Six Weeks of Scala: Join us starting next Monday

The Scala Code Retreat, held at SRT Solutions on September 25 was a lot of fun and quite interesting.  So I decided to extend the invitation over the next 6 weeks to see if people would be interested in stopping by after work on Mondays, from 5-7 to write some Scala code.  We’ll probably spend some time on the Scala Koans, perhaps do some more exploring with the Game Of Life (as we did in the Code Retreat), and mainly just get used to the language.

Folks can work independently, but it may be fun to pair.   Given the short amount of time available, please come with an IDE installed on your laptop.  While you may get some help with configuration, the plan is for this to be mainly a coding get-together.

So, join us starting next Monday, October 11 from 5-7 pm.  We’ll continue to get together for 6 consecutive Mondays.  This won’t be a training session, nor is anyone required to show up every week.  This is about enjoying our time with this language, and with one another.  Join us when you can.

SRT’s address is 206 S. Fifth Avenue, Suite 200 in Ann Arbor.  That’s at the corner of Fifth Avenue, and Washington, half a block north of Liberty.  Entrance is from Fifth Avenue.

TEDxDetroit: Making us Laugh, Making us Cry

If you’re not in the know about TED talks, you’re really missing out.  I got hooked on the topics and the high quality of speakers a few years ago.  I listen to the audio on iTunes.

TED stand for Technology, Entertainment, Design.  While the TED talks are national, the TEDx talks are locally, independently, organized around the principles of TED.   Michigan is quite active in TEDx talks, with events held in Lansing, Flint, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor (UofM) in addition to Detroit.

But this week TEDx in Michigan totally belonged to Detroit.  Hosted in the beautiful Detroit Institute of Arts, TEDxDetroit attracted 1000 folks to the city for this one-day event. The energy around revitalizing the city was everywhere at TEDx.  From Chazz Miller’s mission to beautify the city one mural at a time through Public Art Workz to the thought-provoking and energetic poet Jessica Care Moore , there was no sign of giving up on this city. Dancing, singing, and poetry were mixed in with a wide variety of talks.  There was definitely something for everyone.

The organizers asked the speakers to connect with the audience’s emotions.  We definitely laughed.  And there were 2 stories that made me cry, for different reasons.  I saw a lot of other people dabbing their eyes too when Steve Kahn talked about his kids in the Math Corps.  He talked about believing in the greatness of all children and how that makes him do crazy things.  Well, he may be crazy but his kids are improving their test scores from 30% to 90%.  When he speaks, his faith in these kids is evident.  He won’t give up on them.  Ever.  And yes, he brought me to tears when he described how one child didn’t want to move away from his family (the Math Corps) to live with his relatives.  Powerful stuff.

The other story that made me cry was Victor Green’s story about completing an Olympic distance triathlon.  Before his mother died, he promised her that he would make some changes to get into shape, and that he would do a triathlon.  He faced incredible diversity including horrific water conditions in the 1 mile swim that saw many people pulled out of the water.  He nearly gave up on the 25 mile bike, until he saw one of his teammates cheering him on.  His description of cramping and wanting to stop on the 6.2 mile run is all too familiar to anyone who has done a distance race.  But with his teammates cheering him on and running the last mile of the race alongside him, from the sidewalk, long after their finish, I was incredibly moved by his determination and strength.  Yes, Victor, you are a triathlete.  And an inspiration to us all.

And that’s what TED and TEDx are all about.  Surprising you.  Moving you.  Inspiring you.

TEDxFlint is on October 23.  TEDxGrandRapids is still in the planning stages.

TEDxUofM was in April.  TEDxLansing was in May.   I suspect they’ll be back in 2011, along with another wonderful TEDxDetroit.

Do You Have a Flexible Workplace?

Between my article in annarbor.com and my talk at TEDxDetroit, it’s been a busy few weeks, talking and writing about flexible workplaces.  And then, today, I had to follow some of my own advice to stay home with a sick kid.  While he was entertained by Netflix movies on the iPad and books to read, I was able to get about half of my work done today.  I’ll finish it up over the weekend!

SRT Solutions and The Whole Brain Group Team up to Work with Adaptive Materials

SRT Solutions and The Whole Brain Group are working with Adaptive Materials on a new software application for renewable energy.  Funded by an Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II grant, this application will improve the military’s renewable energy usage in the battlefield.

With Adaptive Materials’ renewable energy acumen,  SRT Solutions providing the software development expertise, The Whole Brain Group providing the user interface design and artwork, this project is a great opportunity for three Ann Arbor companies to work together.

You can read more about the project on AnnArbor.com.

Scala Code Retreat on Saturday, September 25 at SRT

Please join us in Ann Arbor at SRT Solutions, 206 S. Fifth Avenue, Suite 200, for a Scala Code Retreat this Saturday, September 25 from 9 am – 5 pm.  The format is well defined, here: http://coderetreat.com/how-it-works.html.

Basically, we’ll be working together on the same problem.  Novice and advanced Scala developers are welcome.  There will be no IDE wars (we’ll all just use vi … OK, I’m joking).

In any case, SRT is sponsoring a continental breakfast, and lunch is on your own.  There’s no cost to attend.

To register, go to http://coderetreat.ning.com/events/scala-code-retreat-ann-arbor

Scala now or JDK 8 (much) later

If you were waiting for the JDK 7 release in preference to Scala for things like lambdas, parts of Project Coin (small language changes), or Jigsaw (modularized JDK), your wait is over.  That’s over as in not gonna happen til the middle of 2012.

Maybe that’s too long.  Maybe you’re curious about what Scala can do now.  If you are, the Ann Arbor Scala Code Retreat is happening at a good time.  Join us on Saturday, September 25.  We’ll be at SRT Solutions, 206 S. Fifth Ave., Suite 200, from 9-5.  That’s at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Washington in downtown Ann Arbor.  Everyone is welcome: novice to advanced.  This won’t be a tutorial; it will be an active coding session.

Ann Arbor Businesses in the News

Get some updates from some of my favorite business owners

Two bits of news came by my desk today, and since they are about some of my favorite business owners in Ann Arbor, I thought that I would pass them along.

First of all, The Small Giants Community has named Marisa Smith of The Whole Brain Group to its Board of Directors.  Nicely done, Marisa!

And, Pure Visibility has been profiled in a Concentrate Media article, interviewing founders Catherine Juon and Linda Girard.  

 Enjoy!

What Defines Success in Business?

My thoughts, as appear in AnnArbor.com

Last week, I wrote an article for AnnArbor.com about success in business, and how one formula (that is, growth) is perhaps not always appropriate.  Longevity, great customers, great employees, doing things you enjoy that also pay the bills are other factors that companies sometimes consider. And that’s a good thing!

See Also

Ann Arbor Technical Events

This week and next …

If you wanted to learn about Joomla, you missed your chance.  The Ann Arbor Computer Society met just last night on that topic.  Rumor has it that they have some amazing speakers coming up in the next few months, so stay tuned.

Tonight, the Michigan Python User Group meets at SRT Solutions, 206 S. Fifth, Suite 200.  The meeting starts at 7, and is free and open to the public. 

With the Ann Arbor .NET Developer Group meeting next Wednesday (August 11) and the Cocoaheads User Group meeting on Thursday (August 12), the SRT space will be the place to be in the evenings over the nextweek, regardless of your language affiliations and preferences! 

If you’re planning ahead for next week, here’s a brief preview:

Jamie Wright will be speaking on "Getting Real with Software Consulting" at the Ann Arbor .NET Developer Group.   

Chris Adamson, author of several books including "Swing Hacks" and "iPhone SDK Development",  will be in town for the Cocoaheads meeting.  He will talk about AV Foundation in iOS4.  Chris has had a history of interest in media, and he has an upcoming book entitled "Core Audio".  

Weeks like these make me appreciate our area for its rich tech talent as well as its ability to attract well-known speakers.

It’s time to look at Scala

If you haven’t already considered Scala, it’s time.

Scala 2.8 is at Release Candidate 6. With impressive features including named and default arguments and a redesigned collections library (and many more), and several choices for IDE’s, it’s time to make the move from Java.

I’m working on a new project in Scala.  We’ll be using 2.8, and I’m looking forward to it immensely.

See Also