Have you ever wanted to know how those strange database experts are able to do their job without going insane? This session will cover some heavily used database tips, tricks, and secrets from multiple database platforms. These tips are have been used first hand and compiled for you in one presentation. Every developer that has any interaction with a database should find this session of value.

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Sturm Hall
2000 E. Asbury Ave.
Room 323 (or some room close by)
Denver, CO 80208

This past weekend was the 8th annual Labor Day party in my neighborhood. We close down the street and party until early the next morning. There are a couple of us that have receivers in our garages that we crank up to provide tunes for the party. In the past we have tried satellite radio and the buffer would be off by a second or two. We also tried wireless speakers and they got too much interference from cell phones.

This year we used Airfoil from Rogue Amoeba to sync the music. What Airfoil does is hijack the audio signal from a software application to then broadcast it across a network in sync. I hopped on my neighbors wireless network that happened to be centered between the houses with radios in the garage. This allowed me a strong 802.11G signal in both locations (about 300' apart from each other). I then installed the Airfoil application in combination with my Pandora One application. On the other end I installed the Airfoil Speakers application. Once this was all setup I was able to perfectly sync the audio from the main computer to the other computer. We ran this all night and had perfect audio entertainment for the evening. For $25 it is well worth the money to broadcast your audio across your network in prefect sync.

This has to be one of my all time favorite summer time drinks.

1. Glass filled about 1/2 way up with crushed ice
2. 1 shot of 100% agave Tequila
3. 1/2 of a lime juiced
4. Tiny pinch of sea salt
5. Add the spent lime as a garnish
6. Fill cup with Fresca and stir

I have not logged into MySpace for over a year and I thought that I would go ahead and cancel my account since the last activity from any of my friends was in November of last year.

1. Log In
2. Click on My Account in the main navigation bar
3. Click on Account in the secondary navigation bar
4. The 3rd heading is Cancel Account
5. You have to fill out a couple of forms as to why you are canceling your account. From there an email is sent to you.
6. You then have to click on the link in the email that launches MySpace again
7. Click on the cancel account button
8. After that your request to cancel your MySpace account has been made and it takes 48 hours to process according to the site.

I was just going to stop for a A&W root beet float but I gave into the chicken cravings. So i tried out their Grilled Chicken and it was tasty. I have to disagree with their definition of grilled chicken. When I think of grilled chicken it is without the skin. Their version still leaves the skin on. It was properly marinated, seasoned, baked and then grilled for about 30 seconds to give it some lines. I wouldn't doubt if they had a Forman grill in the back to do that. I really wish that KFC would come out with a true skinless option for their chicken. At least they still give out those awesome biscuits and plastic sporks.

Over the past 10 years we have bought 3 different homes in 2 different states and we have learned a lot in the process. Here are some tips that we have accumulated over the years about things to look for when shopping for your next home.

1. When you are looking at homes take your digital camera with you. Before you walk into each house take a picture of the MLS print out that the realtor has. You end up looking at so many houses that they get confused very fast. When we moved into our current home we thought there was a loft on the top floor... There wasn't. Not a big deal but it was just a feature of the house that we got mixed up with another home we saw.
2. Buying a house with a pool is a lot cheaper than buying a home and then putting in a pool afterwards. Save your time and the money and just buy a home with a pool and then hire a pool service. I had a pool for 3 years and I knew almost nothing about it.
3. Go to the house you want to buy many times at different times of the day. Go there at night. Does the grade and curve of the roads shine headlights into your master bedroom? Get there just before the evening commute. When traffic gets heavy do people start cutting through your street? Stop and look up. Are you in a landing pattern for the local airport?
4. Talk to your future neighbors. Knock on the door and introduce yourself and ask them about how the neighborhood is. They have nothing to loose by talking to you and you might just make a friend in the process.
5. Don't buy a home that was built in a housing boom. A lot of times the homes that were built in the housing boom were done in a hurry. This leads to shotty construction and future problems that may not show up for 10 years later.
6. Circle for running children. This is not a must have for a lot of people but with having 3 little ones we have to have it. When the weather prohibits the kids from going outside and burning off energy we have the kids run laps in the house. Our floor plan is in a circle so they can go from the entry, family room, kitchen, dining room, living room and then back to the entry with out stopping. Small thing but important for our little ones.
7. Is there a coat closet? (Assuming you live somewhere you use coats) Only 1 of the 3 homes we have owned has had a coat closet.
8. Are there towel racks? We have a neighbor that has a wonderful home but the design of the bathrooms didn't allow for towel racks. There isn't anywhere to even put a new one on a wall.
9. Do you live in a cold environment? Having a driveway facing west or south will help melt snow and ice off of your driveway. I shovel about half as much as my neighbors across the street.
10. Does you the home have a basement? Where does the black water go out to the street? The house we have now was dug about 3' too deep and if I want to put in a bathroom in the basement I am going to have to get a special pump because I can not rely on gravity to carry out the waste water to the street.
11. Look to see what windows open and if you can catch a breeze through the house. Nearly every window of our current house opens and a slight breeze gives a wonderful cooling effect in the house. This allows us to use nature for our AC and we only turn on our air a couple of days a year. Also a couple of well placed trees can make a huge difference in your monthly utilities.
12. Is there room for toys? Kid toys, big boy toys, bikes, and all the crap that you can't live without. I don't know what I would do without having a 3rd car garage.
13. Trust your heart. You know deep inside what house is right for you. Go with your gut.

Do you have any other tips for home buying?

I stopped my XM Radio subscription at the in January of 2009. I moved to listening to streaming radio on my iPhone. In the first couple of weeks of listening to it in the car I realized that the audio quality in Slacker Radio was far superior to Pandora. I have an after market stereo in my Equinox and you could hear an noticeable compression of the music on Pandora. So I ended up signing up for Slacker Radio Plus. Oh what a mistake that was!

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This morning my friend Don asked me the question of "I have a UDF defined in Application.cfc. Is there a way to override that with a UDF of same name in another template?"

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This afternoon I went with some coworkers to Yazoo BBQ for lunch. I had their "Bob" with some fried pickles and peach cobbler. When we went to sit down my friend Matt started reacting to the temperature of the BBQ sauce. I didn't believe him so I took a small sample too. Needless to say that the bottle is right and my mouth was on FIRE for the next 15 minutes from a tiny sample. I would highly recommend Yazoo BBQ as everything I have had there is outstanding and at a great price.

We will not be having our normal meeting on June 8th. Please come join us as we team up with other user groups to bring you the Next Generation Flex & ColdFusion Tour. We will have pizza, soft drinks and a live band from 6:30 - 7:00 followed by the main event!

Come learn about the newest features in the Flex 4 framework, Flash Builder 4 and the newest Adobe product -- Flash Catalyst from Adobe Evangelist Kevin Hoyt. See product feature demos, and learn how the new Flex framework powers both Flash Catalyst and Flex Builder to speed the development and testing of rich Internet applications and content.

Pair this with the power of ColdFusion and you've got a really great thing going!

We will also be discussing Centaur, the next version of ColdFusion, and Bolt - code name for the highly anticipated ColdFusion IDE from Adobe. Learn about exciting new features and discover how Centaur and Bolt will accelerate your ColdFusion application development.

Make sure to watch Adobe Labs to download the beta versions of these products as soon as they are available!

RSVP NOW

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 from 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM (MT)
Magnolia Hotel Denver
818 17th Street
Denver, CO 80202