Out of my Mind...

From WHAT THE HECK IS CLOUD COMPUTING?

I think it does a great job of introducing the concept of Cloud Computing without going into the technical details that makes it tick.

Here are two things that you can do to help yourself and your career in these uncertain times:

1. Upgrade your skills. Continuing to educate yourself is going to be key in standing out from the herd and adding value to your current or future employer. Now is a great time to learn a new language or get exposure to a new technology. The best part is that it doesn't have to be expensive. There are plenty of resources that are low cost or even free on the Internet or in books that will give you a head start on upgrading your skills.
2. Network. Seek out other people in your industry that share similar interests. Find places where great programmers or designers meet in order to exchange information and tips. Don't wait to need a job to network either. It's never too early to establish relationships with individuals outside of your organization or company.

Users Groups in general give you the ability to do both. You do have a chance to meet other individuals that are willing to take some time to learn about technology and to network with other individuals of like mind. They are usually free and will often bribe you to attend with food (Pizza being a favorite around here) or door prizes. Many groups do go out for drinks afterward, extending the networking opportunity.

The Boulder JUG and the Denver JUG are going to host Scott Davis of ThirstyHead.com who will present on Lizard Brain Web Design and how to implement DSLs using Groovy. Make your way down to either meetings, learn a new thing or two and network with some of the brightest and motivated developers in the Denver area.

I gave a talk on Groovy Unit Testing to the Boulder JUG and the Denver JUG this week. The talk was well received, and I got some helpful comments that I will certainly incorporate into future version of the talk. The talk covered:

• How to use Groovy to author JUnit 4 test cases
• How to use closure and map coercion to mock dependencies
• How to use JMockit to mock classes with final or static methods

I tried something different this time. I used the Codex presentation tool put together by Dave Thomas and Chad Fowler to author the slides. It was a great fit since they are very code heavy. This also allowed me to version the talk and keep a copy of the source up on a github repository. The tool chain generates S5 presentations which can be run in a browser.

The slides themselves are posted on my web site. It certainly doesn't have the same impact as attending the presentation but there's a lot of material available and there are 2 sample NetBeans projects that illustrate the techniques that I presented on.

How do you speak at a local Java Users Group? It's really simple actually...

1. Pick a topic relevant to the group. Talk to your friendly local coordinator to see whether your topic is appropriate or of interest to the group. It is very likely that the topic is relevant to the group. Some topics may get some overlap which is why it's best to chat about it first.
2. Prepare your talk. This is actually the harder of speaking at the JUGs. You need to do your research, organize your thoughts and put your presentation together. It is best to start early and do a few practice runs before hand.
3. Get ready for your talk. I find it best to show up early, hook up to the projector and take the chance to relax a little. It is much easier to present when focused and centered than when rushed. It also allows you to test to make sure that you have access to the relevant sites (if needed), that you can interface to the projector and that the batteries in your remote haven't died yet.
4. Give your talk. This is the fun part. Present your topic. Interact with the audience, have some fun with them (not at their expense though). Answer questions as they come. You never know when this will lead the talk into an unexpected detour.
5. Stick around after the talk. Many people will have follow up questions and observations. You might learn something from that conversation.

It's really that simple. You don't have to be The Expert on a topic and you don't have to be a polished public speaker. You just need an interesting topic, some slides and to show up.

BTW, the Boulder Java Users Group is always looking for speakers. You can contact me if you are interested in presenting. We always welcome local speakers.

Here are the slides of my Groovier Selenium presentation that I gave at the Boulder JUG, the Denver JUG, the Denver Open Source Users Group and at the Colorado Springs Open Source Software Meetup group:

The presentations went pretty well and were well attended in all the groups. The audience in all the groups were engaged and had great questions that helped reshape the presentation for the follow up groups.

I find this year's election very interesting as a Canadian living in Colorado. I am merely a spectator since I have yet to become an American citizen. Still, I do see this as a pivotal moment in the history of this nation. Americans get to decide what direction they want this country to take.

This morning, Colin Powell publicly endorsed Barack Obama. This in itself is an event in itself. He took time to explain the rationale behind his decision to vote for Obama on Meet the Press on MSNBC.com. Take a few moments to listen through the interview if you haven't already.

His explanation mirrors in many ways my impression of the campaign run by both candidates. It is a thought through, mindful exposition of why Obama is the better choice for President of the United States of America. Powell's rationale is very powerful and in many confirmed why I would vote for Obama if I could.

Why not...

Take a picture of yourself right now.
Don’t change your clothes, don’t fix your hair…just take a picture. (should be super-easy with Photobooth)
Post that picture with NO editing.
Post these instructions with your picture.

blog.obiefernandez.com/content/2008/10/the-me-meme.html

I spent some time going through the Elegant Code blog after Jared blogged about his latest interview. I was very impressed with the content and added it to my subscription list. I strongly recommend it to anyone who are interested in increasing the elegance and quality of the applications they write.

Here is what I publish through this blog's RSS feed. It's not bound to what I actually write...
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