Note: This blog post is from 2014. Some content may be outdated--though not necessarily. Same with links and subsequent comments from myself or others. Corrections are welcome, in the comments. And I may revise the content as necessary.

If you haven't heard the news yet, the CFHour podcast has had it's last show, it seems. Dave (Ferguson) and Scott (Stroz) announced the news at the end of their last episode (#213), quietly and without fanfare (or any advanced indications), citing time challenges, etc.

I'm holding a glimmer of hope that it's all an April Fool's prank, but if true it's indeed the end of an era and time to pause and reflect as if on the passing of a friend.

Update: I'm vindicated! :-) The guys announced in their next show that it WAS INDEED an April Fool's prank. Even so, I'll leave this entry, untouched, for posterity. Plus, most of the info is just as valuable to have shared, with them and with readers, whether they did or did not end the show. And like I said below, this gave them a chance like Twain and Nobel to see what folks thought when they thought they were dead. :-)

I also want to give some solace to fans of the show (and the general CFML community) with respect to where they may want to turn now to keep up on news, resources, etc. Fortunately, there are some places being actively updated. (And while surely some will see this as one more nail in CF's coffin, I don't and I'll address that briefly too.)

But first let's give credit where it's due about the podcast...

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Note: This blog post is from 2010. Some content may be outdated--though not necessarily. Same with links and subsequent comments from myself or others. Corrections are welcome, in the comments. And I may revise the content as necessary.

It always feels a little awkward pointing things like this out, but since some readers may want to know about them, I have recently been the subject of a few of what I'll call "appearances" (and I have a few more coming up):

• I was a roundtable participant in last week's RiaPodcast episode 2.9 (you can listen there)
• I was co-host on the CFHour() podcast, show #60 a couple of weeks ago (you can listen there)
• I was invited (along with Michael Smith) to be interviewed by Judith Dinowitz of FusionAuthority on the recently announced fact that this would be the last year of CFUnited, which I've spoken at each year. (You can read the interview at the FA link offered.)
• It was announced last week that I'll be hosting a BOF (birds of a feather) session at the CFUnited conference. The session will be "CF911: Server Troubleshooting". More details at the page above.
• It was announced last week as well that I will be giving another session at CFUnited, this one being the Sponsor talk for Intergral (makers of FusionReactor, with whom I partner a lot). The topic is "Continuously Improve CF Code Quality, Server Availability & Application Stability". More details here.
• Finally, more details about my Day 2 keynote at the conference were also announced a couple of weeks ago. The topic will be, "CFCommunity: You're Never Alone". More details at the link offered.

Note: This blog post is from 2010. Some content may be outdated--though not necessarily. Same with links and subsequent comments from myself or others. Corrections are welcome, in the comments. And I may revise the content as necessary.

I've had the pleasure of participating in a few recent podcasts and related activities. While regular listeners to those will naturally hear them, I figured I should highlight the episodes for those who may not be.

RIAPodcast

First, some may know that I'm a regular panelist on a podcast called the RIApodcast. Well, there was a special roundtable session at the recent cf.Objective() conference, and I was privileged to be asked to join in that, along with Ray Camden as well as RIAPodcast regulars John Mason (host) and Josh Adams (of Adobe).

(The RIAPodcast is recorded twice monthly, after the Atlanta Flex and then the Atlanta CF user groups. John then often splits each into two, so it's an approximately weekly podcast.)

CFConversations

Then, too, John and I joined Brian Meloche for his CFConversations podcast presentation of another cf.Objective() roundtable session.

While there's naturally a fair bit of overlap between the two (given there are different audiences for each), we still tried to cover slightly different things in each.

Mura Show

Finally, though it's not really a "podcast", on a perhaps related note I was also guest recently for several episodes on The Mura Show, which is a recurring (Recorded) online meeting. In these sessions, my site (CArehart.org) was a guinea pig/test case as the Mura guys graciously led viewers through a complete re-do of my site to run atop Mura. You can see the shows at their show archive.

We may still have another episode or two in the future to wrap things up, but certainly if you're interested in Mura it's a great start-to-finish presentation of getting a site running under and benefiting in many ways from Mura.

I may have still some more news of interesting participation in other such podcast-style activities to share in the future.

Note: This blog post is from 2008. Some content may be outdated--though not necessarily. Same with links and subsequent comments from myself or others. Corrections are welcome, in the comments. And I may revise the content as necessary.

I had the distinct pleasure of being interviewed for the second time on the ColdFusion weekly podcast (last time in Oct '06). Some may know that Matt and Peter are starting to do interviews of speakers presenting at the upcoming cf.Objective() conference, and I happened to be the first in the lineup. The interview is up as this week's podcast.

In the 45 minute talk, we discuss both talks I'll be doing at the conference, first "Hidden Gems in the CF8 Monitor" and then "Step Debugging in CF 6/7/8". The first is a condensation of my 4-part series of articles in the Adobe DevCenter, where I highlight the most compelling tips, tricks, and traps I found. I think many will be surprised by them, and in the interview I share several from the talk.

Matt also asked me about how it compares to FusionReactor and SeeFusion, and I shared my thoughts for why there's a place for all, and along those lines (of how competing things fit together), he also asked me my thoughts on the open sourcing of BD/J2EE.

Of course, one of the things I clarified was that I left New Atlanta nearly 2 years ago (next week). Many seem not to have gotten that memo! But I explain more, including why I'm not so sure it will light the world on fire as a "free CFML engine" though it may well help a lot of people, so check out the discussion if you're interested in that topic.

I also shared some news that I've never blogged about nor spoken much about: the fact that when the roles of CF Product Manager (when Tim stepped down 2 years ago) and CF Evangelist (when Ben knew a few months ago that he was moving up to lead all the Evangelists in Adobe) first became available, I had the distinct honor of having been asked first (so I was told) if I wanted those roles. It's hard for that not to sound self-aggrandizing, which is why I've not mentioned it publicly, but I mentioned it in the interview to make the point to listeners that I really am all about CF now, and that plenty of folks at Adobe did realize I was still very much a CF community guy all along.

Anyway, I explained that I didn't take the roles simply because in the first case, the product manager role, it would have involved relocation to Boston (love Atlanta's weather too much, plus I was enrolled in an Atlanta-based seminary at the time). In the second case, Ben's role, it would have been awesome, but we all know it involves a LOT of travel. My wife and I just didn't want to be apart so much and so often (and again there are those seminary studies). It was tough to say no, but as I mentioned in the interview, of course Adobe got great folks for the roles ultimately, in Jason and Adam, respectively.

The interview concluded with my discussion of the Step Debugging talk I'll give at cf.o. I explained how it will cover both the CF8 Debugger (useful only on CF8) and FusionDebug (which can run on 6, 7, and 8). I explained (as I have many times) how though they're both based on Eclipse, that needn't be a show-stopper.

I explained how FusionDebug even offers an installer that bundles Eclipse, CFEclipse, and FusionDebug all at once, which is a great help for those challenged to install it (though it's also available as an add-in). I noted that the CF8 debugger is available only as an add-in, which can be a challenge to some, but I pointed out (as I have previously) that my 25-page chapter on the CF8 debugger, in the CFWACK, is available online. That should really help those who've been challenged to get started with the CF8 debugger. Anyway, I'll explain a lot more about using the debugger, and when/why/how one should, in the talk at the conference.

So, though I didn't plan it, I guess this interview was as much a show about how I'm not any one company's guy. :-) Whether it's supporting the CF8 monitor or FusionReactor/SeeFusion, the CF8 debugger or FusionDebug, CF or the other CFML engines, or even the consulting I do (done mostly on my own, but also some for Intergral and for Universal Mind, as I mentioned), I'm out here just trying to help where I can, whoever I can, however I can. :-) I just want to share info or tools and let folks make their own decisions. (In that regard, be sure also to check out my list of 400+ tools/resources for CFers and the CF Meetup that I run.)

Anyway, it took only a few minutes for you to read this entry. I think you'll enjoy the full 45 minute version in the podcast, which you can just click here to listen to the MP3 (no need to have an Ipod!).