Welcome
Welcome to my new blog. I've been wanting / planning to set up to set up this blog for several months; I finally found some time to do it!
This blog exists for two main reason:
- To share information and network with other .NET developers.
- A central place for me to store new information I learn so I can reference it in the future.
The content of this blog is primarily going to be related to .NET software development; however, I'm sure other completely random topics will squeak in once in a while.
Who's Blang?
My name is Brandon Lang and I am a .NET software developer in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Professional Life
Over the last 10 years or so, I've been quite interested in web development; however, it was really just a little hobby. I didn't get serious about programming until I enrolled in the software development course at DevStudios. I graduated in August 2007 and my life of working in the oilfield was officially over!! I immediately got involved in my local .NET User Group so that I could a) continue my learning; and b) surround myself with developers that I could network with and feed off their knowledge and experience. It was through this networking that I met Dave Woods, a fellow .NET developer here in Edmonton (And now a Microsoft MVP in security). Dave needed someone to help him out with one of his current contracts and I needed work; it was a perfect fit.
The knowledge I gained in school was essential, but the information I have gained by surrounding myself with people like Dave, Donald Belcham, Tom Opgenorth, Justice Gray, James Kovacs (just to name a few) has launched me into a whole new world of software development. In April of this year, I had the opportunity to attend the ALT.NET conference in Seattle. I had the privilege of meeting many other leaders in the .NET community including Oren Eini, Greg Young, David Laribee, Scott Hanselman, Phil Haack, Scott Guthrie (again, just to name a few). This open spaces conference helped increase my knowledge on development topics and techniques that I have been learning / hearing about including Agile, TDD, BDD, SRP, DI, O/RM, and so much more. By no means do I consider myself an expert on any of these topics; I have just scratched the surface of some of them. My hope is that as I post information that I have learned on this blog, I will get valuable feedback and comments from you, the reader.
Other things that I am interested in and in the process of learning (related to .NET) are:
- Silverlight
- JQuery
- NHibernate
- IronRuby
- C# 4.0
- and more...
Personal Life
Just a little bit about me. As of writing, I'm 24 years old. I am very happily married to my beautiful wife, Robynn. We are both born-again Christians who love serving God, going to church and spending time with our church family. Some of my other hobbies are: watching the Oilers, playing Poker, reading software related books, tweeting, gaming (Halo 3, Gears of War, NHL games), facebooking, raquetball, anything to do with my iPhone, eating peanut butter.
Thank you, come again!
I think that'll wrap it up for post number 1. Please feel free to send me a message anytime. I'd love to hear from you; whether it's a question, comment, threat, or just to connect. Don't forget to subscribe to my RSS feed so you get updated on every new post. Also, make sure to check out some of the other blogs listed in the Blogroll. Those guys are WAY smarter than me! They are the ones I go to and learn from!
Thanks for stopping by!
Brandon Lang