June 2016 Speaking Engagements

June is set to be a pretty busy month. Everything coming up is brand new to me, so I'm looking forward to new places, new people, and new experiences.

Monday - Friday, June 6 - 10, 2016
NDC Oslo
Oslo, Norway
Conference Site (hey, look, I'm on the front page)
My Speaker Page
o Becoming a Social Developer
o Learn the Lingo: Design Patterns

I'm really looking forward to NDC Oslo. First, Oslo! Second, I've heard really great things about this conference from both attendees and speakers. Third, I get to talk for a full session about "Becoming a Social Developer". There will be a few familiar faces (which is nice), but there will be lots of new people to meet.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Irvine Programming Meetup
Irvine, CA
Meetup Link
o DI Why? Getting a Grip on Dependency Injection

This is a brand new group that started just last month. I love to see the developer community expand, and I'm looking forward to talking to a new group of folks. Plus, I get to talk about one of my favorite topics: dependency injection.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Kansas City .NET User Group
Mission, KS
Meetup Link
o Unit Testing Makes Me Faster: Convincing Your Boss, Your Co-Workers, and Yourself

I love talking about unit testing -- it's been a huge help to me as a developer. This will be my first time talking in Kansas, and I'm looking forward to speaking in a new venue and meeting a bunch of new people.

Wednesday - Friday, June 22 - 24, 2016
KC/DC 2016
Kansas City, MO
Conference Site
My Speaker Page
o I'll Get Back to You: Task, Await, and Asynchronous Methods
o IEnumerable, ISaveable, IDontGetIt: Understanding .NET Interfaces

I've heard some really great things about KC/DC, and I'm really looking forward to my first opportunity to speak and attend. This will be my first time speaking in Missouri, and I'm looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and a lot of new ones.

A Look Back
I had a great time speaking at Agile San Diego a few weeks ago. We got some great conversations going about the benefits of unit testing. And it was great to interact with folks who had roles other than developer.

A couple weeks back, I went to Visual Studio LIVE! in Austin, TX. I had a really great time. As usual, I managed to meet lots of great people, and it was really nice to keep running into the same folks over and over throughout the week. I started some good relationships with folks from around the country, and I expect that those relationships will continue.

I spoke on the last day of the conference, and I presented 3 sessions. It was a ton of fun, and I used pretty much all of my energy that day. But it was worth it. I got some good feedback from folks who found it useful.

Just learned more about Dependency Injection from @jeremybytes. Great stuff! #vslive

— Garth Faigley (@GarthFaigley) May 19, 2016

Excellent talk on unit tests by @jeremybytes Learned some new things! #VSLive pic.twitter.com/H9NALDsf3g

— Scott Dulock (@ScottDulock) May 19, 2016

@jeremybytes awesome speaker in great sessions on dependency injection and unit tests today #vslive Austin

— Eran Shmilovitz (@eransh27) May 19, 2016

.@jeremybytes is calling out everyone in this session about clean code. #imguilty #vslive

— Nathan Thomas (@nthn_thms) May 19, 2016

Finally, I had a chance to give a multi-day workshop for a group of folks in San Diego. Take a look at the workshops that I currently have available, and feel free to contact me if you'd like to book one of these or a custom workshop for your team.

A Look Ahead
I've got some more exciting stuff coming up that isn't quite ready to announce, so stay tuned for that.

I'm also really excited to see that Desert Code Camp is coming back in October. This has been an awesome event in the past, and I've really missed it while it's been on hiatus. If you're in the southwest, be sure to hold the weekend. It will be well worth it.

Hopefully I'll see you at an upcoming event. If you see me, be sure to stop by and say "Hi!"

Happy Coding!

Don't Be Afraid to Show What You Don't Know

For some reason, there's a fear of showing weakness in our industry. But the truth is that we can't know everything - there's just too much technology out there.

I've been using my banjo as a learning tool (and a teaching tool). That really wasn't the plan when I first got it, but that's how things have turned out.

Forget the "Buy now with 1-Click®" button. Amazon really needs a "Are you sure you know what you're doing?™" button. pic.twitter.com/KM3FAcs0vK

— Jeremy Clark (@jeremybytes) January 19, 2015

I've had my banjo for over a year now, so I really can't use the excuse of it being "new" anymore. I am getting a lot better (close to competent). And the continuous improvement is really what I'm looking for.

I've found more and more opportunities for me to learn something new by showing what I *don't* know.

Showing What I Don't Know
A couple weeks ago, I was at the Utah Code Camp, and I ended up having lunch with Joe Dean (LinkedIn). We had a great conversation. Joe has a background in music, and he's just getting started with a career producing video games.

I had my banjo with me, and Joe asked if I would play for him. This is a first; I think he's been the only one brave enough to actually ask me to play. I showed him a few things that I had learned, including the progression from my first banjo book: Bluegrass Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus by Wayne Erbsen (Amazon link).

I also played some of the songs that I was working on (a couple that I'm pretty good at and a couple that I'm still learning).

Joe is a guitar instructor, and he gave me some affirmation and some advice (this is always a great combination). First he commented on the way that I held the instrument -- he said that I wouldn't cause myself injury by the way I held it. That was great to know since I don't have an instructor and I've just been learning on my own through various sources.

Next he gave me some great advice on learning to play faster (which is something that I'd like to do). He recommended that I get a metronome app and slowly ramp up the speed. He said to start somewhere comfortable (like 120 beats per minute). Then to get faster, up it by 6 bpm and get comfortable with that. By going step by step it will make the progress easier. He said that people who try to speed up too quickly often just get frustrated. (And I can understand that.)

It was really great to talk to Joe (and this was just another unexpected conversation from a developer event that turned into something awesome). And I'm very thankful that he was so willing to share.

A Found Opportunity
So this opportunity to learn from someone who was well-versed in a particular field came up because I wasn't afraid to show what I *don't* know.

When starting something new (whether music or the latest JavaScript framework), we aren't instantly awesome, and that's okay. Don't be afraid to show what you don't know. That will give you the opportunity to learn from someone who is farther along the path.

And be sure to help out those that are on the path behind you.

It's great to be able to help someone over a problem that you have struggled with yourself. This is how we all get better together.

Still Making Progress
And in case you're wondering, I am still making progress. Here's a recording from the Central California .NET User Group in Fresno from a couple weeks ago.

Link to mp3

If you'd like to see the rest of the presentation, you can watch it on YouTube: JeremyBytes Live.

Keep moving forward.
Don't be afraid to show what you don't know.
Don't be afraid to ask questions.
Help those who are on the path behind you.

Happy Coding!

May 2016 Speaking Engagements

I have a couple of events scheduled for May. And they look to be really great events.

Thursday, May 12, 2016
Agile SD
San Diego, CA
Website
All the Details (Flyer)
o Unit Testing Makes Me Faster: Convincing Your Boss, Your Co-Workers, and Yourself

This is my first time visiting Agile SD. It will be great to meet a new group of folks (and I'll hopefully see some familiar faces as well). Be sure to stop by if you're in the area.

Mon-Thu, May 16-19, 2016
Visual Studio LIVE!
Austin, TX
Website
o Clean Code: Homicidal Maniacs Read Code, Too!
o DI Why? Getting a Grip on Dependency Injection
o Unit Testing Makes Me Faster: Convincing Your Boss, Your Co-Workers, and Yourself

Visual Studio LIVE! is a great event. This is an event that I used to attend when I was a corporate developer, and it really helped me get up to speed on technologies that became very useful in my career. I'm very excited to be a part of it now.

It's not too late to sign up. You can use code AUSPK07 to save $400 on a 4-Day Conference pass. And you'll have plenty of time to talk to me, I'll be around all week.

A Look Back
I had a really great time in April. I got to visit the San Diego .NET User Group, which is probably my most-visited group. One awesome experience happened before things got started. During the networking time, things were pretty quiet in the auditorium. So I gave my 5 minute version of "Becoming a Social Developer" and the importance of talking to other developers. And it worked! People started talking to their neighbors a few seats over or in the next row. It was great to see the group pick it up so quickly. Some people just need a nudge and permission to talk to others. Keep it up!

I also got to go to the Utah Code Camp in Salt Lake City. I had a ton of great experiences there, including some conversations that I'll be writing about later. Thanks to everyone for the great feedback from my presentations where I got to talk about Dependency Injection and Lambda Expressions -- two of my favorite topics.

A bit more locally, I spoke at Agile SoCal in Irvine, CA. This was my first time at this group, and it was great to interact with a different group of folks. Similar to my experiences at the Agile Open conference, fewer developers than most groups that I speak at. And it's great to get some different perspectives.

Finally, I took a drive up to Fresno to speak at the Central California .NET User Group. We had a great time making Task and Await a bit more understandable. After the meeting was over, I had some great conversations with folks who wanted to hang out for a bit longer.

I recorded the presentation from the event. You can watch it on YouTube: JeremyBytes Live! - I'll Get Back To You: Task, Await, and Asynchronous Methods in C#

Or watch it here:


Coming Up
June is looking to be really busy. I'll be going to Norway for NDC Oslo, heading to Kansas for the Kansas City .NET User Group, and on to KCDC in Kansas City, MO.

Other exciting stuff happening, too. I'll be posting updates on that once I've got more information.

As always, check my homepage to get the latest schedule: JeremyBytes.com. And I hope to see you at an upcoming event!

Happy Coding!