I haven't blogged in a long, long time.  I'm not sure what got me off the horse exactly, but it's time to get back on.

Recently a past coworker from my Avanade days joined our team at CSG.  It's great to have him aboard, but it was a blast from the past for me being around him in a workplace setting.  I brought back a lot of memories of the consulting days.  Comparing and constrasting current myself with my 18-months-ago self was a little shocking.  I'm definitely much less of a Microsoft koolaide drinker and I'm certainly much less interested in the bleeding edge.  I'm getting to the point in my career where I'm seeing the cyclical trends in technology and I'm catching myself choosing to sit out a wave or two here and there.

My focus for the last year has been building software in an Agile fashion.  Said a different way, I'm 100% engrossed in how to build software that's easy to change.  I've spent my entire career with my feet firmly planted in the Microsoft camp and I definitely am committed to my platform of choice, but I'm frequently disappointed with in the fundamental skills on our community.  We're starting to see that most of the important thinking in the Microsoft space is being done by Java converts.  I'm currently reading Agile Principles, Patterns, and Practices in C# by Robert Martin.  It is a wonderful introduction to the art of building software that's easy to change.  Sadly, much of the Microsoft .NET development community, as Martin points out in the foreword, is lacking in many of the core Object Oriented design fundamentals.  Apparently he specifically wrote this C# specific revision to his classic Agile Principles, Patterns, and Practices book just to get the attention of the Microsoft camp.

Check it out - great stuff here for all ages