The next VT Rails meeting is on Tuesday July 11th.
More information at www.vtrails.org
All posts by Julie
A new form of comment spam
I’ve been getting a new type of comment spam on my other blog. The spam is a statement that is very coherent and totally relevant to the post, but then at the end has a link to a page that is filled with a huge list of links to other pages on the site – all for the sake of trackbacks. My guess is that they are copying text from other blogposts, then googling for related blog posts then pasting the other blog’s text along with their own link into the comments.
Excellent “starting a user group” story and advice…
The Igloo Coder (aka Donald Belcham) who is the president of the Edmonton .NET User Group, has written a wonderful series of posts about his experiences and lessons of starting up that group along with a posse of others. I love that he talks about things like motivation in addition to more practical matters. Highly recommended reading.
Also, INETA has been doing a series of webcasts about starting and running a user group. Check them out at live.ineta.org.
Thanks to Leon Bambrick for making sure I didn’t miss the Igloo Coder series!
MVP Renewed – Thanks Microsoft
My MVP status was renewed today for another year. Thanks Microsoft! Read more about the MVP award here…
[A DevLife post]
Vermont IT Jobs: .NET Developer in Burlington area
This is an informal first pass at looking for an experienced .NET developer living in (or willing to move to) the Burlington VT area.
I have a client that is ready to hire their own full time developer and hopefully grow a small team over the next year.
You will be building a Smart Client app from the ground up using the latest (released) tools from Microsoft: VS2005, SQL Server 2005. eBay API experience is a big plus. Experience with Web Service security (and chomping at the bit to work with Indigo in the near future) will put you on the short list.
I will be very involved in this project and on hand as your mentor. I just won’t be coding it.
No spaghetti coders or “I just graduated from school with my CS degree and am looking for a place to cut my teeth”ers. Same goes ifor anyone who does not know what a “Smart Client” is.
The company is well established and growing like crazy. Fun, laid back (but hard working) environment. Work on site.
Contact me directly (big strikes against you if you do that by commenting on this blog post).
Alison Bechdel – She’s everywhere! (even in Newfoundland!)
I grew up under the influence of a local weekly alternative newspaper, The Syracuse New Times. When I lived in New York City it was, of course, The Village Voice. In Vermont, it’s Seven Days. I always look for these papers when I travel as it gives me a good perspective of the city I’m visiting. In St. Johns Newfoundland this weekend, it was pretty easy to identify the Current as their alternative weekly. I was tickled to find an article on Alison Bechdel (who has become quite the blogger) and her recently published book. Though I don’t know her, Alison lives nearby in Bolton, Vermont and has erupted from her underground celebrity in the gay community to being highlighted in People, Entertainment Weekly and other mainstream publications. So to be far away and see the celebration continue was really fun.
Vermont Blogs part of this year’s Seven Days’ Daisies award
This is for fellow vermont bloggers. Seven Day’s is once again adding Vermont blogs to it’s survey this year. For a thorough list, check Cathy Resmer’s blogroll. Frankly, Cathy’s blog will probably get my vote!
I’m quite sure that technical blogs have a very narrow audience in Vermont.
INETA Live Webcast: Best Practices for Running a User Group (today at 3pm EST)
Best Practices for Running a User Group
June 28th, 2006 – 3:30PM EST
Running a user group is not an easy task. However luckily by being part of INETA you are connected to network of peers that have experienced all aspects of user group leadership from start-up to success. This webcast will be a panel based discussion featuring experts such as Chris Williams, INETA Membership Manager NC, SC and D’Arcy Lussier, INETA Membership Manager, Central Canada.
Come and join the conversation on important user group topics such as:
- Building a Leadership Team
- Picking a Location
- Running a Successful Event
- Working with Sponsors
Whither Gates goest, so go I?
With Gates transitioning out of Microsoft and Warren Buffet doubling the size of the Gates Foundation’s trust, it has me thinking about what I want to do when I grow up…. [read more]
[A DevLife post]
Posted from BLInk!
Vermont rain creates a USDA designated natural disaster
It rained all of May and most of June in Vermont. It has been raining and raining while we have been gone. I just saw an article in the Burlington Free Press that the USDA has declared the natural distasters in every county of Vermont. It has created a nightmare for the farmers who lost most of their early crops and now are having a hard time getting a chance to catch up with the growing season.