Joshua Arnold

I was in Utah last week visiting Neumont University and had the privilege of talking with the student body about a variety of topics. I introduced the upcoming SnapDragon Framework and launched into a huge discussion regarding career advice and software development patterns. It was pretty unexpected but I honestly really enjoyed our talk. I wanted to spend some time reviewing some of the topics we went over.

Obviously I began with introducing myself and ProAce. Afterwards I went over the same basic presentation that I used for Austin Code Camp. I did elaborate on the examples, however, and gave a demonstration of a prototype of the application blocks that I have been ranting and raving about. I prototyped a Content Management System application block and gave a quick 5 minute example of how you could enable managed content in any MVC application. I will be following up with a post about this in my technical blog within the next few days.

The dialogue I had with the students regarding their careers, ProAce, and patterns was stimulating. We discussed implementation, the importance of patterns, and really just has a great back-and-forth about the reality of the industry. One of the more notable parts about this trip, however, was the wide variety of students that I met after the presentation. There was a large amount of interest in my company and I had the chance to meet a great number of prospective students. Very exciting!

I’m very grateful for my close relationship with the University and appreciate the opportunities they give me to speak and weigh in on important issues. I had a great time and was able to wrap up the final tasks with our enterprise project team (the primary focus of my visit).

For those of you that missed the presentation and would like to know what was covered, I will be doing a followup post very soon. Please check back for updates!

Technorati Tags: neumont, presentation, proace, snapdragon, speaking, utah

I was almost gearing up for an entry a day situation but I didn’t exactly get a chance to write one last night…

So, this morning I woke up bright and early: 3:23am. I have absolute no idea why I woke up and I definitely can’t figure out why I wasn’t able to get to sleep afterwards. At least I had a fairly productive morning and I’ve been able to relax for a few hours before going to work. I still have a little over an hour actually.

I feel like having a great conversation. Unfortunately, everyone here (coffee shop) is talking on their headsets or actively participating in their own discussions. I have this craving to debate over issues that really matter to me. Whether it be politics, religion, technology, I don’t really care what the topic is. I just get so bored of small talk and the various other forms of b.s. you get everyday.

I miss getting passionate about design patterns and trying to force them on Ryan, ha ha. I miss the various discussions I’d have with Dave and how I would learn something new every time – even if it started with me explaining something to him. I miss the random thoughts that Rex and I would write on the huge white board and all of the miscellaneous projects we would start but never quite finish. I swear, I wish we all worked together. The possibilities really would be endless.

Even the small talk wasn’t bad at Neumont. We didn’t always have to be talking about something too intense. I had a great group of close friends and we got to watch each other grow in our skill sets and excel in the things we’re passionate about. It was really was the greatest two years of my life. I just wish it didn’t go by so fast.

I’m noticing that it might be one of those experiences that no one else can understand. Our way of thinking is so different than everyone else I’ve encountered. It’s hard to explain my experience in segments because I honestly believe that everything I learned is connected. It’s hard to explain taking XML with Matt Curland without jumping into how it helped me in NORMA. It’s hard to talk about NORMA without having to explain ORM…and the cycle continues forever.

I miss it all. That’s not to say that I’m not happy where I am, quite the contrary actually. I’m just realizing that I keep looking for what I had. More importantly, I’m realizing that I’m not going to find it. That’s ok, though.

It’s just all the more reason to bring us back together.

Technorati Tags: coffee, neumont, rev-net