This free event will fill up quickly. Here is the new registration URL:
http://connect.thoughtworks.com/TechnologyForumAustin/

from my original post
Martin Fowler (@martinfowler) is the Chief Scientist at ThoughtWorks, a systems integration and consulting company. He is a member of the Agile Alliance and helped create the Manifesto for Agile Software Development.

I found out that Martin was speaking in town, and signed up immediately to attend. Why?

When I first started studying UML as part of object-oriented programming, one of the two books I used was UML Distilled by Martin Fowler. When trying to get my hands around several large integration projects at Data Junction (RIP), I kept of copy of Martin's Patterns of Enterprise Architecture by the sofa. On my bookshelves, you'll also find Martin's book on Refactoring. Martin was Kent Beck's co-author on Planning Extreme Programming. I am continually referring friends to a chapter that he contributed to Enterprise Integration Patterns.

That's why I'm going, but why should you go?

Martin is a big picture guy. Many of the concepts in software methodogy that people are studying now, years ago Martin was helping to formulate. It might be a good idea to take note of what he's talking about now.

Here's the details:
Software Development in the 21st Century
Speaker Martin Fowler
When Thursday, Feb. 25
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Where The University of Texas at Austin
Commons Learning Center
10100 Burnet Road
Bldg. 137
Austin, TX 78758
Register at: http://connect.thoughtworks.com/TechnologyForumAustin/

From http://austinhug.blogspot.com/ :

We'll be kicking off the inaugural Austin Hadoop User Group on March the 18th. At present, we have speakers lined up from IBM and Rackspace and will cover quite a wide variety of topics along with a few demos. This event will follow directly on the heels of the SXSW Interactive conference. Pizza, beer and soft drinks will be provided.


The initial sentiment, based on discussions I've had with people interested in attending, is that the group will cover both Hadoop and Big Data concerns in general. If you'd like to attend, present a topic or are interested in sponsorship, please send me a note directly (swatt AT us DOT ibm DOT com ) so I can put you on the distribution list (and it will also help me with catering).

Dusty Reagan, of Conjunctured, registered to attend TedxAustin. He was rejected. Upon hearing from so many other people who were rejected, he decided to throw a party for himself and all the other rejects.

Conjunctured's TEDxATX Rejection Party
Saturday, February 20, 2010 from 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM (CT)
Austin, TX

I, on the other hand, wasn't rejected. I didn't sign up for TedxAustin. I looked at the website, and didn't recognize any of the organizers. I saw that they wanted $50 for tickets, but they weren't announcing any of the speakers

From their website:
By now you're probably wondering who is speaking at TEDxAustin: Play Big. After all, most conferences give that information pretty early on, right? To help make the rational choice of who's worth hearing?

Well, where's the fun in that?

We're inviting you to play big. To go into the delivery room without knowing boy or girl. To imagine what's in the gift-wrapped box. To enter the theater with the buzz that tells you something big is about to happen. To trust the good waiting right over the crest of that hill.

I wouldn't have a problem dropping $50 for a surprise event if the invitation came from Brian Eno, or any of these guys; but for an event with no track record... Play Big? bold isn't the word that comes to mind.

So where will I be on February 20th? Most likely hanging out with the rejects. Unlike TEDxAustin, Conjunctured is a known entity with a track record of hosting/facilitating good things in the tech community -- and look at the attendee list

The Conjunctured's TEDxATX Rejection Party is free. Although Dusty is simply doing this because he thought it would be a fun thing to do, I suggested that he pick up a couple of sponsors for the food and beverages.

If you don't yet know the conjunctured folks, what better way to introduce yourself than as a sponsor. For details: contact dusty@conjunctured.com.

MongoDB Day
(Geekaustin Data Series)
Saturday, March 27, 11AM-6PM
Location TBA
Austin, Tx
Register at : http://mongodbday.eventbrite.com/

We began with the idea of having a NoSQL Camp Austin, but because there have already been numerous NoSQL camps/summits around the country, we didn't want to duplicate that effort. Many of the presentations from these events are already online. There's little reason to duplicate them.

So we moved to the idea of having a series of Data Dev Days -- not necessarily just Big Data, but anything anything new and interesting in the NoSQL/OpenSQL realm. By picking one or two complimentary technologies, and making them the focus of a full day event, we can give new folks the opportunity to get their feet wet, and even start hacking. We can also provide those already familiar with an opportunity get a bit deeper into the technologies.

We had planned to begin the series with a day devoted to document databases -- primarily MongoDB and CouchDB. After several interviews and discussions we decided to dedicate the first event entirely to MongoDB.

Despite the overall job situation nowadays, for a Drupal developer/designer, things look pretty good. There are way more drupal jobs and contracts than the local talent can fill. Way more.

For quite some time, I've been discussing with the other folks in the Austin Drupal community how to bring more beginners up to speed, and how to help the intermediate level folks become drupal ninjas.

While there are a tremendous amount of resources for those wanting to learn Drupal, it's important to connect and share experiences with other drupalfolk. Previously, the only regular opportunities for Drupalistas to meet up have been the monthly meetups.

This last week, myself and a few others in the community, launched the Austin Drupal Dojo. Call it a hack night or whatever, this is a weekly opportunity to get together with other folks in the Austin Drupal community. No agenda. No speakers. Bring your problems, bring your solutions, bring your laptop.

The word Dojo (道場) captures what we're trying to create -- a place to practice and master one's art. Thing of it as a place to become a Drupal blackbelt, a Drupal Ninja.

I should say that we're not the first in town to do this. Matt Buck launched the Ruby Dojo last November, and there has been a virtual Drupal Dojo at groups.drupal.org for quite some time. Although he doesn't use the word "dojo", Jim Hillhouse has been hosting the weekly Cocoa Coder meetings Conjunctured for over a year now.

If you're looking to ramp your skills up quickly, meeting weekly makes a difference.

Our first meeting last week at Mangia was a great success. So much so that we've reserved dates for the next 8 weeks. Tentatively, the dojo will be held at either Mangia (Spicewood and Mesa) or Triumph Cafe. Both venues are centrally located near Spicewood/Anderson and Mopac.

Here are the tentative dates for the upcoming dojos: