Self Taught Programmer to Success Story

I just did an interview for Trevor Page, a fellow podcaster, to tell him about my story as a self taught programmer.  Please checkout the write up and the podcast interview over at:

http://howtoprogramwithjava.com/self-taught-programmer-to-success-story/

Trevor is doing a lot of good work with his blog, podcast, ebook and instructional videos.  Take a few minutes to check it out.

New Agile Forum in St. Louis

Savvis, A CenturyLink Company, is starting a new Agile forum in St. Louis, MO. The first meeting of the "St. Louis Agile LINC Forum" will be held on the evening of Thursday, April 11 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.  Savvis is hosting the meeting at their St. Louis office located at #1 Savvis Parkway, Town and Country, MO 63017.

Those interested in attending should RSVP to jim.haftarczyk@savvis.com. The following are the details for the upcoming event.  I hope to see you there.

The event will have three presenters who will delve into a variety of topics including:

• The Agile Transformation, presented by Gint Grabauskas, will inspire and motivate IT professionals considering the transition from the Waterfall SDLC to the Agile SDLC. He will discuss gaining support, organizing the Agile office, and unleashing the IT potential using Agile. 
• The Role of a Developer in Agile, presented by George Hack, will cover how developers function in an Agile methodology. He will discuss how the environment and activities are different than a traditional waterfall approach. In addition, he will touch on the skill set differences for the Agile developer working in a collaborative environment. 
• Testing in Agile, presented by Parvez Yusufji, will discuss how very different QA is between Agile and Waterfall. This will include examining the mentality of Agile testing, the tools, and the daily activities. Parvez will focus on the cornerstone of Agile testing – automation.

The interactive forum, moderated by Deanna Miller, will provide an opportunity for you to network and collaborate with IT professionals interested in Agile. Food and prizes will be provided courtesy of Savvis. Whether you are contemplating a transformation or you are well experienced in the Agile methodology, this forum is a unique opportunity in St. Louis for IT Professionals to share their experiences.

Article Published

I recently wrote an article titled "The Seven Secrets of Pair Programming".  The article was published on DevX.  Check it out over at DevX.

iOhYes, Episode 2 - Major Chaffing

Episode 2 for iOhYes is in the can. In this episode we discuss the pending announcement of the iPhone 5, using custom controls in your iOS app and much more. If you act now you'll get the podcast with all the calories and only half the great taste or is supposed to be the other way around?  I can't remember.

You can subscribe to iOhYes on iTunes and Feedburner.

The companion show notes are on our website http://iohyespodcast.com.

Are you an iOS developer? Do you have ideas for topics to discuss? Would you like to work on a killer iOS app? Give me a shout and I can help you make the right connections.

New Episode, This Agile Life, Lean Six Cobra Kai

We've just published episode 3 of This Agile Life, titled "Lead Six Cobra Kai". Please have a listen and share it with all your friends and even your enemies.  You won't be sorry.

You can pickup the feed on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/this-agile-life/id549367028?mt=2# and on Feedburner at http://feeds.feedburner.com/thisagilelife/podcast

You can find out more about the podcast, including the show notes, on our website http://thisagilelife.com

Please let me know if you have discussion items you'd like us to add to our discussion backlog or if you have feedback for us on the podcast.