowe, who suggested I make a Bingo card for PDC. Thanks, John, and see you in L.A. tomorrow!
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PDC2008 Gang Signs
In honour of PDC2008’s host city, Los Angeles, I decided to take my “Geek Gang Signs” graphic from a post I made back in May (which was based on this poster of actual L.A. gang signs) and make a set of PDC-specific gang signs:
Please note that these signs are for entertainment purposes only, or at most for flashing within the confines of the convention centre. Out on the streets, they’ll get you in trouble with the law, or worse:
Recommended Viewing
For some mistaken-identity/gangsta hilarity, nothing beats the Krazy Kripples episode from season 7 of South Park:
