RJ Dudley

I’m excited to announce the re-launch of the Honda North Blog.  We changed the software from dasBlog to BlogEngine.NET, and I converted a skin from OSWD.

So, if you’re looking for a Honda in western Pennsylvania, check out Honda North, and their blog at http://www.hondanorthblog.com/.

I found out today one of my fraternity brothers was killed in Mexico over the weekend.  Brad and I had rooms next to each other as freshmen, and we could talk through the hole in the wall for the radiator pipe at night (which annoyed his roommate to no end).  He had the greatest collection of Doors albums, and we spent hours jamming.  Later, we pledged the same fraternity, and lived in the house for the next couple of years.  Brad eventually went his own way, leaving the fraternity and Allegheny College.  We lost touch after that.  He went goodness knows where, and I went to Alabama for graduate school.

Brad’s easygoing nature often belied just how smart he was.  He was one of those guys who could instantly find a hole in any argument, but wouldn’t argue the point.  Brad was a good talker, and relished good, thoughtful conversation.  Instead of being an arguer, he’d lay out what he was thinking and why.  Sometimes, he and I saw eye to eye on issues, and sometimes we were polar opposites.  No matter, he was respectful of you, even when you disagreed.

It wasn’t much of a surprise to find out he was a videographer for Indymedia.  That just suited him perfectly.  The photo below is part of the story of his death at http://www.indymedia.org/en/2006/10/849305.shtml, and is a great image of Brad.  This was his thoughtful conversation look, and is a good way to remember him.  If you never knew him, this photo’s all the introduction you need.  There’s some more story at http://www.forbes.com/technology/ebusiness/feeds/ap/2006/10/29/ap3128352.html.

CleanTown USA is Pittsburgh’s favorite car wash.  It’s an amazing 16,000 sq ft facility, with two giant conveyor belts that move your car as a team cleans the interior.

The first website was a highly stylized design that provided a retro-futuristic feel, but took forever to load, and the navigation was not very user friendly.  It was also a pain to update, since every page was created by slicing apart Photoshop files and touching up the HTML in Dreamweaver.

To provide greater functionality, better navigation and quicker load times, we decided to use DotNetNuke as the basis for the new website.  The included calendar, photo gallery and blog functionality are nice additions to the site.  Gift card sales are enabled by CATALooK .netStore Pro, and custom information forms are handled by XMod.  We compromised on the design to provide layout flexibility, and the default blue skin fit the company perfectly.

You can see the upgraded site at www.CleanTownUSA.com.

You’ll see some changes to the skin in the coming days.  I need to get a better design anyway, plus I’ve joined the Hidden Network.  What is the Hidden Network?  I totally ripped off the following text from the website, but it’s the best explanation.

Hidden Network Defined

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, seventy-five percent of employees are seeking job opportunities at a different company. Thirty-five percent rely on tools such as job boards to find opportunities. The rest utilize their professional network of colleagues and choose from the opportunities that come to them. These "networked employees" rarely, if ever, look for a job on the market and represent the best of their profession. They are the Hidden Network.

Hidden Network Established

Hidden Network was established in 2006 by Alex Papadimoulis and his company, Inedo, LLC. Its goals are not revolutionary: help strong organizations find excellent talent. Its methods of achieving its goal are what truly set Hidden Network apart.

Hidden Network Accessed

Prior to the Hidden Network, top talent was accessible only to organizations with the financial resources to acquire it. The $20,000 fee assessed by many placement firms for a strong software developer is indicative of just how difficult this search truly is. The Hidden Network puts top-talent within reach by advertising job listings through a network of high-quality on-line publications ("weblogs" or "blogs") written by professionals for professionals.

Why Blogs?

Professional blogs are quickly becoming the new venue for trade news and articles. The authors ("bloggers") behind these publications are generally experts in their field who use their free time to write about their field. They are driven by the same motivation as their readers: a passion for their industry and profession. Our ad serving technology prominently places appropriate local and national job listings throughout our network of professional blogs.

Why Inedo? We Know Employers

We know firsthand how challenging it is to find good talent. Not only are we an employer ourselves, but one of our primary goals at Inedo is to help organizations develop software better. To develop excellent software, a company needs excellent people and Inedo works closely with our clients to find and assess candidates. We've found that the truly excellent candidates are the ones who are passionate about their work and keep up to date with technology through blogs and other publications.

We Know Bloggers

Alex Papadimoulis (the principal member of Inedo, LLC) is a well-known blogger. As the editor of The Daily WTF, Papadimoulis shares stories of poorly written computer code, poorly designed computer applications, and ignorant programmers with an estimated 300,000 readers. Papadimoulis is also the author of another blog where he writes about .NET and other technology topics.

We have GolfGladiators.com up and running.  Based on Community Server 2.1, this is the 45–minute installation I did from the airport (see http://www.rjdudley.com/blog/How+Fast+Can+You+Set+Up+A+Community+Server+Site.aspx). 

We have some forums still to set up, but the Ryder Cup forum is online, and so is one devoted to Tiger Woods.  We’ll eventually have forums for course reviews in all 50 states.  If you’re in, say, Wisconsin, and want one before I work my way down the alphabet, let me know.  My mad art skillz are evident on the logo.

Also, we’re working on some interactive challenges and distance games you can play.  Stay tuned for those.  In the meantime, if you enjoy golf, join us at www.GolfGladiators.com.

 

A recent thread in the LED Digest was started with the following warning:

A very common problem (in Russia at least) is where registrars, ISPs and web development companies will register a domain in THEIR name instead of the CUSTOMER's name -- later, holding the domain for ransom later.

(full post at http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/405/55/)

This was followed with some discussion in the next day's post (http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/406/55/).  I recount one story myself in that issue.  If you need to convince someone why they should register their own domaian names, these are some good examples.

Hello Richard,

    Congratulations. You won 12th Prize in the July 2006 Contest. As you may know, a lot of people competed, but only a few won. Nicely done! Please also keep in mind that your prize is not just a stupid, geeky gift, but it's also a symbol to represent your contributions to the development community. When folks ask you how you won, you can tell them that it was by helping out other geeks. Be proud and brag.

Below you will find the details of your prize.

The beloved Apu of The Simpsons fame

A fun Simpsons figurine featuring Apu in all his Kwik-E-Mart splendor.  Apu is probably my favorite Simpsons character and you must really love the signs posted in front and around the counter

I’m pleased to say I’ve finished my latest site—AVETS, Allegheny Veterinary Emergency Trauma & Specialty.  It’s a simple site, using JavaScript pop-out menus and master pages, plus some forms that use system.net.mail.  Design by Lynn Capestrani at Capestrani Consulting.

I read a variety of technical blogs.  Some are agile, some are pragmatic, while others are iffy, lazy, angry or corporate.  Most of them have extensively documented approaches to programming, and zealots of each approach engange in long blog battles over why they're right and everybody else is an idiot.  I don't really have a name for my approach, but my entire programming philosophy can be boiled down to a single mantra:

I will not write a Daily WTF

This is what I repeat to myself everytime I open Visual Studio or Enterprise Manager ("Enterprise Damager" as my network buddy Brad calls it).  I like it because there's no rational counterpoint.  No matter how many specs I have, nor how many meetings I've endured, in the end, it all comes down to my mind and its control over 8-10 of my fingers (I'm not a very good typist, so sometimes I only use 6 fingers).

Well, it’s not quite the Powerball, but still pretty cool:

Congratulations. You won 8th Prize in the April 2006 Contest. As you may know, a lot of people competed, but only a few won. Nicely done! Please also keep in mind that your prize is not just a stupid, geeky gift, but it's also a symbol to represent your contributions to the development community. When folks ask you how you won, you can tell them that it was by helping out other geeks. Be proud and brag.

My prize was Polarity; you can see the other prizes from last month at http://www.community-credit.com/CommunityCreditPrizePage.aspx (as well as this month’s prizes).

Utilizing the forces of magnetism, players take turns placing hovering magnetic discs on the board in order to impose chaos on their opponent. This chaos, which causes discs that are in play to come together in a flash of magnetic frenzy, results in scoring opportunities. Stacks of more than one disc (towers) are counted as points and the player with the most points at the end of a game wins. Those are the basics.

Want to compete for June?  Get on board at www.communitycredit.com.  This month’s prizes are totally cool, so don’t sign up yet.  Seriously.    Wait until June.

Technorati: Community Credit

Now playing: The Offspring - Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)

OK, my turn.  I must be pretty unique, since all my "look-alikes" were pretty low relevance.  A handsome group, nonetheless.  (note to self: next time disconnect from iPod before taking self-portrait).  Have your own fun at http://www.myheritage.com/.  Hat tip: Scott H.

 

We're happy to announce the lauch of the completely revamped Designer Display Cakes (http://www.displaycakes.com/).  Designer Display Cakes is a local creator of artifical wedding, occasion and everyday cakes, and her cakes have been featured in commercials for Saturn and on the TV Show "Ed".  The new website is powered by CandyPress shopping cart, with some tweaks and modifications.  The photo gallery is nGallery with a customized theme.  If you're looking for a fake wedding cake, Designer Display Cakes is the place to find one!

 

Now playing: BoDeans - True Devotion