From the monthly archives:

August 2009

DemoCamp. Vancouver. September 14th. Details Soon.

by Joey deVilla on August 31, 2009

Demo Ignite Camp logo

Actually, you can get some details now – go check out the Upcoming page for this event.

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Here’s a post for you readers who either program on the .NET framework, sysadmin Microsoft-based systems or have been thinking about doing either…

Microsoft TechDays Canada 2009: $299 - Last day!

Today is your last chance to register for TechDays Canada 2009’s Vancouver (September 14 – 15) and Toronto (September 29 – 30) conferences at the early bird price of CDN$299. Tomorrow, the price doubles to CDN$599 – that’s the price for procrastination!

I’ve written a lot about TechDays Canada 2009 lately, so I think I’ll close with this video shot by the folks at TechVibes on the last leg of the TechDays Canada 2008 tour: Vancouver. It features my coworkers Rick Claus (IT Pro Evangelist) and Qixing Zheng (User Experience Evangelist) as well as Yours Truly (Developer Evangelist) talking about TechDays:


Techvibes at Microsoft Tech Days 2008 from Techvibes.com on Vimeo.

With the work we’re putting into TechDays, we think it’ll be the conference that offers you the most conference for your hard-earned dollars. It features big-league sessions delivered by local people plus great resources for you to take home (and to work) and supercharge the way you work with technology. You really should register today, while the early bird price is still in effect.

Microsoft TechDays Canada 2009: 2 days - 7 cities - 5 tracks - 40 sessions - plus more!

This article also appears in Global Nerdy.

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Disney Buys Marvel

by Joey deVilla on August 31, 2009

Spider-Man, Wolverine and the cast of "High School Musical"

My spider-sense is tingling, and not in a good way: Disney is buying Marvel Entertainment (yup, that Marvel, as in Spider-Man, the X-Men and so on) for $4 billion in stock, acquiring the rights to all their characters. Soon we’ll see the cast of High School Musical as the newest young mutants to join Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and a Marvel Team-Up featuring Spider-Man and the Jonas Brothers.

I feel like this:

Peter Parker in an alley, walking away from the Spider-Man costume he just dumped in the trash

This article also appears in Global Nerdy.

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Slice of Life: A Giant Cheque from HoHOTo

by Joey deVilla on August 30, 2009

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the HoHOTo party and last week, I posted a “Slice of Life” photo from it. Here’s another, more important photo from HoHOTo: the giant cheque displaying the amount of money that was raised for the Daily Bread Food Bank: $10,500. Nicely done, folks!

hohoto_cheque

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techdays_299_2_more_days

The early bird registration price for TechDays Vancouver (September 14th – 15th) and TechDays Toronto (September 29th – 30th) will disappear after Monday, August 31st. If you want to catch TechDays at the ultra-cheap rate, you should register now!

For more about TechDays, see my articles in Canadian Developer Connection and Global Nerdy.

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Slice of Life: “Big Balls” at the Mesh Conference

August 29, 2009
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At the Mesh Conference held earlier this year, I was asked at the last minute to play an opening number for the big panel discussion on using social media for marketing. I decided to get cheeky and played AC/DC’s Big Balls, since having them is a quality that you need to really use social media [...]

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Tina Fey’s Fashion Statement

August 29, 2009
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On the right person, even the lamest T-shirt looks pretty good:

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The Right (and Wrong) Way to Roll Up Your Sleeves

August 29, 2009
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Found via Space Ghetto, via Certified Bullshit Technician.

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Slice of Life: Conference Call

August 28, 2009
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Here’s the view from a conference call I participated in on a recent sunny day:

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Slice of Life: Deep-Fried Oreos at the CNE

August 26, 2009
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Photo of the Canadian National Exhibition courtesy of Wikipedia.
Yesterday, the Ginger Ninja and I went to the Canadian National Exhibition (a.k.a. “The CNE” and “The Ex”, Accordion City’s annual fair featuring shows, rides, shopping and amusements. According to Wikipedia, it’s the largest fair in Canada and the fourth largest in North America.
Part of the fun [...]

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The TechDays $299 Deal

August 25, 2009
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A quick announcement for Canadian techies who read this blog:

The early bird price period for Microsoft’s TechDays conferences in Vancouver (September 14-15) and Toronto (September 29-30) ends soon! For more details, see Canadian Developer Connection or Global Nerdy.

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Damn, Nelson Mandela, You Smell So Good!

August 25, 2009
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Andy Warhol got it slightly wrong. He should’ve said “In the future, everyone will have 15 items with their own personal brand”:

Yes, the Nelson Mandela car air freshener is real, smells like cookies and is available online for a paltry US$2.99.

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Slice of Life: Garde Manger’s Snow Crab Bloody Caesar

August 25, 2009
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Now this is what I call a Caesar:

For you non-Canadian drinkers, a Caesar (a.k.a. Bloody Caesar) is a variant of the Bloody Mary in which Clamato — a mix of tomato juice and clam broth – is used instead of plain ol’ tomato juice. It’s a great way to start a hearty dinner. This was [...]

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“Make Up Your Mind / He Can’t Be All Four” is Now a T-Shirt

August 24, 2009
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Back in April. Adam Sacks of the blog Adam Thinks created this so-funny-because-it’s-true graphic:

After getting so many requests, he’s decided to make it a t-shirt. You can order it online from Printfection for US$20.00:

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Slice of Life: Whuffie-oke with Tara Hunt

August 24, 2009
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Last week, I caught up with an old karaoke buddy: Tara Hunt, honest-to-goodness social media marketer (unlike the gazillions on Twitter who merely claim to be one), popularizer of BarCamp unconferences and coworking spaces and author of The Whuffie Factor. She just completed a move from San Francisco to Montreal by van, a move [...]

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