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Geeks Gone Wild!

Posted by Keith Elder | Posted in Asp.Net, Funny Stuff | Posted on 22-09-2006

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Latest update from the Asp.Net Technology Summit is geeks are going wild!  In particular Scott Guthrie.  Last night we were at Trader Vic’s eating and mixing with the presenters along with the attendees.    Andy Stopford and Scott were chatting about LINQ and Scott couldn’t resist pulling out his laptop and doing an adhoc show and tell to show off the new data binding bits with LINQ and Asp.Net.  Conversation is great but a picture is worth a thousand words, and Visual Studio + LINQ is worth a couple of million.

Here is a video I took with my phone of Scott, Andy and myself geeking out and talking about LINQ.

How to prostitute your information at Tech Ed/PDC or other Conferences and not get bombarded with marketing crap

Posted by Keith Elder | Posted in Funny Stuff, Speaking | Posted on 26-06-2006

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Jason Follas, who I met at Tech Ed, posted about my winnings on his blog.   Jason stated he wished he would have signed up at more vendor booths instead of just walking past them.  This inspired me to write out some of my “Tips” below.  

When I attend a conference I am a complete vendor prostitute with my “fake information”. And yes the info I use is “fake” in that I can easily remove it and “disappear” into the depths of the Internet.  When I attend a conference it is all about winning.  Sure I am there to learn and network but my main goal is winning.  I’m not talking hats, t-shirts etc.  I’m talking the good stuff. 

To me it is no different than going to Vegas. You have to play the odds.  The more drawings and contests you enter, the better the chances are of winning.  I mean the odds are what, 1 in a few thousand?  I don’t imagine everyone signs up for everything (cough cough Jason) so it just makes my chances better.  Ok, so here’s my “tips”.

Tips on Attending Conferences
Email – Vendors mainly contact you via email and phone.  Very few will go through the trouble of sending something via the postal service.  I can’t remember anything I’ve gotten in the mail from a vendor or booth registration.  Anyway, before you leave for the conference setup an alias email account.  Create a new email alias through your domain.  Most domain hosting providers support this and if you don’t have the pleasure of running your own domain, create a Yahoo! account for example.  The trick to is it to create an alias email account that everything goes to. Something like conferencename@somedomain.com.

Phone -The phone is a little tougher but it is the typical “preferred” way vendors like, I mean LOVE to contact you.  Because of this fact you have to be a little more devious.  I use Vonage for all of my phone services.  I have 4 phone numbers with Vonage; 1 home office, 1 home, 1 dedicated fax and 1 toll free number.  I’ve been a customer of Vonage for a long time and this is just another reason why I continue to use their service.  One of the many services they offer is called the “Virtual Phone Numbers“.  I think you see where this is going.  For roughly $5 a month you can create a virtual number in another area code or market.  This feature is great for small businesses that want to run an ad in Atlanta, Ga but their home office is in Podukaville, MS.  Forwarding, another feature they offer, ties into this as well.  Through forwarding any virtual number Vonage offers can be forwarded to your cell phone or home so you don’t miss a “winning” call.

Mail – This is one I haven’t worried about but if you are really paranoid, walk into the local post office and sign up a PO Box.  It is only a few dollars a month.  Of course it isn’t a “physical” address but if you use something like Mail Boxes Etc. they have a physcial address that Fed Ex or UPS can deliver to just in case you win something.

Business Cards – Once you get your “fake information” all squared away, get some business card printed.  Laser printer + Avery + Word = New Business Cards.  The reason you need the cards is sometimes vendors want your business card.  You know, they’ll put those little fish bowls up?   You may also run into that really *weird* guy at the conference who wants to contact you after the conference.  Fake cards are great. Since you are printing your own cards you get the luxury of making up any title you want.  For technical conferences CIO is always a great choice, other’s, President or Vice President may do.  Have fun with it!

About a month after the conference, delete everything (email, phone and mail) and they have no way of contacting you.  Happy winnings! 

Watch 1400 80’s Videos!

Posted by Keith Elder | Posted in Funny Stuff | Posted on 22-06-2006

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For anyone that knows me, you know my musical taste lies in the 80’s. Call it what you will, the 80’s still rock. Nothing gets me coding in the morning like a good dance hit from the 80’s. I found a web site that allows you to watch over 1400 80’s vidoes! You remember videos right? The things MTV started back in the 80’s but abondoned for crappy shows like “Real World”? If you want to get your 80’s video fix for the day head over to http://www.freephotosandvideos.com/ and ROCK OUT!

Suicidal Bird

Posted by Keith Elder | Posted in Funny Stuff | Posted on 11-05-2006

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“Today I was sitting in the home office coding and I heard what sounded like someone had thrown a rock into the bay window that looks out over the deck from the home office. I looked around in the yard but didn’t see anything or anybody. Then I noticed there was a dead bird laying in the dog pen that we use to cage Simon, Max and Coda sometimes (our cocker spaniels). Apparently this bird was flying as fast as he could until he met my bay window. He died instantly. Pictures can only do this justice.
bird that ran into my house
shot of window the bird ran into

Tonight is game night

Posted by Keith Elder | Posted in Friends, Funny Stuff | Posted on 12-03-2006

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A few weeks ago Ellen and I had to go to Jackson for the weekend to a piano contest she was judging. Since we had to leave for two nights we needed someone to watch our dogs while we were away. Two of Ellen’s students, Carlena and Shea, agreed to watch the dogs for us but we had to have game night at our house to reward their services. Tonight was game night. Everyone gets together and we have a meal then we break out all of the board games. We started by cooking some burgers and hot dogs on the grill and then played a few hands of Texas Hold ‘Em since they girls had never played. Then another student of Ellen’s named Nathan showed up and we started playing Mad Gab and then moved onto Taboo. The night is still young, who knows what we’ll break out next. Maybe Operation?