Searching for my lost shaker of salt

Scot Hanselman has updated his list of the most useful developer tools, yet the remainder of this post contains so many wonderful and useful tools/toys that is sure to bring a smile to a cube-weary workforce.  No wonder his site is "Computer Zen"...

Found this on InfoQ and its worth repeating (over and over):

• Habit 1: Constructor Performs Minimal Work. Ideally, its constructor will only load data into its instance variables using the constructor's parameters.
• Habit 2: Methods Clearly Convey Their Intent. Long and descriptive method names help developer teams quickly understand the purpose and function of their software.
• Habit 3: An Object Performs a Focused Set of Services. Each object in the software to be focused on performing a small and unique set of services. Objects that perform a small amount of work are easier to read and more likely to be used correctly because there is less code to digest.
• Habit 4: State-Changing Methods Contain Minimal Behavior Logic.   Intermixing state-changing logic with behavior logic makes the software more difficult to understand because it increases the amount of work happening in one place.
• Habit 5: Behavior Methods Can Be Called in Any Order. Ensure that each behavior method provides value independent of any other behavior method.

http://www.infoq.com/news/five-habits-software-development

http://bhandler.spaces.live.com/blog/cns%2170F64BC910C9F7F3%211231.entry

Lots and lots and lots of goodies!

Woo hoo!  Satuday, October 7 at the ECPI in Innsbrook another fun day of nerd-dom, nerd-learning, just a massive nerd-fest.  But hey, its still good to be a nerd...

Major thanks to Andy and Frank for organizing the event and making this happen!

Download: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=69d2219f-ce82-46a5-8aec-072bd4bb955e&DisplayLang=en

Release notes: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=dc455c5d-2c99-43cc-ad71-4e0beb71bfa7&displaylang=en

Please note, that's not a typo.  Visual Studio 2003, for .NET Framework 1.1.  Not 2005.  Don't shoot the messenger...

Thursday August 17, 6:30 PM at Electronic Systems Inc in Virginia Beach. 

Object Oriented Concepts
Bring your Analysts and Managers!
 
In plain English we will review and discuss the most basic object oriented concepts.  Objects are not only the building blocks of an application but a practical way to divide and work with complex business processes.  Renew your OOA and OOD resume credentials!

This is a joint Hampton Roads SQL Server User Group and WeProgram.NET meeting.  In addition to the presentation we'll talk about the local Microsoft user groups, including the formation of a SharePoint group.  Hope to see you there!