CodeMash 2008 wrap-up

As I mentioned in a previous post, I attended CodeMash 2008 this past week. I got back on Friday. Funny how a conference can be so physically draining from lack of sleep, mentally draining from so much information, yet so invigorating, too. I've gotten lots of sleep, yet somehow I'm still tired! But it was a an awesome event! Thanks to all the people who put in so much hard work to make it happen!

I seem to always come away from these conferences on a bit of a high from meeting new friends, from the thought-provoking conversations I've had, and with lots of thoughts an ideas bouncing around in my head of things I'd like to do.

I got to meet Dianne Marsh, one of the speakers. I was told by Josh Holmes several months ago that if I go to CodeMash, I need to meet Dianne because I reminded him a lot of her. During the conference, we had an good time together as I was trying to gather ideas about getting more women involved in the Columbus Ruby Brigade. We had some similar points of view in general,. And we had some interesting conversation, that others in the room joined in, too. Good times.

I also met a guy that I went to high school with, Dustin Campbell. I knew the name but vaguely remembered him, and he didn't remember me. (not surprising, since I spent a lot of time in high school trying to blend in with the wall, and not be noticed for any reason. I must have gotten pretty good at it.) But I checked w/ him, and we did indeed go to high school together.

I met a lot of people who also use twitter, a service that I describe as some hybrid of a Blog and Instant Messenger. You send short messages (tweets) to twitter about what you're doing, and anyone who is following you on twitter will see your tweet. I'm only coming up on my 2-month twitterversary, so it's still pretty new to me. But, I learned some new, fun twiterology (terminology relating to twitter?) at CodeMash:

• twistory [Brian Prince] - twitter history (say it out loud, it sounds a bit cooler than it looks written) Example: "I have quite a twistory of being cold due to weather."

• meta-tweet [I forget who said this one?] - tweets (messages) about previous tweets (twistory). Example: "This one time, I twittered about band camp."

• tweeps [Josh Holmes] - The people (or "peeps") who follow you on Twitter. Example: "I really enjoyed getting to know my tweeps" or "I have lots of new tweeps ever since CodeMash"

And lastly, I've been inspired to try and get away from my old habit of blending in and not being noticed, and try my hand at starting a separate blog with a more technical focus on computer languages, writing code and IT in general (or something like that). I definitely plan to summarize my aforementioned conversation with Dianne et. al. on my new blog. I will probably summarize other good conversations I had at CodeMash to start off other blog topics, too. After that, we'll see what happens and what I can come up with. I'll update this blog post with the location of the new blog as soon as I can figure out a name for it.

/*UPDATE*/ Here's my new blog: http://gayleforce.wordpress.com/

I took a few pictures at CodeMash, although it seems that most of the photos were of the water park and not so much the conference itself. But still, here they are.

New Years Resolutions

Resolutions 2007:

Lose 25 lbs. - Check. Ok, I'm rounding up. 23 is pretty dark close to 25, and I'm fitting into old jeans 2 sizes smaller than I was wearing, so I'm gonna call this one a success. :) I worked my butt off for this (literally ;) so... yay me!



Resolutions 2008:

Run a 5k race. I don't run, so I've got a long way to go. I walked a 5k in Fall 2007. Can't say I felt all that good about walking it, really. So if I do it again, I'm going to have to be running. I tried running on the treadmill a few weeks after the 5k last fall and barely made it 1/2 mile. But last Thursday, Jan 3rd, I ran 1 mile on the treadmill (after not having run at all since the one other time!) It wasn't pretty, 1 mile in 13:33, but at least it's a start. Then I ran another mile again on Friday. So I guess I'm off to a decent start.

Get involved in Habitat for Humanity in the greater Columbus area. I've worked with Habitat in college, and participated in various week-long trips across the US and Mexico before. And I've been talking about doing something locally for awhile. I think it's time to do more than just have good intentions.

NHL Winter Classic 2008

NHL Winter Classic 2008. I was there! And it was awesome!
(Update: My pictures are now available here)

January 1, 2008. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Buffalo Sabres. Hockey, played outdoors in the Buffalo Bills football stadium.

Even though the Sabres lost, and it was SO cold and snowy outside, it was totally worth it. For the first part of the game, when it was cold enough that the snow would brush off of you, I did not feel as cold as expected. It must have warmed up just enough to get the kind of snow that melts as soon as it hits your clothing. That's when everything get wet and that's when you start feeling really cold. I don't think I was ever shivering, though. Too much excitement, I suppose.

They showed a few crazies on the jumbo-tron that had their shirts off for the game. I was just fine in my 2 layers of pants, 3 layers of underwear, 2 layers of socks (including those really warm socks made for hunting/hiking), 3 layers of shirts, leather fuzzy coat, fleece hat and scarf, and 2 layers of gloves. But still, the metal bleachers felt cold even after putting down an extra scarf and an extra pair of pants onto the bench before sitting. I also made great use of the souvenir t-shirts we bought by using them as a butt cushion!

It is amazing how small a hockey rink looks when it's sitting in the middle of a football field. It was weird not seeing any people seated right next to the glass at all. It was also weird seeing it snow during a hockey game, and the Zamboni going on the rink more often than just in between periods. Then, when the Zamboni was done on the rink it would shuttle off to the side of the football field and deposit a pile of snow like a little dump truck.

Watching the news the night before, when they talked about setting everything up for the game, they mentioned trucking in snow to fill in from the edge of the rink to the edge of the football field itself. Never would have thought you'd hear anyone in Buffalo talking about trucking snow IN anywhere! :)

It was definitely a unique experience and I'm so glad I got to go! Much thanks to Jeff's cousin Josh who got us a block of tickets even though the game sold out so quickly after they went on sale (I've heard different stories about the game selling out anywhere between 15 - 60 minutes after tix went on sale. Regardless, it sold out very quickly!)

And it was a great game: tied at the end of regulation, tied at the end of overtime, and decided by the 6th shooter in the shootout. What a game! I took lots of pictures (coming soon). It's a New Year's Day I'll never forget!