CFUnited Blog

Sponsor topic Interview with Charlie Arehart

We wanted to get the ins and outs of our sponsor's, Intergral, topic at CFUnited! See what Charlie has to say about his session and why you should be there!

Tell us a little about yourself:

Greetings folks. I'm Charlie Arehart, independent consultant, and I'll be presenting "Continuously Improve CF code quality, Server Availability & Application Stability". This is a vendor/sponsor session that I'll be giving on behalf of Intergral, makers of FusionReactor, FusionDebug, and the new FusionAnalytics tools. While I don't work for the company, I am a long-time fan and do in fact partner with them in many ways, having written their training classes, which I also present, and also providing consulting for them for North American clients of their cfconsultant.com service.

Briefly describe what the is session about:

Well, the description on the site says it as well as I could say (since I wrote it). :-) The bottom line focus is how to use their tools (all recently or just about to be updated) to solve the common problems that many CF shops struggle with, whether it's poor performance, inability for CF to stay up, a challenge understanding the root cause of problems, and so on. While there are some tools that some people use to help with these, there are many ways that the Intergral tools offer unique benefits (and can work well with those other tools). Of course many people aren't aware of any tools at all. I'll be showing people how they can stop regarding CF as a black box that's either up or down. Perhaps most compelling, I'll show how they can more effectively analyze and compare server performance information across applications and over hours, days, weeks, months, and years.

Who should attend this session?

Really, anyone with responsibility for--or simply an interest in--effective running of their CF servers (or other CFML engines, or indeed other Java EE servers). There's no particular skill level required to understand what these tools can do. Indeed, even someone with little CF skill (whether a server Admin or a newcomer to CF) can quickly use these tools to show (even a more skilled person) what's going on in their servers, which is a vital first step to resolving problems.

Why did you choose to give this topic?

Well, again, this is a vendor/sponsor topic, so naturally the intention is to make people aware of the products and services from the company. But we all know that most people don't like "sales pitches". Hopefully I've earned a reputation (as an independent consultant) for being an objective observer. Since I'm not an employee, I really am "promoting" these tools because I believe they are valuable and that more people should know about them. Intergral was happy to have me present, because like so many great IT companies, they have great engineers who are awesome at building products (and listening to customers); yet like the average person, they not exactly thrilled by the prospect of speaking before hundreds of people! :-) I love doing it and have been for over 20 years.

How will conference attendees benefit from attending this session?

The primary benefit will be that attendees will learn new tools and techniques for solving common problems that face nearly every CF shop (and those using other CFML and Java EE engines). But again the focus isn't on "features" but rather on ways that problems can be solved. The session will benefit both those who have never seen the tools before, and those who maybe have worked with or at least heard of them before. Especially for the latter audience, there will be new information as the tools have been updated (FusionDebug recently, and FusionReactor soon, and FusionAnalytics is entirely new.) For those who've never seen the tools or any like them, they'll be exposed to the amazing capabilities that they bring to solving problems. And those who may be familiar with other similar solutions (though there's none like FusionAnalytics) will learn some of the ways that the Intergral products do offer unique features/solutions.

When is the session being held?

The session is on the first day, in the first slot after the Adobe Keynote (and break), at 11 am.

Why should people attend CFUnited?

Well, I've been spreading the good news of CFUnited since its inception over 10 years ago, first in a CFDJ article in 2000, and most recently in the farewell interview I did with Michael Smith and Judith Dinowitz in FusionAuthority. As a speaker at every one of the events (along with Michael), I can say it's been a conference that people have gotten great value from every year. Just as there are many tools to solve problems, and I recommend that people make the most of each, I say the same of conferences. Sure, some have their preferences (in tools and conferences, perhaps sticking only with one), but just like a large toolset can bring value to anyone, so too can a wide-ranging conference like CFUnited bring value to everyone who attends.

Whether you're a newcomer to CF or an old hand, an expert in OO technologies or still on the fence, someone who loves to meet people or prefers to just take in the content, you will not only be at home and welcomed at the event, but you'll likely find many other "birds of a feather". Speaking of BOFs, I should add that I'll be doing one called CF911 - Server Troubleshooting, which of course will cover a wide range of tools (free and commercial), techniques (from myself and I hope others), and experiences. As I'll discuss in my keynote talk on CFCommunity, we need to stick together and learn from each other! :-) CFUnited is a great place to do that.

Speaker Spotlight - Dan Vega

Dan Vega is Web Developer for the eBusiness department of STERIS Corporation, and has been developing web applications with ColdFusion for six years. Dan has a passion for inspiring and educating others. He regularly blogs at http://www.danvega.org/blog/ about his daily findings and enjoys speaking to those willing to listen. He is also the co-manager of the Cleveland ColdFusion User Group. As co-manager, he regularly provides content to the group, answers members' questions and presents on a wide variety of topics at monthly Cleveland CFUG meetings, and has also presented to other user groups.

CFUnited sessions : Developing Web Applications for Mobile Devices
Validation in ColdFusion

1. Have you spoken at CFUnited in the past?

Yes. I gave a presentation on Transfer last year.

2. Why should people attend your sessions?

I think they are both going to be fun topics to present on. I really take the time to make sure I am prepared for a session and I think my enthusiasm for the topic really comes through in the presentation.

3. Do you have any projects in the works that you will be revealing at CFUnited?

I have 1 that is already out there but I plan on talking about it a little bit more during my Validation topic.

4. Besides your topic, what other sessions are you looking forward to?

I always look forward to the Keynote. We get a chance to reflect on what has happened over the last year and look forward to what is to come. As far as sessions go I am really looking forward to Elliott Sprehn's session because he always has something to talk about that makes me go "wow".

5. What are some of the hot topics you'd like to see at RoundTable discussions?

We are right in the middle of an exciting time in development and it all centers around the mobile platform. The two big players right now are Android and iPhone OS. I would love to see an Android related BOF because its something I am excited about.

6. Where can people find you at CFUnited?

I am always around so if you see me please don't hesitate to grab me and talk shop, it's my favorite part of the conference. If you can't find me I would check the bar, good place to start!

7. What's the latest news with you? Has anything changed since last CFUnited?

Not really, life is good! Wait, my foot healed and I think I am going to officially withdrawal from any sumo wrestling events this year.

8. What is unique about CFUnited?

It's just the massive amount of ColdFusion developers that are there. I really enjoy networking and hanging out with friends that I only get to see a couple times a year. Also, the Lansdowne Resort is an amazing place to have a conference. I had a blast there last year and expect nothing less this year.

9. What do you like to do in your free time?

Writing code is not just a profession to me, it's almost an obsession. I have a large thirst for knowledge so you can usually find me learning something new in my spare time. With that said I love being outside when the weather is nice. There is nothing more relaxing to me then a nice long run through the streets of Cleveland on warm sunny evening. I also enjoy a good movie, hanging out with friends and you can usually find me at a poker table on the weekends.

Speaker Spotlight - Luis Majano

Luis Majano is a Computer Engineer currently employed at ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute) in Southern California. He was born in San Salvador, El Salvador and is the president of Ortus Solutions, a consulting firm specializing in CFML, Java and web development. His background includes over 10 years of software development experience, architecture and system design. He is the creator of the ColdBox Platform (www.coldbox.org), an open source Object Oriented ColdFusion Development Platform, CodexWiki (www.codexwiki.org) an open source enterprise wiki system and is the Adobe ColdFusion user group manager for the Inland Empire. You can also read his blog at www.luismajano.com

CFUnited sessions : ColdBox Platform 3.0.0: Sustainable ColdFusion Applications
ColdFusion Powered iPhone Applications

1. Have you spoken at CFUnited in the past?

Yes, and it was a fantastic experience!

2. Why should people attend your sessions?

Because ColdBox is Cool! All joking aside, ColdBox is pushing the envelope in building sustainable ColdFusion applications especially for the enterprise. My session will cover all the new standalone and internal frameworks and all the new goodies in ColdBox 3.0.0

3. Do you have any projects in the works that you will be revealing at CFUnited?

Yes, ColdBox Internals, a new way to monitor and debug ColdFusion applications and Ortus DataBoss!

4. Besides your topic, what other sessions are you looking forward to?

ALL OF THEM!

5. What are some of the hot topics you'd like to see at RoundTable discussions?

Open source CFML

6. Where can people find you at CFUnited?

I'll be the guy wearing the big ColdBox T-Shirt and talking like a real latino, LOUD!

7. What's the latest news with you? Has anything changed since last CFUnited?

Yes, lots of new projects both commercial and open source, so the year has been filled with awesome work.

8. What is unique about CFUnited?

The amount of amazing sessions that are available, the great people you get to network with and the amazing networking and sharing opportunities it brings.

9. What do you like to do in your free time?

I love playing tennis and golf and hanging out in the movies with the wife.

Speaker Spotlight - Jim Priest

Jim Priest is a husband, father of two, developer, and avid motorcyclist. He currently works for SRA International as a Configuration Manager and Senior Software Development Analyst. He works primarily with ColdFusion, JIRA and Ant, but also dabbles with Powerbuilder, as well as creating handheld applications in Visual CE. Jim is an active participant in the ColdFusion community; co-managing the Triangle Area ColdFusion User Group (TACFUG) in the Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina area. In 2009 he helped organize CFinNC, the first ColdFusion conference in North Carolina. He posts regularly to his blog: The Crumb

CFUnited session: Digging into the Developer Toolbox

1. Have you spoken at CFUnited in the past?

No. This is my first time and I am very excited to have been selected to speak (and slightly terrified!) :)

2. Why should people attend your sessions?

I watch a lot of developers code and it always frustrates me that people do things 'the hard way'. Computers are supposed to make our lives easier, yet people fail to leverage available tools and techniques that can save them time and effort.

3. Do you have any projects in the works that you will be revealing at CFUnited?

Hopefully I will have a new CFEclipse site up and running. We are trying to improve our communication with the CFML community and remind people of our free alternative to other CFML IDE's. :)

4. Besides your topic, what other sessions are you looking forward to?

All of them? :)

5. What are some of the hot topics you'd like to see at RoundTable discussions?

I'd like to see continuing discussions of CFML, how the three CFML vendors can work together to strengthen the core language and how we in the community can better spread the word about CFML. We need to end the "ColdFusion is dead" rumors but do it in a positive way - not by bashing other languages on Twitter and mailing lists.

6. Where can people find you at CFUnited?

Before my presentation: Hunkered down in my room practicing my presentation. After my presentation: At the bar.

7. What's the latest news with you? Has anything changed since last CFUnited?

No news is good news?

8. What is unique about CFUnited?

I think it's the perfect mix between the big conferences like Max and the more technical events like cf.Objective. Last year was my first conference and I had a great time. It was great meeting so many people I've known online for years but never met in person.

9. What do you like to do in your free time?

I'm a father of two so that keeps me rather busy! In my spare time I can usually be found on my motorcycle heading west to the mountains for some camping and relaxation. My other hobbies are building and flying remote control airplanes and dabbling in music.

Speaker Spotlight - Sandy Clark

Sandra Clark has been developing ColdFusion applications since 1997 and speaking about ColdFusion, CSS and Accessibility since 2001. She is a passionate advocate on applying accepted and proven web standards to development as a way of creating websites that are usable by all people. Sandra currently works with AboutWeb as a contractor to the National Institutes of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, MD.

CFUnited session: Accessible Javascript

1. Have you spoken at CFUnited in the past?

I've spoken at CFUNITED since it was CFUN. I think my first speaking engagement there was 2002. I've spoken at every CFUNITED with the exception of 2009.

2. Why should people attend your sessions?

There are a lot of exciting updates in the world of Accessibility. The Section 508 refresh is out for public comment at this time and when that becomes law (hopefully by the end of this year), then RIA's will be able to meet the 508 criteria for the first time.

3. Do you have any projects in the works that you will be revealing at CFUnited?

None at the moment.

4. Besides your topic, what other sessions are you looking forward to?

I'm looking forward to Christian Ready's HTML 5 talk. I haven't done much with it yet and I'm eager to learn more. Bob Silverberg's ORM talks are always great. There are so many great talks, I can't possibly list them all. Hopefully I won't be talking at the same time as the ones I really want to see!

6. Where can people find you at CFUnited?

I'm all over the place. Its hard to miss me, since I'm one of the few female speakers. Come over, introduce yourself and lets talk!

7. What's the latest news with you? Has anything changed since last CFUnited?

After 7 years, I switched companies. I am now employed by About Web, which is a great company. I get to work and hang out with some really smart Programmers, which I really enjoy. I'm also back at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology which I love as well.

8. What is unique about CFUnited?

The people. I think the best thing about CFUNITED is the people it attracts, both as conference goers and speakers. I always come out of the conference with new ideas and more things I want to learn.

9. What do you like to do in your free time?

Anyone on my Facebook account can tell you that. I've really gotten into local and seasonal eating this past year. I've started preserving my own food (control issues, this way I know what is going into my food). I'm also trying to exercise more and spend less time on the computer.

Speaker Spotlight - John Paul Ashenfelter

John Paul Ashenfelter - With over 15 years experience in web application development, John Paul provides broad ranging analysis and development skills focusing on the rapid development of web-based business applications. His particular technical expertise lies in Ruby, Rails, ColdFusion, and database design and development with a strong focus on open-source software. John Paul is a frequent speaker at conferences and a contributor to online resources such as the O'Reilly Network and the (now defunct) WebReview site. He has written three books on web databases and ColdFusion and has contributed or been a technical editor on a number of other books on the web, databases, and development.
CFUnited session: ColdFusion with noSQL

1. Have you spoken at CFUnited in the past?

Every one except 2001.

2. Why should people attend your sessions?

A conference should expand your mind and challenge your assumptions. I'm talking about building CF applications that don't use a relational database. This is some *seriously* cool stuff.

3. Do you have any projects in the works that you will be revealing at CFUnited?

Probably -- the NoSQL community is growing quickly and there's a lot of work to do on the CF side to make it easier to integrate with these new tools.

4. Besides your topic, what other sessions are you looking forward to?

I really like FW/1 and look forward to seeing what open source projects are working their way into the ColdFusion world. I'm also always interested in seeing what folks are doing as far as testing and agile development.

5. What are some of the hot topics you'd like to see at RoundTable discussions?

Growing the open source community with ColdFusion. We've started to get pretty good about having projects run by a single person, but we're still not there as far as larger collaborative projects that involve many different people. This probably relates to 4CFF.

6. Where can people find you at CFUnited?

In the bar, coding.

7. What's the latest news with you? Has anything changed since last CFUnited?

I've started another company. Oh, and I'll be flying into the conference straight from two months of living in Mexico.

8. What is unique about CFUnited?

There's not a lot of places large numbers of CF folks gather -- CFUnited is unique in both the breadth of experience in attendees (n00b to guru). CFUnited also has some of the best-looking conference staff of any major conference I've ever attended.

9. What do you like to do in your free time?

Be outside, do thing with my boys. Travel.

Speaker Spotlight - Chaz Chumley

Chaz Chumley - Consultant, Instructor, Author, Husband and Father. Chaz has been specializing in web development and database design since 1995. He currently resides as a Web Developer for the Smithsonian. Chaz is also CIO for w3Consultants, an Internet Application Development & Hosting company. Consultant services include XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, Fireworks, Photoshop, Drupal and ColdFusion. Chaz is also a contributing author and partner at CommunityMX and a guest speaker at such conferences as Todcon and CFUnited.

CFUnited session: ColdFusion Report Builder

1. Have you spoken at CFUnited in the past?

I have spoken at CFUnited for the past 4 years, including CFUnited Europe, and every year is better than the last.

2. Why should people attend your sessions?

Often people overlook the importance of good report writing tools that ColdFusion provide you. They lean toward building queries and outputting the data in a table and that's their idea of reporting. A lot of the work is done for you in ColdFusion Report Builder. Stop by and find out just how easy.

3. Do you have any projects in the works that you will be revealing at CFUnited?

Actually. I have 2 projects that we will be showcasing at CFUnited this year - one for the Smithsonian and one for CommunityMX. Both utilize the CFWheels framework and will be awesome. Stop by and check them out.

4. Besides your topic, what other sessions are you looking forward to?

Being a Government employee I just blogged about the Top 10 topics you don't want to miss out on. Make sure to check it out, as there are too many great topics and too little time for one person.

5. What are some of the hot topics you'd like to see at RoundTable discussions? Frameworks - There are so many to choose from that it's often a hard decision for people to make. Mike Henke, Chris Peters and myself will actually be doing a Birds of a Feather on CFWheels so stop by to hear more.

6. Where can people find you at CFUnited?

When I am not taking in a presentation, chatting with attendees in the hallway then you can find me in the bar socializing.

7. What's the latest news with you? Has anything changed since last CFUnited?

I actually went over to the darkside. I am now a Government employee and work for the Smithsonian. Moved from the desert of Las Vegas to the Capital City of D.C. and participated in my first 10K. Does that count?

8. What is unique about CFUnited?

Where else could you sit and talk to such great people with such great backgrounds and never mention the word - ColdFusion.

9. What do you like to do in your free time?

Free time - is that what they call it?

Speaker Spotlight - Sean Corfield

Sean Corfield is currently CEO of Railo Technologies, Inc. He has worked in IT for over twenty five years, starting out writing database systems and compilers then moving into mobile telecoms and finally into web development in 1997. Along the way, he worked on the ISO and ANSI C++ Standards committees for eight years and is a staunch advocate of software standards and best practice. Sean has championed and contributed to a number of CFML frameworks and was lead developer on Fusebox for two years. He released his own framework (FW/1) in 2009.

CFUnited sessions: ColdFusion and the Open Source Landscape
FW/1 - The Invisible Framework

1. Have you spoken at CFUnited in the past?

Every year since 2004 so this will be my seventh consecutive year as a speaker.

2. Why should people attend your sessions?

I'm an advocate for several things that I think help developers improve themselves and build better applications. Two of those things are frameworks and open source software - the topics of my talks this year. My framework talk showcases FW/1 (Framework One) which is a very small, lightweight framework that should appeal to people who "don't like frameworks", whether they think frameworks are overkill for small projects or simply too much complicated third party code to learn or rely on in their applications. I call FW/1 the "invisible framework". My other talk is intended to expand developers' awareness of open source software in general, showing how the popularity of certain other technologies has arisen because of their open source communities. I also hope to answer questions such as "Why give away the source to my application?" and "Why should I contribute to someone else's free software project?".

3. Do you have any projects in the works that you will be revealing at CFUnited?

I'm currently planning the next release of FW/1 and expect that to be released around CFUnited. I'm also thinking about creating a ColdFusion Builder Extension for FW/1.

4. Besides your topic, what other sessions are you looking forward to?

When I looked through the list of topics the other day, there were about 30 that I'm interested in attending! Three that really caught my eye are Christian Ready's HTML5 talk and the two talks by Elliott Sprehn - because he always has some fascinating insights!

5. What are some of the hot topics you'd like to see at RoundTable discussions?

Cloud computing is one - since I've worked on systems deployed entirely on the cloud for a couple of years now - and Agile Software Development is the other. A lot of the ideas from the agile community are very interesting and a refreshing approach to many of the common problems we tend to encounter with projects.

6. Where can people find you at CFUnited?

When I'm not in sessions, I'll be at the Railo Consulting sponsor booth during the day. In the evening? Most likely the bar...

7. What's the latest news with you? Has anything changed since last CFUnited?

Apart from 2009 being a horrible year for me personally and 2010 being a great improvement so far, not much has changed. That's quite a contrast to the last few years where I'd had a new employer each year! (Adobe in 2006, self-employed in 2007, Broadchoice in 2008, Railo in 2009 and Railo in 2010)

8. What is unique about CFUnited?

CFUnited is the biggest event of the year for CF developers - it offers the best networking, the broadest selection of topics, and access to more of our peers than any other event. I really enjoy the opportunity to connect with so many CF developers in one place!

9. What do you like to do in your free time?

Last year I would have said dancing but since my wife broke her ankle we haven't done much of that. To be honest, what I mostly do in my free time is work on open source software projects - and I really enjoy that!

Speaker Spotlight - Brian Rinaldi

Brian Rinaldi is an Applications Developer at Pongo Resume where he does Adobe ColdFusion and Adobe Flex development. Brian is an Adobe Community Expert and runs the Boston ColdFusion User Group. He also organizes the RIA Unleashed conference in Boston. Brian blogs regularly about ColdFusion, Flex and Ajax on his blog at remotesynthesis.com.

CFUnited session: Beginning Flex for ColdFusion Developers
Building Self-Updating ColdFusion Builder Extensions

1. Have you spoken at CFUnited in the past?

Yes, I spoke at both of the past two years - two years ago on RIA security and last year on the Mate Flex framework. This year I will be speaking on ColdFusion Builder extensions, which are, in my opinion, the most exciting feature in ColdFusion Builder.

2. Why should people attend your sessions?

Like I said, ColdFusion Builder extensions are the most exciting feature of ColdFusion Builder, allowing you to extend the Eclipse IDE using the CFML programming skills you already have. This opens up a world of possibilities in creating tools and customizing your IDE to meet your specific needs and/or the needs of your organization. This session will cover all the basics of building your own extensions and will add in the ability to auto-update those extensions using my Acme Boomerang project.

3. Do you have any projects in the works that you will be revealing at CFUnited?

Well, the Acme Boomerang for ColdFusion Builder project is already out but considering it plays a significant part in my presentation, I would expect some updates along the way.

4. Besides your topic, what other sessions are you looking forward to?

Well, I am hoping that we can keep the Flex track as top-notch as it was last year (especially considering I am track chair on that).

5. What are some of the hot topics you'd like to see at RoundTable discussions?

Hmmm...Well, we never seem short on items to debate. I thought last years CFML committee discussion was enlightening. I'd like to see a discussion on open source in CFML - like, for instance, get the leads of many of the open-source frameworks or professional open-source projects to discuss the challenges and benefits of open-source.

6. Where can people find you at CFUnited?

The first night, I will probably be at the bar until midnight - convincing myself that this time I will get some sleep rather than staying out far too late. Each night after that, you'll likely find me out at the bar progressively later.

7. What's the latest news with you? Has anything changed since last CFUnited?

Not much...thanks for asking! :)

8. What is unique about CFUnited?

It's still the single best opportunity to network within the ColdFusion developer community. I've been attending conferences for years but I never fail to meet many new people every time I go to this conference. The venue was outstanding with plenty of amenities and good food. The alcohol flowed well into the night - often out by bonfire. Oh yeah, and the sessions are great - last year was by far the best sessions I attended at a CFUnited.

9. What do you like to do in your free time?

Well, I own a lot of video games (with every system available on the market). Notice I said own and not play. I don't get to play them too much - between kids and work. I also listen to a lot of music.

Speaker Spotlight - Jason Dean

Jason Dean - Currently employed by the Minnesota Department of Health, in St. Paul, MN, Jason Dean he has been working in Information Technology for 12 years, focusing on application security for the past 3. A veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard trained in both physical and information security, he held a secret security clearance and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology Management from American Military University. He keeps himself busy managing a ColdFusion User Group at the Department of Health, sitting on the board of the Twin Cities ColdFusion User Group, speaking at conferences and user groups, training, writing, and blogging at http://www.12robots.com.

CFUnited session: Practical Ajax Security
Understanding Security in Adobe AIR Applications

1. Have you spoken at CFUnited in the past?

I have not. This will be my first time. I am very excited about it.

2. Why should people attend your sessions?

Security is an important topic, and, all too often, it is considered as an afterthought in the development process. My goal is to help people think about how security affects their applications and how it should be built in from the very beginning.

I will be talking about Ajax security and AIR security. Both Ajax and AIR are relatively new in the Web 2.0 (bleh) world and there are security considerations that developers may not even know exist.

3. Do you have any projects in the works that you will be revealing at CFUnited?

Maybe. Too early to be certain.

4. Besides your topic, what other sessions are you looking forward to?

The topics I am most interested in are: Mike Henke's "ColdFusion on Wheels" (I want to see what all the hype is about), Jeff Tapper's "Flex 4 for Flex 3 Developers", and Jim Priest's "Digging into the Developer Toolbox".

That said, I have actually seen several of the other presentations and I can say that Bob Silverberg's "What Your Mother Never Told You About ColdFusion 9 ORM", Daryl Banttari's "How to Read a Stack Trace", Kurt Wiersma's "Real World ColdSpring" and Shannon Hick's "Searching with Apache Solr" are all fantastic presentations and are sure to delight the audience.

5. What are some of the hot topics you'd like to see at RoundTable discussions?

Of course I always love to talk about security, but I would also like to see topics on OO, input validation, TDD, and accessibility.

6. Where can people find you at CFUnited?

Anywhere but in my room. I will be at sessions and BoFs, and I am usually in the bar well past midnight. I love to talk, so no one should hesitate to say "Hi".

7. What's the latest news with you? Has anything changed since last CFUnited?

I started grad school this year, so I have been very busy with that. I am working toward an M.S. in Information Assurance and Security. Also, I am writing a column for the Fusion Authority Quarterly Update called "Let's Talk Security" where I discuss different application security topics in greater detail than what I have in my blog posts or presentations.

8. What is unique about CFUnited?

CFUnited is HUGE! Last year was the first time I attended, and I could not believe how many people were there. I have only attended smaller conferences in the past, so it was really great to meet so many people and to see so many old friends. It was hard to make time for everyone I wanted to see, but it was also nice that there was never a lack of good company.

9. What do you like to do in your free time?

In my what?

With work, school, training, presentations, blogging, and writing, I find very little extra time for anything other than my wife (who is a full-time culinary arts student) and my two children, Elizabeth (7) and James (3).

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