I've been busy since the South Florida Code Camp. I've been promoted to the Architecture Team on the South Carolina Integrated Tax System project, and I've been to two more code camps.

The speaker list was already full when I tried to get in on the Raleigh Code Camp. I was still able to do a session on Continuous Integration due to another speaker's VM crashing. I had very few attendees since it wasn't advertised. However, as long as I have one person interested in the topic then I'm good to go.

Last weekend I did two sessions at the Roanoke Code Camp. The Design Principles presentation went very well, with enough crowd participation to keep it interesting. The Continuous Integration session went smoothly, but the crowd was somewhat quiet. Afterwards, one of the attendees told me that he thought it was a follow-up to the Design Principles session (apparently confusing MSBuild with Building Software). So, it's possible the crowd was quiet because they had no background in what I was presenting on. This was exacerbated by the fact I was in the same room.

From now on, if I'm going to do multiple sessions I will try to do related topics (design or agile processes) or request to be in different rooms.

This coming Wednesday I will be presenting on Continuous Integration at the Triangle .Net User Group in Raleigh. I've currently been running two 30 minute modules: 1) MSBuild, 2) CI / Cruise Control.NET. I will put together a new module this weekend so I can fill out the time more appropriately for a user group meeting. I'll probably take it back to fleshing out the build process with running more tests and integrating the generated reports into CruiseControl.NET.

After next week, I will have done 8 sessions at 6 events in 5 locations. It's still early in the year so perhaps I should set my goal to 20 locations instead of 20 events? When do you want me to come to Charleston, Lou?

Earlier I wrote about how I felt pwned during my first session at the South Florida Code Camp.

Luckily, things turned around during my second session. I was unable to turn it in a discussion as I had planned. The room was still set up to serve presentations, and some of the people I would have liked to have in the discussion (like Scott Dorman) were busy with their own sessions. However, everything went smoothly during my second presentation. I had great crowd interaction, and I received good applause at the end. It was definitely a contrast to the earlier session.

I was unable to make it to the after party. My wife doesn't turn 25 until March, so I had to drive her back to the hotel to freshen up. Car rentals don't cover under-25s unless you want to spend an arm and a leg. We ended up on the wrong side of Miami in the process. You know, when you head north on a highway, you expect to go south to return from whence you came. This proved untrue with the Florida Turnpike, which apparently has three directions. We ended up eating at a great Argentinian restaurant though, so not all was lost.

I had a great time at this code camp, and I learned new lessons on presenting. I also met some great people like Dave Noderer, Joe Healy, and David Silverlight. Next time there is a Code Camp in Florida, I hope to make it down. I even have a great new presentation planned that should be ready by April (with an accompanying project I will release to the community).

I just finished my session on Design Principles in the South Florida Code Camp. I feel kind of pwned  by what happened at the beginning. I should have expected it. After all, there are over 600 people here, and I warned everyone at the beginning that it was meant to be an introductory class (hence the 100 level). The presentation still has good nuggets even if you're an experienced developer.

My room was packed. About 5 minutes into it, 20-30 people walked out. Having all those people get up, walk by me, and opening the door distracted me. I lost my focus, and it took a while to get my bearings. I need to keep in mind that this can happen and not let it get to me. I can't believe I actually faltered.

I realize I didn't write about my experience in Philadelphia. I had an incident there as well. At the beginning, the projector messed up. I spent a few minutes trying to get everything working but eventually realized I would lose the audience if I didn't move on. I ended losing my local screen, and had to move the desk around and look at the projection This prevented me from using my slide deck. Luckily, I knew my material well enough to talk while doing demonstrations (though I strained my neck). It ended up being successful. albeit unstructured.

After I did my presentation here in Miami, I spoke to Joe Healy about it. He mentioned something about my session at the end of the day. I didn't even realize I am doing another one! This time it's in the Birds of a Feather and Panel Discussion room, so I'm going to make it a discussion rather than a presentation.

I'm leaving soon to make the third stop on my 2008 presentation tour! Okay, it's not like I'm doing a world tour or something, but I do plan on presenting at 20 different in-person events this year. The travel expenses are coming out of my own pocket, so I expect to keep it along the eastern seaboard (US).

I hope to see everyone tomorrow at the South Florida Code Camp. I'm doing the Design Principles session in the Architecture room. Unfortunately, I'll be arriving too late in Miami to make it to the speaker reception tonight. I didn't realize they were doing that or I would have tried to catch an earlier flight.

Larry Port will be doing a Continuous Integration presentation (I submitted one, but I guess he got in first). I plan on seeing his take on everything in case it inspires some ideas for my own CI presentation. I'm kind of curious about his focus on NAnt though. I prefer MSBuild. Here's one reason why: If I want to upgrade my project to .NET 3.5, MSBuild already works because MSBuild is part of the .NET Framework. NAnt's 3.5 support is still in beta. Here's another reason: you still have to call MSBuild from NAnt to build the project. Oh, you can call devenv, but then you've installed unnecessary software on the build server (a big no-no). Perhaps NAnt buys you something that MSBuild doesn't, but I won't know until I ask.

There's a reason you're supposed to arrive at an airport an hour before your flight. I arrived 35 minutes before my flight, and as they were confirming my information, it kicked the guy off and refused to issue my tickets. Luckily, another flight was found for me, but now I will arrive 3 hours later. I am currently sitting around Charlotte waiting for my next flight. It's a good thing they have free wireless Internet here.

I'll arrive in Philadelphia sometime after midnight. Then, I've got to get my car and drive 40 minutes to my hotel. I have a feeling I'm going to be dead tomorrow. I guess it's nothing a few cups of coffee can't fix... hopefully by my session at 9:30.

This weekend is the Philly Code Camp, and I will be presenting on Continuous Integration. It appears that I will have to endure a 22 degree Fahrenheit temperature differential... at least it will feel like winter for a change.

One thing I found surprising when making plans is that you have to pay to use the Interstate. What is up with that? They built a toll road in South Carolina a few years ago, and virtually no one uses it. Do people really pay to use roads up north? I was tempted to avoid highways just so I wouldn't have to pay.

I've never been to Philadelphia before, so it promises to be an exciting trip! I really won't have time to take it all in, but there has to be something to do to kill the time on Sunday before my flight. I'll try to remember my camera!