I [Jason] shipped the March "Managed Space" column for .NET Developers Journal yesterday. It was one of he hardest pieces I've written relative to the word count but I think it turned out well. Along the way I spent a lot of time thinking about what a managed platform should really do - my views of the CLI have changed quite a bit as a result.
[Managed Space]

Jason is hunting for the Zen of managed code.  Sigh...I continue to use "Zen" analogies in my presentations, and have for the last several years.  If you've seen me present you've heard such collectable nuggets as "Just grok the zen of it...you can look up the rest" and "Spend more time focused on getting it and less time sweating minutia" as well as such top ten Zen hits as

"XML is a bowl...it doesn't make judgements about what you put into it." 

Not quite sure what I meant by that one, but it sounds like a Zen Koan and it's in my PowerPoint notes pane. ;)

Anyway...My own personal hunt for Zen is why this weblog is also available via http://www.computerzen.com

I just put up a document outlining my tips for a Successful Technical Presentation (with many Microsoft specific tips).  I'm pretty happy with it and I think it provides a lot of good information.  Please take a look!

Stickies for Windows. Stickie-note desktop applications aren't anything new. But I think Stickies for Windows is worth a mention anyhow, seeing as it's written in C# and licensed as freeware. Now, I don't assume an application is going to be good just because it's written in C#. I am finding, though, that I am a lot more willing to try out random utilities written in one of the .NET languages than otherwise. ... [Larkware News]

This IS a cool program.  I use the "Official POST-IT Notes" version, but I really like Stickies' understated interface better.  I'm going to give it a whirl. 

BUG: Stickies doesn't understand multiple monitors/negative coordinates.  I've moved my stickies to the left monitor (-coord space) and now they are stuck, and I can't move them back! :)

Take note of the Debugger.IsAttached property to find out whether the code is running in debugger or not.

                  if( System.Diagnostics.Debugger.IsAttached )
                  {
                        // Do special things (give more info to the development user)
                        Console.WriteLine("Yes, running in debugger");                  
                  }
                  else
                  {
                        Console.WriteLine("Not running in debugger");
                  }

System.Data.dll uses the above feature to debug Stored procedures.  Opens a memory mapped file for enabling debugging of sprocs. It issues sp_sdidebug which is used to turn on or off TSQL debugging.

Disclaimer:
The code above shows only the features of .NET and in no way suggest/dictates/advices the usage of this particular feature.

I'm too tired to write more than a few lines, but I thank you all for your kind thoughts, on this, my birthday and the beginning of the last year of my twenties. 

No doubt it's all over soon since after this, 30, and death, lay around the corner.

Yep, my twenties were a blur, people, and somewhere in there I gained a wife, and a whole pile of in-laws, cousins, sisters, brothers, a few bozos, and I must say, I've done well. ;) 

I've squeezed my 4-year Bachelors of Software Engineering into only 11 years (!) and finally there's a light at the end of the tunnel.  I should graduate this June with a decade of full time software work under my belt and a freshly minted piece of B.S. by my side.  That will be a nice way to begin my 30s. 

My 20's were punctuated with (in no particular order):

• Getting married to a fabulous woman, and going to Zimbabwe for 3 weeks to meet her Parents, ask their approval and offer them 'lobola' - a bride gift
• Being diagnosed with Type 1 Insulin Dependant Diabetes and being hooked to an Insulin Pump 24 hours a day
• Giving Technical Presentations in Germany, London, Singapore and Malaysia
• Going on a 14-city roadshow with Microsoft during the .COM years
• Watching my Dad retire from the Portland Fire Department after 30 years as my younger brother begins his first year as a Fire Fighter
• 9/11 - I remember it like my Dad remembers the moment Kennedy was shot
• Selling Don Box his first Apple Newton while I worked at Incredible Universe, went to school at night and wrote 'C' code on Windows 3.1 even later at night
• Creating a successful shareware product, marketing it, selling it, and finally selling the company and buying a house
• Doing Standup Comedy at a few local open mikes
• Working for a startup in California and watching it disintegrate
• Writing 'C', the C++, then OWL, then VB3, then C++/MFC, then 16 bits became 32 and all my ints changed, then COM, then VB5, then VB6, then C++ again, then Java, then C#, and then C again (on a PalmPilot).

It's been a whirlwind decade, and I've gotta say, I REALLY didn't see any of the last 10 years coming!  But, I suppose that's the curse, right: "May you live in interesting times."