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!

CodeMash 2008


CodeMash


I have to admit I'm "geeked out" about being registered for the CodeMash conference in Sandusky Ohio this January! I didn't get to go last year. But everyone I know who went last year said it was great, so I expect nothing less this year. Good opportunity to network with other techy folks, learn and absorb as much information as I can, and hopefully squeeze in a little fun time too.

I got a chance to help test the conference registration web site a few months ago, and that was fun. Not in an I-have-the-patience-to-do-this-every-day kind of way (I truly respect our QA testers at work!) but in a cool-to-be-given-the-opportunity and-then-thanked-for-the-great-work-and-detailed-report kind of way. I may be detailed, and organized, but if I've learned nothing else: being good at something and liking to do something on a daily basis are totally different things. ;) So, for now I strive to become a better developer b/c that's where my passion lies at this point in my career. As with everything in life, that's subject to change as time goes by :)

Anyone reading this who would be interested in going, registration is still open

CodeMash Software Developer Conference
LOCATION: Kalahari Resort and Indoor Waterpark, Sandusky, OH
DATES: January 9-11, 2008
COST: $175 by Jan 5, $250 after Jan 5
DESCRIPTION:
"The CodeMash software developer conference was designed to bring together developers of different technologies, languages, and platforms to learn from one another.
...
Python, Java, .NET, Ruby and PHP are all represented. And, we're adding an Open Spaces component this year, which will allow the participants to formalize those hallway discussions that are usually the most productive part of going to a conference."

The Best Seat in the House

Last week my friend George asked if I wanted to go to a Columbus Bluejackets hockey game on Wednesday. He was just planning to head there after work and maybe get tix from a scalper or something. No biggie if I wanted to join, cool. I figured it would be fun and I didn't have anything else going on, so why not?

We met up early enough to grab food before the game. And as we were walking by the arena, we passed a couple who were clearly selling tickets. George asked if they had 2? Yes, they did. Are they good seats? Yes... first row, right behind the net, on the attack-twice side. Wow. I hesitated because I wasn't really prepared to pay the amount the guy was asking for the tickets. Given the face value of the tickets, the price was more than fair - I just wasn't prepared. But given that the seats were so good, we decided to take them. And I'm so glad we did!

I had not been able to really picture what our view would be like from the seats, and definitely underestimated just how good they were... until we sat down. Wow! Evidently there used to be a goal-judge box there. Then they removed the goal-judge in lieu of modern technology (cameras and such) and put 4 seats there instead. These had to be the best seats in the house!

Too bad I didn't come prepared with my good camera. But I took several pictures with my camera phone that came out alright. These pictures illustrate our view much better than I could ever describe, so check 'em out!

Faceoff!

Action Shot


Woah, close up!


Rick Nash


Nice save!


Pascal Leclaire


And to top that off, it was a great game! The Bluejackets won over the Phoenix Coyotes 3-0. Woohoo!