https://david.gardiner.net.au/tags/Travel.xml 2026-07-13T00:27:33.954Z Blog posts tagged with 'Travel' - A blog of software development, .NET and other interesting things Copyright 2026 David Gardiner https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/37edf2567185071646d62ba28b868fab?s=64 https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/37edf2567185071646d62ba28b868fab?s=256 astrojs-atom David Gardiner https://david.gardiner.net.au/2026/02/ddd-melbourne 2026-02-23T17:30:00.000+10:30 2026-02-23T17:30:00.000+10:30

David was in Melbourne on the weekend so he could attend the DDD Melbourne 2026 conference. Not only was it good, but he's written up his notes from the sessions he attended too.

<p>On Saturday I attended <a href="https://dddmelbourne.com/">DDD Melbourne 2026</a>. It was great to be back again in Melbourne and attending a DDD conference (instead of organising one!). I got to catch up with some old friends, meet some people for the first time in person and hear some great talks.</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260220_215116344_iOS.CoGQiXLC_ZEGHK6.webp" alt="David' attendee lanyard" /></p> <p><a href="https://www.sixpivot.com.au/">SixPivot</a> supported my travel and attendance, which was really appreciated. I also got to catch up with some of my colleagues, some at the conference and another later on Sunday.</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260220_215247858_iOS.Dg8bCwbF_Z2k8KfU.webp" alt="Lars Klint welcoming everyone to DDD" /></p> <p>I almost missed the start - turns out the curtains in my hotel room were extra effective at blocking out the light. I'd gone back to sleep a few times, figuring it was still too early and then finally I figured I better check what time it actually was, and it was just after 8am! A mad scramble to get showered and dressed and race out the door. Quickly grabbed breakfast from McDonald's and then just made it through registration and grabbed a seat for the start. Just as well my hotel was right around the corner from the conference.</p> <p>The organising team did a fantastic job this year. The food was good and there was plenty of it - I'd learned from last year that there was no need to queue - they wouldn't run out!</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_041859330_iOS.DaX2mN2c_Z1419dR.webp" alt="Attendees helping themselves to sausage rolls and scones with jam and cream" /></p> <p>I made handwritten notes for each talk I attended. I've transcribed them here as a more legible record. Even I struggle to read my handwriting, so better to attempt that now rather than later! The notes made sense to me at the time, but whether that's true post event is another question 😃</p> <h2>AI: it's our responsibility - Sreyna Rath</h2> <p>Sreyna gave the keynote presentation.</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260220_220705825_iOS.roxDAU2a_6OKB4.webp" alt="Sreyna Rath standing on stage presenting" /></p> <ul> <li>AI is like a villain developer. A "brilliant jerk" - no values or empathy. No awareness of damage.</li> <li>Examples<ul> <li>Gender bias baked in, racial bias</li> <li>Amazon hiring</li> <li>US Healthcare - used highest cost as proxy for health needs. Black people excluded more often</li> </ul> </li> <li>AI is a mirror<ul> <li>Data reflects us</li> <li>Brilliant jerk culture</li> <li>Scale</li> </ul> </li> <li>AI family tree<ul> <li>Dark side of the Internet</li> <li>Microsoft Tay</li> <li><a href="https://character.ai/">Character.AI</a> - suicide</li> </ul> </li> <li>Jaimee - built for women <a href="https://jaimee.ai/">https://jaimee.ai/</a></li> <li>How do we fix that?</li> <li>Compassionate design<ul> <li>Design for most vulnerable</li> <li>Who is most vulnerable?</li> <li>What's the worst thing feature?</li> <li>How do we prevent that harm?</li> <li>Ask right questions</li> </ul> </li> <li>Persona testing<ul> <li>Test as different race, gender, age, abilities</li> <li>Different to you!</li> </ul> </li> <li>AI reviewing AI<ul> <li>First AI optimised to be helpful</li> <li>Second AI reviews the first - optimised for safety</li> <li>Eg. Is output sexualised when not requested?</li> </ul> </li> <li>Your "Jedi" toolkit - what kind of Jedi will you be?</li> <li>AI doesn't have values, it has patterns</li> <li>The good news: the villain can be reformed<ul> <li>Jerk =&gt; Jedi</li> </ul> </li> <li>"May the framework be with you"</li> </ul> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260220_221828400_iOS.DXQzAAy1_Z1o7Ie6.webp" alt="Slide: The origin story. AI isn't a crystal ball, it's a mirror" /></p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260220_222729452_iOS.TyciaQAm_2vfEzP.webp" alt="Slide: So how do we reform the villain?" /></p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260220_223937079_iOS.C7epiWxT_26UPFB.webp" alt="Slide: Three frameworks recap" /></p> <h2>Code is a Conversation: What Are You Really Saying to the Next Developer? - Joel Gallagher</h2> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260220_231611290_iOS.C97pRzFI_pohPq.webp" alt="Joel standing behind lectern with title slide behind him" />\</p> <ul> <li>Code is read more often than written</li> <li>Cognitive load</li> <li>eg. contrast "The DaVinci Code" (simple, short sentences) vs "A brief history of time" (did anyone ever finish or understand it)</li> <li>Naming, structure, comments, commits<ul> <li>Classes and variables = noun</li> <li>Functions = verb + noun</li> </ul> </li> <li>Watch out for reserved words</li> <li>Function size and scope<ul> <li>Refactor and extract methods</li> <li>Reduce depth/complexity</li> </ul> </li> <li>Comments<ul> <li>Explain the why, not how</li> <li>Don't comment out code</li> </ul> </li> <li>Commits</li> <li>Name, scope, flow, consistency</li> <li>Tools<ul> <li>Consistent standards</li> <li>Enforce standards</li> </ul> </li> <li>Recommended reading<ul> <li>Clean code</li> <li>Pragmatic Programmer (latest edition)</li> <li>Make your code more "DaVinci"</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260220_232820876_iOS.DnfK49Pq_2cXIfz.webp" alt="Slide: Examples of confusing naming" /></p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260220_234358278_iOS.CQpUgH0h_2h69yg.webp" alt="Slide: Names, Scope, Flow, Consistency" /></p> <h2>Managing for Failure - Amy Norris</h2> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_004328729_iOS.Vm98GdJ-_20Qr3c.webp" alt="Amy presenting" /></p> <ul> <li>Failure is good<ul> <li>Website hacked</li> <li>Practice recovery</li> </ul> </li> <li>What does failure mean?<ul> <li>"An emotionally upsetting learning experience"</li> </ul> </li> <li>Why do you want failure?</li> <li>Hidden risks of "perfect" teams<ul> <li>Slow to learn, or averse</li> </ul> </li> <li>Feel more comfortable failing. What are you bad at</li> <li>Example<ul> <li>Rocket game with faulty controller handle</li> </ul> </li> <li>Rubber ducking</li> <li>Dig deep</li> <li>How to encourage teams to be more comfortable with failure<ul> <li>Share personal failures</li> <li>Fire drills</li> <li>What not to do<ul> <li>Punish behaviours you don't want to see</li> <li>Love your cool</li> <li>Push people too hard</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li>How to keep your boss happy<ul> <li>Less downtime</li> <li>Problems solved faster</li> <li>More cohesive team</li> </ul> </li> <li>Alternatively - do whatever you want until someone yells at you!</li> <li>Low risk<ul> <li>Board games (make sure they understand it isn't a test)</li> <li>Internal projects</li> </ul> </li> <li>Remember people don't know how to fail</li> <li>Helpful rule:<ul> <li>THIRTY (minutes of no progress)</li> <li>FIFTEEN (minutes to do something else)</li> <li>FAIL (get fresh eyes)</li> </ul> </li> <li>Set failure as the goal. eg. "Get rejected by 10 conferences"</li> <li>Over communicate<ul> <li>Positive feedback</li> <li>Negative feedback</li> <li>Expectations</li> <li>Changes to plans (including why)</li> <li>Questions</li> </ul> </li> <li>Overt positivity<ul> <li>"Good job me" (without irony)</li> </ul> </li> <li>Remember you're a trash can, not a trash can't</li> </ul> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_002436463_iOS.Ccr9rJGY_Z1XLKVC.webp" alt="Slide: Amy's definition of failure - &quot;An emotionally upsetting learning experience&quot;" /></p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_002900113_iOS.BVHuYi1q_7NkwG.webp" alt="Slide: I want YOU to fail" /></p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_004628197_iOS.Cn7Os5Qa_1FJPyj.webp" alt="Slide: 4 games that you could play as a team" /></p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_004851896_iOS.FtQnrKd-_Z1HM5CG.webp" alt="Slide: THIRTY, FIFTEEN, FAIL" /></p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_005755157_iOS.mb7RVTSM_Z3LPqz.webp" alt="Slide: Remember you're a trash can, not a trash can't" /></p> <h2>You Aren't Always Right: Resolving Technical Disagreements The Easy Way - <a href="https://github.com/Zopolis4">Max Downey Twiss</a></h2> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_011705177_iOS.DYz92vtB_10v8Mi.webp" alt="Max presenting with overview slide" /></p> <ul> <li>Why is it important to resolve them?</li> <li>How to we resolve them?<ul> <li>Reduce scope of disagreement</li> <li>Compare reasoning</li> <li>Bring in another perspective</li> <li>Change the circumstances</li> <li>Realise you are wrong!</li> </ul> </li> <li>Techniques<ul> <li>PR examples</li> </ul> </li> <li>How not to resolve</li> </ul> <h2>Designed To Fail: Building Resilient Applications - Callum Whyte</h2> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_033041548_iOS.CH-1qZft_zTciP.webp" alt="Callum with opening slide" /></p> <ul> <li>Cloudflare outage</li> <li>CrowdStrike</li> <li>Microservices or Monolith</li> <li>Defining "healthy"<ul> <li>200 OK</li> <li>Requests/second</li> <li>Request performance (better)</li> </ul> </li> <li>Calling an API<ul> <li>Retries</li> <li>Retry + Backoff</li> <li>Circuit breaker<ul> <li>Opossum</li> <li>Polly</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li>Critical path<ul> <li>Ecommerce</li> <li>Move to event-driven/fire and forget process</li> </ul> </li> <li>Queues</li> <li>Replicas<ul> <li>Healthcheck</li> <li>Not always reliable though</li> </ul> </li> <li>"Stand-in" platform<ul> <li>minimal platform running on failover cloud</li> </ul> </li> <li>OpenTelemetry</li> <li>Chaos monkey/studio<ul> <li>Polly - chaos simulator methods</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_033046845_iOS.CQ7MmpDd_WLiGo.webp" alt="Callum Whyte presenting" /></p> <h2>The Billion Dollar Blindspot: What happens when everyone thinks alike - Amanda Pitcher</h2> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_044712272_iOS.B6MtNGF6_Z1znASp.webp" alt="Amanda presenting" /></p> <ul> <li>Systems thinker vs spacial specialist</li> <li>DEIB - Diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging</li> <li>Just having policy may not equate to true diversity</li> <li>4 dimensions of diversity<ul> <li>demographic (often covered by compliance/policy)</li> <li>cognitive</li> <li>functional</li> <li>behavioural</li> </ul> </li> <li>Boeing 737 MAX<ul> <li>GroupThink<ul> <li>Confirmation bias risks</li> <li>Just because everyone agrees doesn't mean they are correct</li> </ul> </li> <li>Diversity sweet spot</li> </ul> </li> <li>What can we do?</li> <li>Build psychological safety deliberately<ul> <li>Set the stage</li> <li>Invite participation</li> <li>Respond productively - react constructively</li> </ul> </li> <li>Practical tools</li> <li>Activity to address GroupThink<ul> <li>Silent start - 5 mins quiet time to let people capture thoughts</li> <li>Non-confrontational assent - dot voting / secret ballot</li> <li>Separate generation from evaluation</li> <li>Team leader - be a puppet and represent quiet voices</li> <li>Time pressure kills</li> <li>Balance productivity and quality</li> <li>"Yes, and.." instead of "No, but.."</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_045032981_iOS.BgBKUe3S_2mT1hi.webp" alt="Slide: The case for DEIB" /></p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_045205817_iOS.Bscouaj4_Z2nBkmA.webp" alt="Slide: The four dimensions of Diversity" /></p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_050926641_iOS.BUQ_YAMK_ZhTR11.webp" alt="Slide: Build psychological safety - deliberately" /></p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_051201607_iOS.BdU7_x89_ZHX65k.webp" alt="Slide: Practical tools - part 1" /></p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_052042668_iOS.Df4dkzL2_Z2edktB.webp" alt="Slide: True diversity isn't only about who's in the room. It's about whose thoughts are voiced and heard" /></p> <h2>Hey LEGO robot, Grab me a Coke! - Daniel Fang</h2> <p>Daniel was the locknote speaker for the conference. I remember meeting Daniel when he spoke at <a href="/2024/12/ddd-brisbane">DDD Brisbane</a></p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_055446379_iOS.CPiPEZhv_Z2df2Gx.webp" alt="Daniel on stage, with big DDD logo to his right" /></p> <p>Lots of agents to make a Lego robot grab and move a can of coke.</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_060204326_iOS.B4Chp_8h_ZBdgzD.webp" alt="Slide: Screenshot of VS Code with Copilot driving a robot" /></p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_062447911_iOS.Csx6Ouif_1PYQQ.webp" alt="Slide: Lego agent orchestration" /></p> <h2>That's a wrap</h2> <p>What a great team! Thanks again <a href="https://blog.angelwebdesigns.com.au/about/">Bron</a> and everyone.</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_064303369_iOS.iDvvsqfe_RJyoV.webp" alt="All the volunteers and organisers gathered on stage" /></p> <h2>Post-DDD</h2> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20260221_210144527_iOS.ClphC0f0_Z2qSvnp.webp" alt="Muesli and fruit" /></p> <p>Sunday morning I grabbed some breakfast at a cute little cafe (<a href="https://linktr.ee/segoviamelbourne">Segovia</a>) in an alleyway not far from where I'd been staying. Then I walked to the train station to head out to friends' church in the suburbs. It's a completely different style of worship to my own church, but that's half the fun. Went out to lunch with them and it was great catching up.</p> <p><a href="https://www.thushanfernando.com/">Thushan</a> very kindly offered to pick me up and drive me to the airport, which also gave us a chance to chat along the way.</p> <p>Flight was a little delayed leaving, but it was good to get home Sunday evening. What a great weekend!</p> https://david.gardiner.net.au/2018/12/2018-draws-to-close 2018-12-26T17:24:00.000+10:30 2018-12-26T17:24:00.000+10:30

2018 is almost done.

<p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20181125_055520606_ios.DlGmV5XV_Z1NqFgJ.webp" alt="Stone stairway, with sunlight casting shadows" /></p> <p>2018 is almost done. It's the day after Christmas, about 38°C outside (just over 100°F in the old money - not uncommon for this time of year in Adelaide). As I sit here under the cooling, gentle breeze from the air conditioner, I've compiled some of my 2018 highlights. (Let me know in the comments if I've missed something obvious)</p> <h2>Work</h2> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20241112181846/http://www2.rlsolutions.com/">RL Solutions</a> are/have merged with <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20161126152544/http://www.datix.co.uk:80/">Datix</a>. No changes yet, other than getting to meet a couple of people from the Datix side (including from their Melbourne office).</p> <p>Our Adelaide team also grew this year with some new hires. We do miss Tom (having lost him to Toronto), but we've managed to survive, and it was great to have him back for a week last month. A part from my coding and team lead responsibilities, Tom's move has meant I've picked up additional roles of office grocery/supplies organiser and local IT support.</p> <p>One particular recent highlight was upgrading the office to a 1G fibre Internet connection, taking advantage of the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190626085640/https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/city-business/why-adelaide/adelaide-smart-city/ten-gigabit-adelaide/">10G Adelaide initiative</a>. That's been a huge win - bandwidth is essentially no longer a constraint on getting things done.</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20181219_223749070_ios.DjYxbYur_1VsD7f.webp" alt="Tarts and fruit mince pies" /></p> <p>Toronto sent a lovely Christmas present to the Adelaide office. Yum!</p> <h2>User Group</h2> <p>The <a href="https://www.meetup.com/Adelaide-dotNET/">Adelaide .NET User Group</a> has finished on a positive note. We've had increased attendances the last few months which is really encouraging. We've also had a sponsor come on board, which means we can run meetings for free now that our pizza costs are covered.</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20181212_082720948_ios.CaC__z5w_Z2lYi4n.webp" alt="People seated, watching a presentation" /></p> <p>It would be great to have others join me in organising the group - it does concern me that I'm the 'single point of failure' at the moment.</p> <p>In addition to monthly meetings, I'm looking forward to some announcements in the new year about a bigger developer event for Adelaide.</p> <h2>Presentations</h2> <p>Managed to do some user group talks locally as well as while I was in Toronto, but the highlight for the year was being picked to present as part of <a href="https://www.dotnetconf.net/">.NET Conf</a>.</p> <h2>Travel</h2> <p>A bit less this year - two weeks in North America in March (Toronto for work and then Seattle/Redmond for the Microsoft MVP Summit). Coming down with a nauseous gastro-type bug for the last couple of days and the flight home was not a highlight. Definitely an incentive to remember <a href="https://hha.org.au/hand-hygiene/5-moments-for-hand-hygiene">good hand hygiene</a>!</p> <p>We also had a family holiday interstate and flew (instead of driving all the way). More costly, but quicker and less stressful.</p> <h2>Christmas</h2> <p>A significant time of year, and one I really enjoy. I have many happy memories of Christmases as a child, and I hope we're creating them for our kids now.</p> <p>Our family traditions include taking part in <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250120110555/https://welcome.seedschurch.org/">our Church's</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Road-to-Christmas-240458206018078/">Road to Christmas</a> 'Bethlehem re-enactment', joining with friends to sing carols at a local hospital, attending a Christmas Eve church service, and then gathering with family for a meal on Christmas Day.</p> <p>Bonus tip: My aunty told me that she buys a platter/plate from a 2nd hand shop for the food that she brings. That way she doesn't need to worry about having to remember to bring it home.</p> <h2>Turtles</h2> <p>We bought my son a turtle for his birthday the previous year. 'Nibbles' is now fast outgrowing his tank, so the current project is to build a pond out in the garden where he can live (the turtle, not my son!)</p> <p>The pond shell/liner, redgum wood sleepers, a pump and filter, shade-cloth all add up to be a surprising amount. Not to mention the manual labour of digging the hole in the ground!</p> <p>I think Nibbles will appreciate it when it's all done.</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20181202_041340767_ios.bCUfs4AU_Y8v3b.webp" alt="Person lowering a turtle into a pond" /></p> <p>Nibbles the turtle, about to give the pond a test drive/swim</p> <h2>Sevenfold</h2> <p><a href="https://www.sevenfoldband.com/">That's the band I play in</a>. We've had a few gigs this year, and might be doing some recording in 2019. I was sad when Jane (our violin/mandolin player) retired as that left me as the sole string player on 'Cello. I've had to pick up some of Jane's parts in some of our songs. Our last gig for the year was something a bit different (and special) - playing for Liz (who also sings in our band) as part of her service of ordination to become a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deacon#Uniting_Church_in_Australia">Deacon</a>.</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20181006_083909559_ios.C_NfnQnI_29Gl3N.webp" alt="David at a band soundcheck" /></p> <p>Sound check, with Pete and Keith photo-bombing</p> <p>When you're young, you sometimes dream about being a rock-star. Well that hasn't happened! But I do get to play instruments and sing on stage with good friends, and people seem to like our music, so while I'm not giving up my day job, it is a lot of fun.</p> <h2>Cycling</h2> <p>I try and get out for a ride when I can. Seemed to be less commute riding this year, but got out for a few Saturdays with the Mud, Sweat and Gears mob. Looking forward to the Tour Down Under in January and riding in the Challenge Tour with my Dad and my Son (3 generations of Gardiners) as well as brother-in-law James.</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/20180926_042411362_ios.BoeMtGOc_1OJYUh.webp" alt="Bicycle sitting next to a fence, overlooking green rolling hills" /></p> <h2>Family</h2> <p>I tend not to post much about my family here. If you know me personally then I might have shared a bit more about how we're all going. Needless to say, the kids are growing up fast!</p> <p>Thanks for reading, see you in 2019 :-)</p> <p>David</p> https://david.gardiner.net.au/2017/04/mvp-community-connection-2017 2017-04-04T19:40:00.001+09:30 2017-04-04T19:40:00.001+09:30

Later we travelled back to Darling Harbor to have some fun at Strike, trying out their Escape Rooms (lots of fun).

<p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/img_04547.CgQh9mQk_2fG75t.webp" alt="Microsoft Signage" />Friday morning I took the day off of work so I could fly over to Sydney to take part in a gathering of Australian Microsoft MVPs. Friday afternoon there was a networking/”unconference” event held at Microsoft’s North Ryde campus.</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/img_04563.B2tOLDZk_AEQDw.webp" alt="Microsoft, North Ryde" /></p> <p>Later we travelled back to Darling Harbor to have some fun at <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20171012095750/http://www.strikebowling.com.au:80/locations/nsw/strike-king-street-wharf">Strike, trying out their Escape Rooms</a> (lots of fun).</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/img_04633.D7--41lC_pIhig.webp" alt="Darling Harbour" /></p> <p>The next morning we gathered for breakfast followed by a full day of speakers and workshops. Everyone got these really nice cards of appreciation with personalised Lego mini-figures. Not sure that my hair is brown, but then I’m not really sure what colour it is – the days of being blonde, or even ‘dirty’ blonde are well behind me 😀</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/img_04674.CrkpKlaI_9qMfV.webp" alt="Card with &quot;Thankyou for being awesome&quot;" /></p> <p>During the afternoon, I was asked to do a short presentation about running a user group. I can tell you I was more than a little bit nervous getting up in front of such an experienced group of people, but I think it went ok.</p> <p>Early Sunday morning, I flew back home. All in all a great time catching up with friends and learning a lot.</p> https://david.gardiner.net.au/2017/01/2016-in-review 2017-01-01T17:57:00.001+10:30 2017-01-01T17:57:00.001+10:30

It’s the first day of 2017, so a good time to reflect on the year just past.

<p>It’s the first day of 2017, so a good time to reflect on the year just past.</p> <h2>Travel</h2> <p>A couple of friends have commented either “You’ve travelled a lot this year” or “where are you travelling to next?”. My first reaction was surprise – I don’t travel a lot do I?</p> <ul> <li>May MVP Seminar in Sydney</li> <li><a href="/2016/07/a-tale-of-two-cities">Almost Canberra and Sydney .NET User Group</a></li> <li><a href="/2016/08/ndc-sydney-2016-reflections">NDC Sydney</a></li> <li><a href="/2016/08/ddd-melbourne-2016">DDD Melbourne</a></li> <li><a href="/2016/11/mvp-summit-2016">MVP Summit</a></li> </ul> <p>Well ok, that was a few trips. But no future travel plans at this stage.</p> <h2>Family</h2> <p>I won’t dwell on this too much but the health challenges continue for some members. Some of you know me well enough to know the details.</p> <p>The kids did well at school (I’m sure better than I ever did!). They’re all growing up fast too.</p> <p>We did have a couple of sad losses – Princess Layer (one of our bantam hens) and Guido (a goldfish) both passed away. Layer died quite suddenly of unknown causes (maybe snake or spider bite). We held a little burial ceremony in the backyard for her.</p> <p>I’ve got a couple of weeks off over the Christmas break. Nice to spend time at home with the family, do a bit of gardening/weeding, a few bike rides and take it easy.</p> <h2>Garden</h2> <p>We planted new cherry, apricot and nectarine trees. Looking forward to seeing them fruit in years to come.</p> <p>I finally finished the chicken run, so we can let the chooks out of their shed into the run during the day, and not worry about foxes or the odd stray dog. If we’re home, we usually let them out of the run to roam around the backyard anyway.</p> <h2>Technology</h2> <p>I got a <a href="/2016/04/my-new-dell-xps-15-laptop">new laptop</a>, and more recently a <a href="/2016/12/farewell-windows-phone-hey-iphone">new phone</a>. The girls got iPads for Christmas so all three kids now have them. As annoying as it is to set up, at least the <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-au/108380">Apple Family Sharing</a> means we can share single app purchases amongst all the devices. I say annoying as from my experience the ‘app approval’ part only works if a parent also has an Apple device.</p> <p>Maybe updating to an XBox One S as a late family Christmas present?</p> <p>Also on the radar is one of these <a href="https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/u6-lite">Ubiquiti UniFi AP AC Lite</a> WiFi access points. We have a few reception dead spots around the house that I think could be fixed by one of these.</p> <p>Don’t think I’m buying new toys/technology all the time! Like most families we have a limited budget so these purchases only happen when absolutely necessary and we’ll get as much use out of them as we can.</p> <p>Apparently in a few months our suburb will have the NBN. I’ll be looking closely at my options when that becomes available.</p> <h2>.NET and dev things</h2> <p>I’m in my second year as a Microsoft MVP. I’ve really appreciated the opportunities this has given me to participate and learn more. It’s also opened some doors particularly in regards to the Adelaide .NET User Group, which I help run.</p> <p>The group continues to meet monthly and enjoys good attendances. It would be great to have some other members step up and get more involved with the organising and possibly allow us to run a “DDD Adelaide” event too.</p> <p>This year I became a volunteer moderator for <a href="https://chocolatey.org/">Chocolatey</a>. I’ve been a fan of Chocolatey for a number of years now (my “Let’s get Chocolatey” t-shirt from supporting their KickStarter is a favourite), and it’s nice to be able to help share the load of moderating new package submissions.</p> <p>Microsoft has changed considerably as a company over recent years. I really like their approach to doing much more in the open (including developing many products as open source on Github) and working with (instead of against) Linux and other platforms. The way .NET is evolving, together with new innovations like TypeScript gives me confidence that they’re heading the the right direction.</p> <h2>Work</h2> <p>I don’t generally write about the details of my day-to-day work at RL Solutions, but it has been a busy year and 2017 looks to be no different. The consistent highlight is the people I work with. We recently advertised for a graduate developer to join our Adelaide team. It’s good to be growing (and also I can finally pass on the “new guy” mantle).</p> <p>I’m sure I’ve missed some things, but that will do for now. Happy New Year!</p> https://david.gardiner.net.au/2016/07/a-tale-of-two-cities 2016-07-03T22:39:00.001+09:30 2016-07-03T22:39:00.001+09:30

Last month I was delighted to be able to speak at the Sydney .NET User Group on “Enhancing .NET Unit Tests”.

<p>Last month I was delighted to <a href="https://www.meetup.com/Sydney-NET-User-Group/events/231548436/">be able to speak</a> at the <a href="https://www.meetup.com/sydney-net-user-group/">Sydney .NET User Group</a> on “Enhancing .NET Unit Tests”. Thanks to group leader <a href="https://adamcogan.com/">Adam Cogan</a> for hosting a great meeting. If you’re in Sydney or passing through then I’d definitely recommend dropping in. If you can’t get there in person, they also live-stream the user group meetings as well as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBFgwtV9lIIhvoNh0xoQ7Pg">publish the recordings to YouTube</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p>Jump on the <a href="https://twitter.com/SSW_TV">@SSW_TV</a> live stream and check what <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidRGardiner">@DavidRGardiner</a> has to share about <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/testing?src=hash">#testing</a> <a href="https://t.co/P3toW2zu48">pic.twitter.com/P3toW2zu48</a></p> <p>— Danijel Malik (@DanijelMalik) <a href="https://twitter.com/DanijelMalik/status/743018870902923264">June 15, 2016</a></p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://ndcsydney.com/">NDC Sydney</a> had around 600 submissions for only 125 sessions, so I didn’t feel so bad when I heard my session proposal had missed out. I do think this is going to be one of the biggest developer conferences Australia has ever seen, so I was still really keen to get there somehow. When I was offered the chance to go as a volunteer crew member, I jumped at the opportunity. I’ll work half the time helping at the conference, and the remaining time I’ll be able to attend sessions.</p> <p>Here’s the recording from my Sydney .NET talk..</p> <p>But you may not need to watch if you’re going to <a href="http://dddmelbourne.com/">DDD Melbourne</a>! It’s on Saturday 13th August (a week after NDC Sydney), and I just heard that my session has been accepted! I’ll be presenting “10 tools and libraries to enhance .NET unit testing” – which is going to be quite similar to the talk above, so come along and see it live 😀 Apparently DDD Melbourne is a sell-out again, so it should be a great day.</p> <p>August is going to be a busy month!</p> https://david.gardiner.net.au/2015/11/north-america-tripsea-to-adl 2015-11-19T08:18:00.000+10:30 2015-11-19T08:18:00.000+10:30

On the recommendation of Scott Hanselman I saw (but tried to avoid smelling!) the ‘great wall of gum’.

<p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/wp_20151106_022_thumb2.IoeOzGSI_Z1XIMYi.webp" alt="WP_20151106_022_thumb" />Friday was another chance to do some final sight-seeing back in down-town Seattle. I went on the Seattle <a href="http://undergroundtour.com/">Underground Tour</a>, which was fantastic. A hilarious and entertaining tour guide made for a very enjoyable and educational history tour of the beginnings of the town of Seattle.</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/wp_20151106_042_thumb_thumb.CE3wOUB8_Z2v5aSM.webp" alt="WP_20151106_042_thumb" />I also managed to get back for another look at the Pike Place Markets, which I’d briefly seen the previous Sunday, though Friday’s weather was an improvement. It was nice to look around and having something yummy for lunch whilst the sun poked through the clouds.</p> <p>On the recommendation of <a href="https://www.hanselman.com/">Scott Hanselman</a> I saw (but tried to avoid smelling!) the ‘great wall of gum’. Good timing, as a week later <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/11/travel/seattle-pike-place-gum-wall-cleaning-feat/">they started cleaning it all off</a> for the first time in 20 years.</p> <p>Then off to the airport for my flight down to San Francisco. The train from downtown Seattle to the airport only cost $US3 – what a bargain!</p> <p>I was a bit concerned about the relatively short time to make my connecting flight to Sydney, but I need not have worried. San Francisco airport is relatively small (possibly similar size to Adelaide), so it was literally a 5 minute walk from gate to gate. What a relief – and much less stressful than going through Los Angeles again.</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/wp_20151106_068_thumb2.DbH59f4J_Z1rlBFc.webp" alt="WP_20151106_068_thumb" /></p> <p>The flight back to Sydney went well (there’s something about flying overnight that makes it easier to go to sleep, or maybe I was just exhausted after a full on fortnight!)</p> <p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/wp_20151107_003_thumb_thumb.SiChxuFd_ZvBUFj.webp" alt="WP_20151107_003_thumb" />Landing in Sydney early Sunday morning I managed to get on an earlier flight back to Adelaide than I’d originally booked. It was so great to get home and see my family again 😀.</p> https://david.gardiner.net.au/2015/11/north-america-trip-mvp-summit-2015 2015-11-17T21:09:00.001+10:30 2015-11-17T21:09:00.001+10:30

In fact the best compliment I received was along the lines of, “Dave, we thought you already were an MVP!” Monday morning things started in earnest with well-organised buses providing transport from our hotels to.

<p><img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/wp_20151103_0153.CYXi5DmD_1Bb0lt.webp" alt="Microsoft sign" />I arrived in Seattle on Saturday night. I caught a shuttle-bus to my hotel in Bellevue, and not surprising that my fellow bus-travellers were also MVPs. One of those turned out to be <a href="https://henriksen.no/">Glenn Henriksen</a> who was the first of many MVPs to make me feel welcome and included in my first Summit. (More about Glenn later!) <img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/dscn02553.BbMV0GSa_6gBUX.webp" alt="View of Seattle Space Needle tower from base" />Sunday morning I took the opportunity to travel by bus back to downtown Seattle and see some of the sights. It was still a bit cloudy with some rain about, but I gather that’s pretty normal for Seattle. I went up the Space Needle, though the view was limited to to lots of low cloud and a bit of rain. <img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/wp_20151101_0463.uuONocCG_1HBmLn.webp" alt="Microsoft Store at Bellevue" />Getting back to Bellevue later in the afternoon, I registered for the Summit and bumped into a few familiar faces before attending the “1st Time MVP Event” (which was food &amp; drinks with a mix of fellow first-time MVPs along with a bunch of ‘old hands’), followed by an Australia/New Zealand MVP Dinner, where again I was made to feel welcome by even more familiar faces. In fact the best compliment I received was along the lines of, “Dave, we thought you already were an MVP!” Monday morning things started in earnest with well-organised buses providing transport from our hotels to Microsoft’s Redmond campus. And ‘campus’ is a good term as it is in many ways like a University campus. Microsoft almost takes up the whole of the suburb of Redmond. I only got to see a tiny part of it, but I was very impressed with what I saw. A beautiful location with impressive buildings, landscaping, gardens and playing fields. <img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/wp_20151103_0053.jkzg-J-o_Z1B7W8P.webp" alt="Microsoft Conference Centre at Redmond" />Most of my time was spent in the Microsoft Conference Centre (yes, they have their own conference centre on campus!). It’s big enough that I reckon they could fit in the entire Australian TechEd/Ignite conference. You aren’t meant to take photos inside, but I can show a few outside shots I took on an early morning walk around part of the campus. <img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/wp_20151103_0073.BSXyN1S3_vB686.webp" alt="WP_20151103_007" /> <img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/wp_20151103_0093.CWEyn7TJ_ZA929m.webp" alt="WP_20151103_009" /> <img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/wp_20151103_0163.evAqJTq9_ZALNOu.webp" alt="WP_20151103_016" /> Because more and more of Microsoft’s ASP.NET development (and .NET in general) is now being done as open-source on Github, many of the sessions I took part in were not under NDA. Look out for recordings of these on MSDN’s Channel 9 soon. Not surprisingly, the Summit is a bit of a “who’s who” of Microsoft technologies – there were a lot of names I recognised from blogs that I follow, or who I’ve heard on various podcasts over the years. The nice thing is that all the “big names” that I encountered turn out to be just nice friendly regular people who are more than happy to chat and welcome a “New MVP”. I also made a point of inviting everyone to come and visit Australia (and this was made more enticing by reminding them that <a href="http://www.ndcsydney.com">NDC Sydney</a> is on next year). <img src="https://david.gardiner.net.au/_astro/wp_20151104_0073.BeZHLvbP_Z8iuvI.webp" alt="Dan Wahlin and Glenn Henriksen holding popcorn" />Wednesday night I caught a late session of the movie “The Martian” with a few fellow MVPs, including Glenn. As you can see, Glenn and <a href="https://weblogs.asp.net/dwahlin">Dan</a> realised that it was more efficient to get the free popcorn refills before we went into the theatre. Smart thinking! One of the benefits of attending the summit is direct contact with product teams. Both giving feedback but also being able to pick their brains. Thursday was ‘hackathon day’. I know I was really encouraged from meeting the Glimpse developers Anthony and Nik and getting some feedback on an open source <a href="https://github.com/flcdrg/Glimpse.Windsor">Glimpse plugin</a> I’m working on. And at the end of Thursday afternoon, that was the end of the summit. A final bus ride back to the hotel at Bellevue for my last night in Seattle.</p> https://david.gardiner.net.au/2015/11/north-america-tripyyz-to-sea 2015-11-15T21:55:00.001+10:30 2015-11-15T21:55:00.001+10:30

So I’ve actually been home for a week, but I’ve only now had a chance to sit down and work on the remaining posts for this series!

<p>So I’ve actually been home for a week, but I’ve only now had a chance to sit down and work on the remaining posts for this series!</p> <p><img src="../../assets/2015/11/wp_20151025_018%5b3%5d.jpg" alt="Toronto skyline, including CN Tower" />I had a fantastic time in Toronto. It was great getting to know all the wonderful people who work for <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20241112181846/http://www2.rlsolutions.com/">RL Solutions</a> there. There’s nothing like sitting down face to face to get to know people better. Well except maybe doing that over a meal – and there was certainly a few of those!</p> <p><img src="../../assets/2015/11/dscn0215%5b3%5d.jpg" alt="RL Solutions sign" />I did feel the effects of jet-lag kick on on the Monday, so managed to get a little rest in the afternoon before catching up with the Metro Toronto .NET group, where I was the guest speaker. Great to share with them.</p> <p><img src="../../assets/2015/11/wp_20151030_002%5b3%5d.jpg" alt="View from Toronto shore looking across the lake" />Toronto is a big city, but quite beautiful too. The weather was cooling – a definite chill in the air, and the leaves were turning to wonderful autumn colours.</p> <p><img src="../../assets/2015/11/wp_20151028_024%5b3%5d.jpg" alt="NBA Basketball game with Toronto Raptors playing Indiana Pacers" />Another highlight was going to my first NBA game – a bonus that the Toronto Raptors won their season opener over the Indiana Pacers.</p> <p><img src="../../assets/2015/11/dscn0242%5b3%5d.jpg" alt="Sunrise view from apartment" /></p> <p>My accommodation in Toronto was “down-town”. Right next to the Air Canada Stadium in fact (where the basketball and ice-hockey is played). It was also just a short walk to the office each day. Most days the weather was overcast and cold, though one day it was quite stormy and wet, so I made good use of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PATH_%28Toronto%29">Toronto PATH</a> underground and covered walkways</p> <p><img src="../../assets/2015/11/wp_20151031_016%5b3%5d.jpg" alt="Cakes and slices in bakery display" /></p> <p>Friday (being the day before Halloween) was a bit of a crazy day in the office. Everyone dressed up and decorated all the work areas. This culminated in a company lunch and staff meeting. Definitely great timing to be in town to be a part of these.</p> <p>But eventually my time in Toronto was at an end, and the flight to Seattle began, via a stop-over in Minneapolis. Nice bakery in the airport there by the way 😀</p> https://david.gardiner.net.au/2015/10/north-america-triplax-to-yyz 2015-10-25T13:58:00.001+10:30 2015-10-25T13:58:00.001+10:30

I didn’t sleep very much at all on the flight from Sydney, and I tried not to doze too much in the waiting lounge at LAX in case I missed my flight!

<p><img src="../../assets/2015/10/dscn0127%5b3%5d.jpg" alt="Looking back over Los Angeles beaches" />I had a few hours break at LAX before my connecting flight to Toronto. Just as well, as I forgot that it was actually a code-share with Air Canada and had to walk to a different terminal (fortunately not too far).</p> <p>I didn’t sleep very much at all on the flight from Sydney, and I tried not to doze too much in the waiting lounge at LAX in case I missed my flight! I slept a little more on the Toronto flight. Probably being quite tall doesn’t help matters. I remember the last time I few to the USA, I got seats next to the galley, so we could stretch out – but maybe they don’t have seating in that configuration anymore.</p> <p><img src="../../assets/2015/10/dscn0131%5b3%5d.jpg" alt="Flying over Los Angeles" /></p> <p>Leaving Los Angeles. Looks very dry – don’t seem to have many parks or gardens in the suburbs I flew over. Just the occasional golf course. Quite a contrast from home.</p> <p><img src="../../assets/2015/10/dscn0132%5b3%5d.jpg" alt="Sunset on clouds" />A pretty sight of the setting sun lighting up the clouds on the way to Toronto.</p> <p>Our flight arrived into Toronto right on time. Unlike LAX, clearing customs &amp; immigration was a breeze (I guess it isn’t quite as busy). Always a relief when your bag shows up on the baggage carousel too. Tom (who’s also over from Adelaide) met me at the airport and drove me back into town to where I am staying. We then went out for some tea and a chat (had some nice burgers). I’ll see Tom (and the rest of the RL Toronto crew) at the office first thing Monday morning.</p> https://david.gardiner.net.au/2015/10/north-america-tripadl-to-lax 2015-10-25T13:42:00.001+10:30 2015-10-25T13:42:00.001+10:30

I discovered when checking in at Adelaide that my bags would indeed be checked through to LAX.

<p><img src="../../assets/2015/10/dscn0114%5b3%5d.jpg" alt="United Airlines plane at terminal" />My trip to Canada and USA has begun. My alarm went of at the early time of 3.45am, left me enough time to get ready for my ride. My sister and brother-in-law very kindly offered to give me a lift to the airport. My sister is doing a travel agent course at the moment, so she’s been able to use me as a bit of a case study and look up my flight details, which has been fun. It was also nice that I got to give my youngest daughter a final hug goodbye as I managed to wake her up in my tromping around the house. Not sure if she went back to sleep, or made the most of being up before her big brother and sister.</p> <p>I discovered when checking in at Adelaide that my bags would indeed be checked through to LAX. I wasn’t sure about this when booking. Also no dramas with carry-on bags. I was worried that my (quite old) laptop might push me over the weight limit.</p> <p>I wish I could say my flight from Adelaide to Sydney was uneventful, but that would be ignoring the friendly, but slightly inebriated passenger who had trouble picking up his cup of hot coffee off of the tray being offered by the flight attendant, and promptly spilled it down my leg. A small scald mark on my shin – just glad it didn’t land in my lap. Spent the rest of the flight with cold compresses on the burn area, and it’s settling down a bit now.</p> <p>Arriving at Sydney, then transferring to the international terminal. Wow, is that a crazy place. Managed to find the United desk (right up the other end from where we were dropped off), and sailed through check-in and the border control/security stuff. Got to my departure gate with time to spare, so was able to make a couple of calls home.</p> <p><img src="../../assets/2015/10/dscn0117%5b3%5d.jpg" alt="Looking back over Sydney Harbour" />Boarding United Airlines was straight forward. I ended up in “Economy Plus’ somehow – not complaining! My sister again was able to do some digging and informed me that I was the only one booked in my three seats. That didn’t last, as another traveller decided he’d move to the seat across from me to share some of my elbow room. That’s ok, there’s still an empty seat in between.</p> <p>I’d heard that some United planes didn’t have individual entertainment/tv consoles, but I’m pleased to find that I must have one of the more modern ones – my own screen on the seat in front, and there’s also power under the seat (and the other guy doesn’t seem to need to use it – bonus).</p> <p>So now another 12 odd hours until we land at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport). I hope that goes as smoothly (if not with less coffee precipitation) as everything else has gone so far.</p>