Windows' Live Search Maps (last mentioned here)  has made another improvement to the ability to view the world in three dimensions. High resolution 3D has come to downtown Portland! I'm not sure, but I think my car is parked on the top of the garage near the bottom of the picture!

It is the season again for all to step up and help Scott in the fight against Diabetes.

Last year, Scott raised $12,000 this way. The goal is now $50,000! Seems quite doable to me! I'll be adding to your coffers, Scott... heck, maybe I can even help in the walking part .

InnoTech, the region's most comprehensive business and technology event, offers two full days of conference sessions and one, focused day of exhibits (Thursday, April 26th only). This year's jam-packed agenda includes the return of the eMarketing Summit (now with two tracks!), the Oregon CIO Summit and IT Executives of the Year Awards, InnoTech's Happy Hour (a great networking opportunity!) on Thursday, April 26th, and, of course, the latest on Open Source, Agile, Security, and the latest, exciting innovations in business and technology.

This year, InnoTech is offering a new, Developers Track. Because of the involvement that PADNUG has had with organizing this event, the conference has offered a limited number of complimentary passes to the general InnoTech Conference.

The first 20 people to register using the Discount Code DEV999 will receive complimentary admission to InnoTech this year. Lead sponsors include Microsoft, Comcast, Akamai, OTBC and others. For a complete listing of presentations, speakers and to register visit www.innotechoregon.com.

I'm not about to be pimp out the site like some folks I've seen, but there are plenty of times I've felt compelled to link to things I like to allow others to browse and possibly purchase.

With that in mind, I took advantage of Amazon's recent aStore. From now on, if I have something to share, I will be inclined to add it to the store and then link from here to there.

Yes, I will get a few cents if you click on the link and buy something. Given the traffic this site gets, I'm sure I'll be able to get an extra cup of coffee every couple of months from it, too. Much more importantly, I think, I will be able to share some of my favorite items. Consider it insight.

Now, what else do I like that Amazon sells???

Scott Hanselman was unexpectedly called out of town this week, but Kelly and Jason have already got a good deal of information that they would like to share regarding developing with Microsoft's latest technologies.

What the heck... there might just be some Vista DVDs to go with the Office 2007's from last month .

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

The excitement builds as Jason got the Portland Code Camp v3.0 site up this week! I'll blatantly plagiarize his blog post here to save some typing:

Head on over to the Portland Code Camp v3.0 site and register to attend, submit a session or two, or just check out what's going on with the event. Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed to keep up to date with latest news about the event. It's happening May 19-20 at WSU-Vancouver and you won't want to miss it.

One word of note... changes have been made to ease the password requirements on the site. You no longer need non-alphanumeric characters in your password, so you actually have a chance of remembering your password now. As a result of the change we've blown away all the previous user accounts, so you will need to create a new account even if you have registered for a Code Camp in the past.

I'm sure this will the best Camp we've had yet. The campus and facilities are first-rate and it will be a great time of year for the event.

Why have I forgotten to mention this place before now?

It is a spectacular theater in Vancouver, Washington that provides a near perfect viewing experience for your favorite movies.

We went to see "300" up there (GREAT movie, btw!). This was our third time going to the theater and our first time in a Living Room Theater (pictured at the right). Just in case we weren't already convinced that this is the best theater ever built, the LR Theater pushed us over the top.

I never really understood how good a movie's picture could be. The sound is phenomenal; the seats are luxurious; and the food, beer, wine, and concessions are fabulous - and yes, you can dine and drink in the Living Room Theaters. I don't use the word 'dine' lightly, either.

From the Cinetopia FAQ site:

10 Reasons to make Cinetopia your first theater choice:

1. Extra Wide Leather Seating
2. Extra Wide Rows
3. 50% Steeper Stadium Seating
4. Digital Super High Definition Projection
5. Finest Dolby / Klipsch Sound System
6. Giant Curved Screens up to 50 feet wide
7. Special Living Room Theaters with Private Box Seating
8. Premium Concessions / Gourmet Popcorn Bar
9. Gourmet Restaurant – 4 Star Chef
10. Lunch and Dinner available in Theaters

All the way from Australia, Microsoft MVP and Regional Director Adam Cogan will be joining us for a very special BONUS PADNUG presentation.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

'Tis a busy time of year and there's just not enough days in this month. We do get paid more per day this month than most, though, so let's go blow that extra cash on a fine dining experience at the mall!

What: Portland Nerd Dinner
Where: Washington Square Food Court (Second Floor; typically, straight out from Picture People)
When: Tuesday, February 27, starting around 6:30 PM
Why: So the wallet doesn't get to thick and cause back problems.

Be There and Be Square!

All the way from Redmond, Washington, Keith Pleas will be joining us for a great discussion about the Enterprise Library.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Via Eric Gunnerson's blog, I just couldn't resist this challenge. I'm very pleased with my results !

The Veteran You scored 88%!

You've picked up the majority of the classic rock basics. You probably have a classic rock collection and can sing along with most of the songs on your local radio station. This is not the highest score, but it is arguably the best: that subtle combination of impressive knowledge and not being a pretentious geek.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on notes

Link: The BASIC classic rock Test written by allmydays on OkCupid Free Online Dating.

From Jason's Blog:

XNA Game Studio Express has been released! XNA is the next generation of game development with .NET, and you can use GSE today to build games for Windows and Xbox 360. Everything you need for Windows game development is free. To run your games on the 360 you'll need to sign up for the XNA Creator's Club, which is $99/year and includes free content you can use for your games (like 3D models, source code, goo, etc).

If that isn't reason enough to start cranking out games, the Dream-Build-Play contest starts [this] month where you can win prizes and earn money for the XNA games you build. You may even end up with your game in the Xbox Live Arcade bringing in the bucks from royalties!

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Wonderful weather we're having out this way! I suppose not everyone agrees; Greg doesn't seem to enjoy it as much as I do. Hey, in these modern times, I have full access to my work from home, so I don't find it necessary to leave the house.

Jesann had some fun... as you will see at the right, we now have a well-dressed snow-farmer sitting in the front yard ! She should get an award for this one.

As Greg mentions, there have been some exciting events around here, too. Not surprisingly, there have been many accidents and road related problems. This year, a gentleman near downtown Portland was able to capture several problems from his apartment. Derek Porter's Video can be reached by clicking the image on the left (although, the site has been up and down) and it is really amazing.

The video was submitted to KGW by a gentleman by the name of Derek Porter. Apparently, there was at least fifteen collisions and you just have to feel sorry (sorta) for the driver of the Volvo at the beginning of the clip. They said he was the only person to sustain any injuries and they were minor.

I feel so bad for Steve and the gang over the iPhone flap and the big Cisco Lawsuit. But, rather than whine about it, I thought I'd be a bit more proactive and help them out.

It's been a few years since 'e' was attached to everything hip. Maybe if we move the 'e' from the front to the back of the words, we would see a resurgence in it's use. With that in mind, I present my proposal for the new logo:

Well, it was bound to happen. I've reached The Answer today. I've only got two minutes to post this entry on my birthday, so I better hurry. How can I not post for this ostentatious occasion, though?

Happy 2007 Everyone!

It's shaken (not stirred) Martinis all year long folks and even though we can't have one at the mall, let's head out and have a Nerd Dinner! It'll give us a chance to exchange recipes in any event.

What: Portland Nerd Dinner
Where: Washington Square Food Court (Second Floor; typically, straight out from Picture People)
When: Thursday, January 11, starting around 6:30 PM
Why: Celebrate another New Year!

Be There and Be Square!

INETA has been kind enough to get Bill Vaughn to make the trip down to Portland to present to us this month. This is going to be a fabulous presentation and I expect to gain a lot of knowledge on this one.

Come out to this months meeting to learn about ADO.Net connecting.

WHAT:	December PADNUG Meeting
WHEN:	Wednesday 12/06/2006 6:00 p.m. Pizza (by INETA) 6:30 p.m. Presentation
WHERE:	PCC Auditorium at Capital Center 18640 NW Walker Road Beaverton, Oregon The auditorium is in room 1508 through entrance B. There is a $3 parking fee. The kiosk for paying for parking is located between entrances B and C.
WHO:	William (Bill) Vaughn An industry-recognized author, B will illustrate how to connect to SQL Server and other backend servers. He's been in the industry for over thirty years- working with mainframe,minicomputer and personal computer systems. Bill has written six editions of "Hitchhikers Guide to Visual Basic and SQL Server". Bill is a top-rated speaker and we are honored to have him.
TOPIC:	ADO.Net Connecting Learn how you can use connection options that can help your application connect quickly and stay connected as well as encrypt your connection string. The session includes examples of the new SqlConnectionStringBuilder, the new User instance feature of SQL Express and even funtionality like FullTextSearch and Reporting Services.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Hey, I like Amazon as much as the next person. I've bought a lot of stuff from them. I've complained about the "Recommendations" feature before, but haven't seen the "Better Together" get so mixed up. I wanted to look at the new Microsoft Mouse today:

How do these relate? Use the mouse as I watch the movie on my computer?