For some reason, the folks at INETA thought I was worthy of an INETA Community Champion Award this quarter.  I am not sure what I did to deserve this, but I appreciate the honor and love to assist the community. I am humbled that I was considered for this quarter considering all of the other people out there contributing to the community.  Congrats to all of the other awardees out there!

The INETA Community Champion Award is given out every quarter to 10 individuals who go above and beyond in the community.  This award lasts for a period of one year and can be renewed thereafter.  The Award package includes a letter of commendation, a certificate of achievement, much deserved online recognition, and your choice of a MSDN Subscription, Xbox or $300 gift check.  It’s not a bad little package.  The money can be used to help cover the gas to speak at even more events!  You can read more about the award program on the INETA site here: http://www.ineta.org/Champions/CommunityChampionInfo.aspx.

As always, I encourage every developer to get involved in your local community.  You could start by attending your local user groups, volunteering time, speaking, blogging, working the forums, etc.  It is a rewarding experience that can help you network, assist others, give back to the community, stay on top of your career, and open doors for future employment opportunities.  I am thankful that I have a wonderful wife and family who allow me to invest some of my time back into the community.

I have a new 6 min 23 sec training webcast up over Syndication in WCF.  This video shows you how to use the System.ServiceModel.Syndication namespace to create and consume RSS or Atom feeds. It builds on top of the Understanding REST video, but understanding of REST is not necessary. This video also complements a recent presentation I have been giving called “RESTing on the Web with WCF” which includes a segment on working with syndications.

So what are you waiting for?  Head on over and check out the webcast!

The video available through JupiterMedia and can be viewed at http://www.internet.com/video/. Just look for the "Developer Video" titled "Syndication in .Net".

Direct links are:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1431564240/bclid1433966034/bctid1900229538

I made it back from Microsoft PDC 2008 just in time for my daughter’s 2nd Halloween.  She was only one year old last Halloween, so I was excited about being able to take her out trick-or-treating now that she can actually walk and enjoy the evening.  We didn’t have a costume, but our neighbor’s gratefully let us borrow a tutu, princess crown, and princess wand.  I happened to pick her up a pink “Microsoft Kid” t-shirt while out in LA.  The end result was a costume we like to call “Microsoft Princess”.  The bag she used for collecting candy happened to be a Together @ PDC2008 which helped complete the Microsoft theme.

Here is the complete outfit:

Quite a few people commented about the Microsoft shirt, and it brought in quite a few laughs from the neighbors who knew me.  She did manage to bring in quite a haul, and enjoyed playing with the goods:

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My wife, Danielle, wanted to try on the outfit:

And she thought I should try it on as well:

Happy Halloween!