OK - March 2023.
I've been a little under the weather as of late - a weeklong cold, followed by a week of trying to get back on it, followed by another week of just being EXHAUSTED has removed a lot of momentum from... I guess, me? Tech, learning, exercise, ambitions, hopes, dreams - all slightly delayed!
But here we are, and WHAT A MARCH. Here are the main headlines:
Umbraco Spark & Umbraco Hackathon
I'd just started looking into Umbraco (maybe January?) and someone told me this event that was happening in Bristol and before you could debug a log I had my ticket booked. Umbraco Spark is looking to be a great event with some terrific speakers, including my good friend Carl Sargunar giving a talk on the wonders of GitHub Actions. The event itself is preceeded by a day-long hackathon just looking to improve Umbraco, so I am looking forward to hopefully keeping my contributions as being a net positive (though am somewhat doubtful...)!
SQLBits
With my own attendance being funded by my wonderful employers Nightingale HQ, SQLBits ("The Data Conference") is looking to be incredible. World experts of the .NET work will be gathering in Newport, the Silcon Valley of Wales, with training sessions held before the conference itself. I'll be attending:
- Automate the rollout of a complete Azure based data warehouse solution in a day (Andre Kamman)
- Wed - Boost Your Skills for an Azure Architect (Heini Ilmarinen)
...and look forward to being able to explain what those concepts are slightly more by the end of the conference!
AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator
On March 31st I'll bit sitting my next Azure qualification - AZ-104. This exam is all about maintainence, support and migration within Azure and Azure Active Directory, alongside some good networking basics. It's another huge learning step and is a low-key point of stress/terror for the rest of the month's proceedings, but I'll see you at the finish line!
Alongside that there are a couple of other things I'm doing:
- Brahms Requiem (Llandaff Cathedral Choral Society) - it's my good friend Alex Thacker's final concert conducting this lovely choir so I've joined them for a term. Come check it out, it'll be superb!
- Blood Bowl: Caerdydd Cup - I'm a huge Blood Bowl fan and the next part of the Welsh Tournament Series is taking place! Wish my Wood Elves luck!
- Cardiff Bay 10k - oh yeah, and I'll be running a bit too. Should probably remember how to do that soon.
That's the update, and I hope you're jolly well, warm and wonderful you beautiful lot you x
Rich