@MaddogMikeB
The latest addition to my family, my daughter, Frances aka Frankie, this week is 12 weeks old! She is great and my other little one, Carys, loves her as much as my wife and I do. But, it also marks 10 weeks out of work, and it's getting harder for me not to associate the two.
My god-fearing mother-in-law gave my a book called, "Now what do I do? : the surprising solution when things go wrong" by Dr. John Townsend. Not my usual bed-time reading but thought that I would give it a go, and really there isn't much bible bashing in it (when it is, it's well placed useful bible quotes), but mostly just good advice.
The advice outlines seven steps to getting from "problem" to "a better place", the steps are as follows:
Step 1: feel what you feel
Step 2: get with the right people
Step 3: build a strong fence
Step 4: break free from fear
Step 5: control what you own
Step 6: create a pass/fail plan
Step 7: do the right things.
I found it useful and have recommended it to others who have recently had a similar fate befall them.
I have been busy this past few weeks, I have attended the following..
1. QALMUG- Introduction to PreEmptive Analytics in TFS 2012
Very interesting and frankly how cool is TFS 2012!!
2. Brisbane .Net user group- Gangnan style with Kendo UI mobile
Infragistics is really making some great headway into the web world and Kendo UI definitely a front runner for best mobile web platform. I was lucky enough to get a free subscription, and am currently working on my first mobile app using Kendo Ui and the LinkedIn apj. When i finish I'll blog about my experience in mashing two platforms together.
3. Engaging contractors? Or are they really employees?
The contracting minefield is much bigger and badder than I thought! The last time that I contracted it seemed pretty easy - turn up, turn in timesheet, get paid. But nowadays with litigation, super, etc. there is a lot to know about, if you are thinking about contracting or are currently in a contract might be worthwhile talking to Workforce Advisors Group.
4. PMI-ACP - Agile certified practitioner training through Bay3000.
Been practicing agile for a while so thought that I should get certified (again, already have a scrum master cert but this one is a PMI cert). Really good course and full of useful info. Very focused on passing the exam rather than practical advice but thats ok with me. Sometimes its good to get a refresher in the theory so that you can apply the right things at the right time. Look forward to doing the exam soon.
5. MCTS Microsoft Project: Managing Projects (Exam 70-178)
Passed it ;) I have been using Ms Project 2010 for a while and really like it. Especially when you have TFS running as well. I have a very early post about it, check it out.
Next is...
Modern apps, modern processes - a talk by Microsoft and Readify - should be good.
THE TESTER IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE TECHNICAL TESTER - presented by Darren Ryan - should be interesting, always good to see a talk by someone you know.
Sorry for the laundry list blog post, but have been very busy looking for work, going to interviews and up-skilling - gotta do what you gotta do to get a job ;)
Thanks for the plug, its interesting when you post all your work out like this shows that finding a new job is a full time job. Keep it up mate and look forward to seeing you later in the week.
ReplyDeleteAll good advice mate, you cannot be far away from the dream job, have you looked into the Jira Greenhopper setup for your agile? Also found another great hosted alternative called "Mingle" by thoughtworks. Would love to know how that compares to your normal paper boarding experience or even comparison to traditional MS Project?
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