I Like Mike

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For those of you who are  following me on twitter  or have friended me on facebook, you saw a hint of this post last week. For the rest of you, welcome to the fray and hang on for minute before you leave.
 
Let me tell you about my cousin Mike. Like most of us, Mike’s a pretty decent person. He works hard, does his best to care for his family, and takes a bit of time to have fun with his friends when he can manage it. He goes to work a bit to early, stays at work a bit to late, mostly to make sure he can take the time to make it to his kids activities and such. I have fond memories of our time as kids, (both young and old) and consider him more of a friend than a relative. Yes I Love him, but I like him too much to not call him friend even more than cousin.

I like Mike. Lot’s of people do. He’s a good good worker, a good friend, a good husband, and I think it’s a fare bet his kids would say he’s a good dad too. He works for charities and community organizations, heck, he’s even a member of the PTO. But Mike has a problem.

In October, 2008 Mike   was diagnosed with Follicular (b-cell) non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Follicular Lymphoma is usually a slow moving disease with a good prognosis for recovery. That’s a good thing. Mike’s wasn’t detected until stage four, the final stage, after it has spread throughout the body and to other organs. Not such a good thing. Still Mike is strong and a fighter, so he fought the good fight, slogging through aggressive chemo therapy with courage and, mostly a smile. Mike was an inspiration to us all with his positive attitude and his courage as he went through that. He made us all believe he would make it through on pure attitude and tenacity.
 

Sometimes grit jut isn’t enough. The chemo had no effect, Mike didn’t go into remission, and the disease continues on. Mike was down, but he was not out. Mike and his doctors have taken the bull by the horns and scheduled him for a bone marrow transplant at City of Hope in Los Angeles, California. This is Mikes best hope at recovery from this disease.

Mike will spend about 200 Days with the City of Hope, and his insurance will cover all but about $50,000 of the cost. Unfortunately, between the economy and the treatment Mike has received already Mike has virtually no resources remaining. To put it bluntly, Mike is between a rock and a hard place. It took a lot of effort to get Mike to agree to let his Family and friends go out and raise money for him. I believe if it weren’t for his wife and children, he would never have agreed.

Thankfully, he has agreed, and that is why I am writing this to you today.

To anyone with eyes to see,. to anyone with ears to hear, and to anyone with a heart  that feels. We are not asking for a direct cash contribution (though they will gladly accept them), but rather that you help by doing things that you would normally do anyway.  Like take a vacation, attend an auction, or play a game of golf. All we ask is that you do them with us, and help spread the word.

Go TODAY to www.hopeformike.org Buy a raffle ticket for a chance to win a week free in a Maui Condo. Attend the silent auction and bid on lots of great items, you can participate from right where you are sitting right now. If you are on Maui or plan to be, Why not Play in the PONO foundation golf tourney – it’s fun in the sun for a good cause. Let’s get Mike to the City Of Hope!

Finally, I would like each and every one of you who has $2 or more to spare as you read this to go to www.HopeForMike.org and Make a donation for at least one “Give HOPE to Mike!”  bracelet, and then forward the link to this page to at least a lucky 7 of your friends. Please help up to share with Mike just a taste of the hope and inspiration he has shared with others.

Please, Lets Give Hope to Mike!

Pierre

Pierre @ January 17, 2010

My Next Windows (Utterly Awesome) Phone

Posted in: .Net, Moblie | Comments (2)

There has been a lot of talk lately since the launch of Windows Phone 6.5 (previously Windows Mobile) on Tuesday, October 6th about too little too late. Well HTC to the recue baby. Witness below the HTC  Touch HD2.

A few quick specs.  The HD2 has a 4.3 inch capacitive touch screen,  5 megapixel Camera with built in flash, 1 GHZ processor, 802.11 b/g, Stereo bluetooth,  Wi-Fi, , Video Phone, and built in FM radio, to name a few of its features, and, oh, yes, compatible with all GSM and 3G & 3.5G networks in North America and Europe, and Asia.

Hands-on the HTC HD2 and its gigantic 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen! from IntoMobile on Vimeo.

The device also boasts 512MB of RAM, and

TMOBILE wIll be presenting this device Q1 2010, but the device is scheduled for delivery, unlocked, through independent sellers on November 1st.

By the way the Video above was embedded fron an article here.

Here is an excellent demo of the HD2 by HTC at the  release announcement on October 6th.

After checking out the specs and performance seen in the videos and links, I think you will agree, Windows Phone is alive and well. And though it has been on the ropes for a while, it is well on it’s way to a comeback. Consider that 6.5 is only a minor upgrade and that Windows Phone 7 is just around the  corner next SPring (= Fall in microsoft speak?), and I think there is an excellent chance that Windows Phone could be teaching IPhone a lesson or two by this time next year!

In the mean time I have found the replacement for my aging Dash, and an end to my touch screen envy! (you know who you are Gabe!)

Pierre

Pierre @ October 11, 2009

Creating your Personal Brand

Posted in: Career Development, Conferences | Comments (1)

As I discussed in recent posts I was at The Devscovery conference in Redmond recently, and had to absorb a lot. Things are pretty crazy at work right now, so I am being a bit slow on posting related “stuff", but I have started to follow through on the ‘personal branding’ discussed by Scott Hanselman in his keynote.

In that discussion, Scott proposed that, for developers, participating in social networking sites is essential to your career success. The logic goes something like this.

1)  Contributions to Social networking sites gets your name out there. and shows you know how to contribute to the community. This gives those who do it well a good name.  A good name is a good thing.

2) When managers in tech look at resumes, many look you up on the net via there favorite search engine. Giving them good things to find is a good thing.  Given two otherwise equal contenders for a position, it could swing the decision.

3) Developers that participate in the community have a much better sense of where they fit in the talent pool. For many developers, after a while they get a awakening that they are not as humdrum as they think. For others they realize that, at least in some areas, they are not as hot as they though they were. Both discoveries are a good thing –  pushing us to grow in the ways we need most. Improving ourselves improves or name. See number one, above.

For those of you out there who like a little more privacy, this all sounds like a total nightmare, but please, bear with me. Nom de plumes are not just for 19th century novelists and 21st century adult film stars, they are for people just like you. You don’t have to use your real name, just be consistent across the community with your fictitious name.  If you are CodeSamarai on www.StackOverflow.com, register as CodeSamarai at www.codeProject.com as well, not PierreLeBoo (especially if Your not me).  Consistency is the key. If you do use a nom de plume, remember to include it in your resume so the hiring manager knows to look for it.

So, am I putting my money where my mouth is? You bet! Or at least I’m working on it. I’ve Changed My Name on Twitter to PierreLeBoo so I can easily be found at www.twitter.com/PierreLeBoo . I’ve re-registered at Stack Overflow.com as PierreLeBoo, Ive registered at SuperUser.com as PierreLeBoo, heck I even registered an Aunt Milly’s Piezza  as PierreLeBoo, and hey don’t even have a website. If I can do it you can do it. Trust me… Just ask anyone who knows me.

Secondly, I am changing my user name on Personal sites to another consistent name, that friends would know but the general public would not. The point is, I want people to judge my work for my work, not for my political leanings, the number of nieces and nephews I have, of the number Of Beers i chugged at Oktoberfest. Part of Building your personal brand is separating your brand from you personal life.

This one is a bit tougher, as Changing things like your user name on some Social networking sites is a bit more difficult than others. But, again, I can do it, so it can’t be all that tough.

Finally, below, I have included a selection of links to other articles that cover this topic from a number of perspectives. Give them a gander, and remember…

Get Your Brand On! 

Tags: Career Development, Personal Branding, Social Networking

Pierre @ August 30, 2009

I’m Back

Posted in: Miscelany | Comments (2)

So, the new address for this blog is pierre.leboo.net. Saved links will no longer work. Worked out the issue with WordPress so the permalinks work with the new address. Old permalinks are still broken and will remain so.

Anyway, I think I’ve got it all worked out now. … I hope!

Pierre

Tags: Blog, Canonical address

Pierre @ August 30, 2009

Lots of Fun at Devscovery

Posted in: .Net, Conferences | Comments (1)

Image by frankdasilva via Flickr

I am learning a lot of kewl new stuff at Devscovery, and therefore really enjoying myself. I am going to have to spend a little time digesting all that I am learning before I post any real technical posts, but there are a few tidbits I would really like to share.

First off, Scott Hanselman made an excellent case for why a professional developer absolutely needs to create a presence for themselves on the internet. Essentially, we need to create and maintain or own “Personal Brand”. The logic goes, If I an deciding between two developers as the hiring manager, the scales tip in the favor of the person with a good web presence, over the developer who has none.

You notice I said good web presence. A blog with a mish-mash of personal blogs, political views, and whatever else is on your mind is probably NOT the place to create a good professional web presence.We all have personal lives, but it is probably better to keep our professional live on a blog focused on our professional ideas and knowledge.

Finally, it doesn’t have to be a blog, or even just a blog. Participate in community sites and boards. Also make sure your user name is the same on all of your professional posts or blogs so it is sea and search for contributions authored by you. . This is an important part of your personal branding. You can’t get credit for what you do if you don’t sign it. Also, make sure you use a different name for you personal and political posts, unless you want others to associate them with your professional brand.

One great site for showing your stuff and raising your exposure is www.StackOverflow.com  This site is great because it combines social networking, group ratings and a Technical search site into one useful and friendly mash upof geek fun and knowledge.

There are lot’s of great places out there to learn more about our craft, and give a leg up to others by sharing our experience.What are your suggestions?

Tags: .Net 4.0, Devscovery, Web Development

Pierre @ August 18, 2009

I Love Rediscovering My Job

Posted in: .Net, Conferences | Comments (2)

Image via Wikipedia

One of the best, and sometimes also most frustrating, things about being a software developer is that you constantly re-learning your Job. Most times the only thing moving faster than your own good ideas is the technology you build them with. It’s awesome being able to build new things and play with new toys all the time. But it can be daunting too. I mean Between, blogs magazines, and books I spead another 6-8 hours a week just trying to keep up.  I do a pretty good job, but gaps in the knowledge do form, and that’s where seminars come in.

So,  I went to Devscovery in Redmond Washington last year on Nordstrom’s Dime. It’s a three day seminar that gives you hands on experience with current and upcoming Microsoft software development technologies.. I absolutely loved it. Don’t get me wrong, there are bigger events out there, but that is precisely WHY I like this one. Many of the sessions have less than 30 people and the largest don’t get past a hundred. Lots of quality speakers, most of them major tech authorities. What’s not to love! In fact, I enjoyed it so much last year that  I said that if the company didn’t pay for me to go this time around, that I would pay for myself.

Well, the economy this year, you may have noticed, is not so great. Long short, Nordstrom is not paying for me this year, and I couldn’t afford to send myself either. I was bummed. That is until I received an email last week, informing me that, I was the winner of the Devscovery Alumni Survey Drawing. A few months back Wintellect, the primary host of the event, sent out an email to previous attendees asking  questions about previous Devscovery sessions, and what we would like to see in the future.

So, guess who won? That’s right, yours truly! How sweet is that. Anyway, really looking forward to the conference and wanted to share my joy!

Pierre

Tags: .Net 4.0, Devscovery, Web Development

Pierre @ August 10, 2009

Welcome To My Blog

Posted in: Uncategorized | Comments (3)

Pierre @ July 4, 2009

I Like Mike

For those of you who are  following me on twitter  or have friended me on facebook, you saw a hint of this post last week. For the rest of you, welcome to the fray and hang on for minute before you leave.   Let me tell you [...]

More on page 19

My Next Windows (Utterly Awesome) Phone

del.icio.us Tags: Windows Phone,Windows Mobile 6.5,HTC HD2,HTC Touch HD2,Microsoft Windows Phone

There has been a lot of talk lately since the launch of Windows Phone 6.5 (previously Windows Mobile) on Tuesday, October 6th about too little too late. Well HTC to the recue baby. Witness below the HTC  Touch HD2.
A few quick specs.  The HD2 [...]

More on page 17

Creating your Personal Brand

digg_url = “http://pierre.leboo.net/?p=15″;digg_title = “Creating your Personal Brand”;digg_bgcolor = “#FFFFFF”;digg_skin = “normal”;digg_url = undefined;digg_title = undefined;digg_bgcolor = undefined;digg_skin = undefined;
As I discussed in recent posts I was at The Devscovery conference in Redmond recently, and had to absorb a lot. Things are pretty crazy at work right now, so I am being a bit slow [...]

More on page 15