Phoenix – Page 3 – Brian Shaler

July 7, 2009

Developer Ignite – July 22

The speakers have been announced for Developer Ignite! Looks like I’m going to be one of them! I’m excited to watch all of these presentations!

Barry Stahl: Simplicity Through Abstraction
The goal of this presentation is to explore, at a very high level, one methodology for software developers and architects to create software that is simple and maintainable, and thus has a lower total-cost-of-ownership (TCO).

Ben Atkin: jQuery Plugin Development
I would like to tell people how to develop a neat and useful jQuery plugin. It will likely be some type of widget. I think it will benefit the development community by encouraging people to explore jQuery and JavaScript and see more of their potential.

Bill Mar: Beagleboard and Spark Community Projects
My presentation is “Beagleboard and Spark Community Projects” to tell the story of how the Beagleboard community project got started and how I and some other people got Microsoft Windows Embedded into the act with free tools for the hobbyist/startup community.

Bret Feddern: What You Don’t Know About ColdFusion Will Knock You on Your A$$
Most of the Developers and Companies I come across are Ruby on Rails, or PHP, or .NET, and they use WordPress, Joomla, or SharePoint, etc. Few know the true potential behind ColdFusion and what CF has to offer. With my 5 minutes, I will give an overview of just how awesome CF is and why other developers in the area should be more open to it.

Brian Shaler: Physical Computing With Arduino
As a software developer with no background in electrical engineering, physical computing was always a little out of my reach. Thanks to Arduino — the exciting open source hardware-firmware-software platform — the barrier to entry for software developers has been lowered significantly. Within minutes, you can be interacting with real world inputs (sensors) and outputs (LEDs, servos, etc).

Chris Chandler: Cryptography
We use RSA and AES all the time, but what makes them tick? What are the other options? Why should we care? The storage, transmission, and management of sensitive data usually requires that it is enciphered. This is a 5 minute presentation on cryptographic algorithms and key management.

Evo Terra: Get Out of Your Cube!
In the last 3 years, Phoenix has seen the creation and expansion of several community-based social groups and activities that are “developer-friendly”. Real people getting together in real life to talk, drink, listen, learn and generally have loads of fun. These formal and informal “meetups” take place all over the valley and each have their own charm. In this talk, I’ll talk about many and point you into the direction where you can find more!

Gary Attarian: Programming by the Rules
(Will be posted soon)

Remi Taylor: You’re Doing it Wrong!
You’re doing it wrong and you should be ashamed of yourself! If you’re not testing your code, your clients should fire you. If you’re not test-driving your code, your co-workers should set you on fire!

Robert Attarian: On Real Time Embedded Systems
(Will be posted soon)

Saul Mora: CSS3 + HTML5 = Awesome
CSS + HTML is how the web works. Let’s go over, not just the cool features of CSS3 + HTML5, but why they will be awesome for future web development.

Scott Cate: Version Numbering your Software
Version Numbering your software. Does this even matter? Are version numbers used more than just to later identify what version a file is? Well in our world it matters deeply. We’ll spend five minutes talking about how source control, an automated build environment, and an integrated version “labeler” can better your software management process.

June 18, 2009June 18, 2009

Conduit vs Endpoint

I’ve gotten to know a lot of people in the Phoenix technology community by attending, organizing, helping organize, and promoting all kinds of events. I really enjoy meeting new people, but even more so, I enjoy connecting people with others.

In a way, people can be like puzzle pieces to me.

I didn’t set out to have this viewpoint. I made up the puzzle piece part after I started this blog post. When people attend events, they are generally looking for something, whether they know it or not. They might know they are looking for help on a project or a new employee. They may not know that they might otherwise be looking to meet other people in their community with similar interests.

When I meet and get to know people, something happens subconsciously while I listen. I wonder how they fit with the people I already know. You could think of it like a jigsaw puzzle or perhaps even fitting a word onto a Scrabble board.

I don’t consider myself to be a person others need to meet. I don’t do any contract work and as an employee of a company, I don’t hire or contract other people.

I’m not really an endpoint.

However, because of my ability to index the hundreds of people I know and many of their skills and interests, I tend to be a useful as a conduit.

The obvious example is someone looking for help with a software development project, where I can connect them with several options for PHP, Flash, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, .NET, etc. resources and/or developers.

The less obvious example is when I meet a person who is peeking into the tech community for the first time. The second I hear they are interested in design, I can tell them off the top of my head when upcoming design events are, where they can meet people with similar interests. Or connect them directly with people in those circles or organizers of those events.

As this is typically a subconscious thing and I do it so often, I might not even realize I’ve done it. The stories occasionally come back to me, but I bet I’m missing out on some of them. They don’t come full circle, but a certain amount of altruism — possibly affecting someone’s life and expecting absolutely nothing (not even a thank you or recognition) in return.

Tonight, I was at the after party for Ignite Phoenix, and butted in on a conversation between two people I knew and two people I didn’t. During an introduction, I said “I’m Brian,” and was met with, “Wait, this is Brian Shaler? You’re the guy who recommended we work with them!” gesturing to the two guys I knew in the group.

Call me cheesy, but I think there’s something special about being a catalyst for such professional and social relationships.

June 15, 2009

Ignite Phoenix, Plus More Ignition

Short notice, but the 4th Ignite Phoenix event is Tuesday, June 16th! As of this writing, that’s tomorrow!

Ignite Phoenix
Location: Tempe Center for the Arts
700 W. Rio Salado Parkway
Tempe, AZ 85281
Time: 6:00PM – 9:00PM (If you RSVP’d, get there by 5:30!!)
Cost: Free!

Ignite Phoenix is an awesome and inspiring event where various speakers are given 5 minutes and 20 slides (which automatically progress every 15 seconds) to tell others what they are passionate about. Topics have ranged from my talk one Data Visualization to Dean Heckler’s talk about his experiences designing and manufacturing a desk.

They made 400 tickets available, but sold out within hours of announcing them. However, you can still make it. There will be about 100 walk-in tickets available at a first-come, first-served basis. At 5:45, all reservations will be canceled and all unclaimed tickets will become available to walk-ins. Also, while the presenters will be in the theater, there will be 200 seats available in the Lakeside room, where I think they will be streaming the presentations onto a projector.

More Ignition

I just became aware of a developer-centric spin-off of Ignite Phoenix (which is itself a spin-off of O’Reilly Media’s Ignite). Developer Ignite, sponsored by the Intel Software Network, will be held on July 22nd in Chandler, AZ at Ganplank. The format will be the same, but the content will be all about software development. I will definitely submit a presentation idea, but they will only be selecting 8 presentations. (I didn’t make the cut for Ignite Phoenix, which selected 18 of 73 submissions)

April 11, 2009

A Culture of Negativity

“We kid because we care.”

I hadn’t noticed it until people from outside of Arizona started asking me about it. “Why are people in Phoenix always making fun of each other?” I originally thought it was just me, but it seems to be a general attitude toward anyone who puts himself out there.

In my travels, I’ve come across cities with truly vindictive people who create enemies within their communities. Phoenix doesn’t seem to have quite as much of that genuine angst — with only a few exceptions.

However, when it comes to public displays of negativity, Phoenix seems to stand out among cities, based solely on my personal encounters with people outside of Arizona who have made this type of observation. It’s hard to say if there is a reason or if it just happens to be this way.

I know quite a few awesome people in Phoenix who are incredibly positive, but they tend to be quieter.

It is common for people to be to proud to acknowledge people around them. It’s also far to easy to sit at home and belittle the achievements of others or critique their ways of doing things. Unfortunately, this seems to be human nature.