The session schedule for Southwest Fox 2011 is now available. Exhibitor sessions don’t appear but will be added soon. One change you may like this year is the ability to add a session to your calendar on your laptop or smartphone: simply click the calendar icon that appears beside each session.
Dave Aring’s popular Kokopelli session scheduler application will be available soon; watch for an announcement when it’s ready.
I’m thrilled to announce that Steven Black is speaking at Southwest Fox this year. Rick, Tamar, and I have been trying to get him as a speaker for years, as we felt that with only Steve Bodnar and Steve Ellenoff, we just didn’t have enough Steves. Seriously, Steve Black is one of my favorite speakers of all time. His sessions are lively, thought-provoking, and entertaining, a killer combination. Steve hasn’t been to SWFox since 2005 due to other commitments, so he’s been sorely missed.
Steve's sessions are Looking Back: Techniques I'm Glad we Used and Niche Marketing for VFP Developers, Revisited. Both are going to be great sessions, but the Niche Marketing session is particularly timely given the state of VFP development today. Of course, this just makes the problem of deciding which sessions to attend, since I can’t possibly see them all, all the harder.
Last week, my wife Peggy and I both modeled in a fashion show fundraiser for Sofia House, a second stage shelter for women and children escaping domestic violence that Peggy used to be the Executive Director of (she now works for the United Way as Director of Community Investment). It was her first time, so she was a little nervous. Fortunately, I’d done it before.
We were both in four sets, although only one together, showing casual, business casual, and business outfits from local shops. Most of the models this year were inexperienced, so we had several practices in the weeks before the show. Things were a little rough even in the dress rehearsal the night before the show, but everyone magically pulled together on the actual night and it went without a hitch. It was likely the beer and wine we had backstage that settled the nerves.
This year’s theme was “Mamma Mia”, so all of the sets were done to ABBA tunes (I still have several running through my head). We could tell the 500 women (and a few men) in attendance were having fun because of all the smiles and singing along to the familiar songs.
Here’s the first set Peggy and I were in; she’s on the left. Everyone had to wear glasses for this set (which I normally do, so I didn’t need a fake pair like she did); I guess it made us look more business-like. I also have a wad of (fake) $50 bills in my coat pocket because the ABBA song playing was “It’s a Rich Man’s World”.
I had to do another set where I wasn’t actually modeling clothes. In case you can’t tell, we’re all wearing flippers. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know why. In addition to doing muscle poses, we also had to do the can-can together. I think this skit got the loudest reaction from the audience.
I’m not sure how much money the fashion show raised this year, but it’s was likely as least $15,000. Since Sofia House gets no government funding, everything they make comes from private donations, organizations like the United Way, and fundraising efforts from the dedicated board, making this a very worthy cause. Plus it was a ton of fun to be involved in.
I have some great news: VFP luminaries Alan Griver (aka yag) and Steven Black are coming to Southwest Fox this year! It’s been a couple of years since Alan last came and 2005 since Steve was last at the conference. This is your chance to hang out with them and find out what they’re up to today. Who knows, maybe with enough beers, Steve will re-tell the infamous Brewster McRooster tale.
Alpha Software is offering a free full copy of Alpha Five Developer to every attendee of Southwest Fox 2011, a $349 value. Alpha Five allows you to rapidly develop both web and desktop database applications. Alpha Software is exhibiting at this year’s Southwest Fox, so you’ll have a chance to meet and talk with them about their product. For more information on Alpha Five, please see their web site: http://www.alphasoftware.com/.
