*Words of Wisdom From The Elder

March 18th is the day of the Heroes Welcomed Launch event in Detroit.  What better way to end a day of festivities around the launch of the new bits than to have a Geek Dinner with a bunch of fellow geeks?  I mentioned this a week or so ago on Twitter and got a good response so as they say, it's on like a chicken bone!  The plans are now finalized so here are the details.

When

Date: March 18th
Time:  6:00 PM

Where

Greektown, Detroit  

PizzaPapalis®

553 Monroe Street
Detroit, MI   48226
Phone: 313-961-8020

PizzaPapalis is located a few blocks from the Renaissance Center where the launch event is being held.  Those that will park at the RenCen for the launch event can use the People Mover to go from the RenCen to PizzaPapalis.  I think the cost to ride the People Mover is $.50 and it will stop running at midnight (for those that decide to stay downtown). 

Directions from Renaissance Center to PizzaPapalis.

RULES (Updated 3.14.2008)

The rules for large groups at PizzaPapalis is we cannot do individual tabs for food.  Obviously that would take too long anyway for a large group.  So be sure you bring CASH to this event, not credit cards.  For those doing alcohol at the event, you will either pay cash as you order or you can start a tab with a credit card.  These are not my rules but those of PizzaPapalis. 

Who Can Attend?

The short answer is anyone that considers themselves a technologist or a geek.  We also aren't discriminating based on location either so if you are from Mississippi, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio or nearby states in driving distance of Detroit feel free to join us.

What is a Geek Dinner?

Although there is no official definition a geek dinner is a time for technologist, enthusiasts, developers, architects and others in the community to gather and talk about technology.  That's it, plain and simple.  It doesn't mean you are part of a sacred group or cult, it just means you were hungry on a Tuesday night, needed some place to eat and there were a bunch of people that like technology like yourself eating at this one place so you decided to join them.

How Do I RSVP?

Easy.  Just add a comment to this blog entry or send an email using the contact link on the site stating your intentions of attending and I'll start to gather a head count from that.  Once I get your RSVP I'll update the site to keep a list of people attending.  Be sure to provide your blog link if you have one so I can link to you.  Also if your plans for one reason or another change and you can't make it, do let me know.  It is important to organize an accurate head count to help the facility plan accordingly.

Who Pays For Dinner?

Unless we find a sponsor to pickup dinner for everyone you'll be responsible for your own meal.  You have to eat supper anyway so you might as well eat it with a bunch of geeks!  See the rules for how this works, with this large of a group we cannot do individual tabs.

How Many People Can Attend?

Currently we have room for up to 80 people. 

Can I Attend The Launch Event?

Absolutely but you have to register.  Just follow the link to the site and register.  The event is free.  There are 18 talks scheduled revolving around Visual Studio 2008 (which I'm giving one on), SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008.

Who Is Going To Be There?

The following people have officially responded they would be there.

Jeff McWherter
Richard Perry
Michael Eaton
Brad Lloyd (AKA AtomicInternet)
Jay Wren
Steven Harman (blog)
Michael Letterle
James Bender
Jeff Blankenburg
Chris Woodruff
Brian Burge
Bill Portman
Jonathon Thorndycraft
Tim O'Hara
Chris Risner
Matt Kelley (student WCC)
Scott Creighton
Randy Pagels
John Chapman
Michael Cojocari
Michael Palinski
Dennis Burton
Jay Harris
Joe O'Brien
Jeremy (meaton's friend)
David Truxall
John Hopkins
Dustin Campbell
Mike Bobiney
Mike Moore
Ralph Menzel
Vivek Joshi
Alfred Green
David Redding
Joe Wirtley
Jason Follas
Jamie Wright
Vijay Jagdale
Scott Zischerk
Joe Kunk
Rich Hamilton
Dan Hibbits
Eric Maino (Microsoft product team)
Amanda Laucher
Corey Haines
Nate Hoellein
Praveen Pereira
Mike Moore
Brian Sherwin
 

Monday was a packed day but lots of fun.  My day started off waking up at 5:30 AM to drive to Jackson, MS for the Visual Studio Seminar where Doug Turnure, Chad Brooks, and myself were speaking on the new Visual Studio 2008 platform.  Sunday was the Super Bowl and we had friends over who stayed with us until about 12:30 AM playing Rock Band.  If you do the math I was working on 5 hours of sleep.  Note to self, never schedule events after the Super Bowl.

Visual Studio in Jackson

We held the event at New Horizons in Jackson.  The staff there was super nice and very accommodating.  The really sad thing is once the event was announced the event filled up almost immediately and we had to place people on the waiting list. 

After the event Doug, Chad and I went to a local place to eat called Keifer's (no relation).  Keifer's is a great local place where you can get gyros, pitas, and these crazy shaped french fries which are basically a whole potato sliced into thin slices all the way through.  Doug and Chad both enjoyed it and knowing Doug he has booked marked the place in his never forgetting rolodex of places to eat.

Geek Dinner in Hattiesburg

Later that evening the Geek Dinner was held in Hattiesburg at Chesterfield's.  This is a great picture of open source initiatives coming together.  Pictured to the left is Sara Ford, Program Manager for Codeplex, Microsoft's open source hosting service, and John Weathersby, Executive Director of the Open Source Software Institute.  I had to capture the moment because who would have believed that OSSI and Codeplex would come together in harmony in Hattiesburg of all places. 

Turn out was really good and honestly if one more person would have showed up, we'd had to sit people in another area.  I think everyone had a good time talking tech and learning from each other. Personally I really enjoyed it and hope we can do some other events in the area.  For those that are curious what the dish is called that I have a picture of listed above, it is called "The Swamp" served with sweet potato fries.  It is Chesterfield's best sandwich (in my personal opinion).   The thing is massive and is three meals in one.  In the menu it is described as "piles" and "mounds".  Truly a southern thing.  Several of us got it and it is delicious.

Thanks to everyone that came out I hope you enjoyed it and especially a big thank you to those who traveled a long distance including Sara, Sara's Mom, Ryan, Keith, Joe, Doug, Chad and anyone else I missed.  Here are some of the pictures I took last night.