Tennessee Technical Conferences: devLink and Codestock

There are two great regional conferences coming up this year in Tennessee: devLink and Codestock.


I was fortunate enough to work with John Kellar on devLink from the beginning and it is great to see how large it has grown. This year it is back at its original (and best IMHO) location at David Lipscomb University in Nashville. It has also grown to three days (August 13th to 15th) with a still unbeatable price of $100 ($75 for early bird registration). It is also a little unfair to call it a "regional" conference, since it draws people from all over the USA and quite a few from outside the country.


Codestock in Knoxville on June 26 and 27th, is headed up by Mike Neel and is in its second year. For $25 you get two days of national thought leaders, talented regional speakers, and great open spaces to discuss topics you are interested in.

You can follow these conferences on twitter at @devlink and @codestock. Both events have out a call for speakers, so get your abstracts in now to be a part of these great conferences.

devLink 2008 (Slight Return): Part 3

It seems at most events I am too busy running around keeping things going that I really never get to enjoy the company of my peers. This time around I made sure to get some time with people in the community who make our event so great:

• Ted Neward bought me a beer right off the bat. Then lost all his poker chips to me. Awesome. I also hear is a pretty smart guy!
• Brian Prince is a great DE and is always dedicated to growing the community as well as its individuals. Plus he was at devLink on his birthday.
• Kevin Kline is a SQL genius. Plus he came to devLink on his wedding day!
• Bill Vaughn is also a SQL genius, plus someone told me he wrote a book or two. But he is terrible at bluffing in Texas Hold 'em.
• Cory Haines has some edgy ideas but who can argue with those manly mutton chops! Plus he plays a mean harmonica.
• Rob Foster is always fun to be around and if I am going to slink past hotel security at midnight, he is my wing man.
• Steve Andrews graced my TFS talk and made me nervous. He did not throw anything or laugh out loud so I thank him for that.
• Tim Rayburn and I came up with the one true method call to end all method calls. He could also become a poker tournament announcer if he ever quits his day job.
• Jennifer Marsman's passion and excitement for developing is so contagious that the World Health Organization ranks her right below the Asian bird flu. She is also the bastard daughter of Dutch royalty. God save the Queen!
• Drew Robbins also did a great job with the event and the pre-conference poker tourney. Oh wait, that was Jeff Blakenburg. He is a great guy too!
• I did not get to spend much time with Leon Gersing but he tends to break out into spontaneous dance routines fairly often which is bonus for any event.
• Sirena Benefield was a new attendee from ITT tech who won everyone over the second she showed up. She codes, she plays Diablo II (old skool!), rocks on Guitar Hero, and was genuinely excited to be a part of all the activities. We will hear more from her in the near future.

There were so many more people, but I cannot come up with clever (or not so clever) lines for all of them. Thanks to everyone who participated in every capacity and I hope to see you again soon!

devLink 2008 (Slight Return): Part 2

One of the thing that keeps devLink at such a high level of quality is the great group of organizers and volunteers. No one is paid for the work they do on the conference, yet we see a level of commitment that is very inspiring. I wanted to tip my hat to the people that made it happen:

• John Kellar is the backbone of devLink. His attention to detail makes sure the event runs as smooth as possible and his involvement in the developer community ensures a great line up of speakers every year.
• Leanna Baker does a fantastic job with the logistics of the conference which are considerable. Where most of us work in the industry and gain a little notoriety from being a part of it, Leanna is not a developer and just simply wants the conference to be the best it can be. Her husband John Baker was a big part of keeping things running smoothly although he is a donut thief.
• Rachel Twyford has been a dedicated part of all three devLinks while being very pregnant for two of them. She was constantly on the move and when I saw her doing stretches at the final keynote I swore she was having the baby!
• Alan Stevens brought a very cool, new vibe this year with his excellent Open Spaces. Plus he throws a heck of an after party.
• Keith Elder was always on hand to help out and is a great M.C. Plus he does a great Frank Sinatra impression.
• Randy Walker was constantly lending a hand and was usually one of the first volunteers onsite and one of the last to leave.
• We had a great group of volunteers who really did a terrific job of helping run the conference: Jason Clark (who I am glad did not pass out in the sun), Bryan Meyer, Cliff Jacobson, and Evan Hoff. These guys were either constantly moving or stuck in one place (and sometimes outside) for long periods of time.

Without these people devLink would never be the greatest regional conference in the known universe.

THANKS TO EVERYONE!

devLink 2008 (Slight Return): Part 1

The devLink 2008 Technical Conference is now in the books and I am happy to say it went very well. Despite a few bumps and bruises most everything went off without a hitch. I'm now fully recovered and wanted to post about what a great experience it was this year. First I wanted to post this video montage from the event. I plan to post more the next few days about the people who made devLink happen, the interesting people I met this year, and some of the content.