Tomorrow is the start of my first CodeMash experience, at the Precompiler. There are so many tutorials that I want to check out, but I will mostly be hiding out in the CodeJam.

It all started in 2007, when my buddy Russ from work told me about CodeMash. He's gone to past CodeMashes, and whenever he talks about it, his excitement gets to me. I didn't meet him in time for 2007, but he could have talked me into 2008. However, I also was uncertain of my vacation time and how I would handle taking time off with my husband. Lame excuses, I know... but I didn't go to CodeMash in 2008.

Of course, I met more people who reminded me of my epic fail - including Jeff Blankenburg, Mike Eaton, Michael Letterle, and Joe O'Brien. Thanks to the push from all of these guys (and all the others who helped), I made it a point to set the dates aside. But I had talked with one of my friends earlier in the year, and he had figured that I'd go and enjoy my first year as an attendee and worry about presenting there the following year. As much as that sounded like a good idea, I knew better - it was pretty much expected that I'd submit talks for it.

So it's my first CodeMash, and I am going as an event co-lead (CodeJam), presenter (IronPython), and attendee. Thanks to my friends for encouraging me to attend. I've been looking forward to it for the past few months, and it's finally here.

If you are there and you see me, come up and introduce yourself! I look forward to meeting you there!

Labels: CodeMash, Coding Geekette, Jeff Blankenburg, Joe O'Brien, Michael Letterle, Mike Eaton

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