He's doing a free teleseminar about using developing and using humor in speaking. I haven't heard this particular talk before, I will be listening to it, but I can attest to his expertise on this matter. Anyone who has a vested interest in… let's say… enhancing a technical presentation to make it more interesting, would benefit greatly from what Avish has to say.

I figure it's important to note, that he's not about adding a joke or two to your presentations. He's talking adding appropriate and topical humor to presentations. He's also about teaching you to think on your feet, and respond to your audience with in-the-moment humor.

The seminar will be held Thursday, April 17th from 1:00PM EST to 2:30PM.

Find out more at Avish's various sites:

• Free Teleseminar: Making the Most of Humor
• Avish Parashar
• Simple IT Success

Written by Joe Rinehart, a quasi-popular ColdFusion blogger…

Really, quasi-popular? That seems a bit awkward not to mention inaccurate.

Joe, you're at least semi-popular in my book.

I got a call from a volunteer for Barack Obama. I listened respectfully, and then told them I was probably going to vote for John Edwards. They then asked for $150.

I know it works differently at big money level, people hedge their bets. But considering that I'm not looking for an ambassadorship, I'll save my money for a candidate I support.

Anyway... I've been writing a Gadget, and it's shockingly easy. However I'm annoyed at the prospect of translating it to a OSX Widget. It's HTML, it's JavaScript, it's CSS; a widget is HTML, a widget is JavaScript, a widget is CSS. Why the hell do I have to do any translation? This is the age of Web Standards, and SOA, I thought I would never have to work to make a basic HTML application cross platform again. Both Microsoft and Apple deserve a little finger wagging here. You're making us take a giant step backwards!

I could rewrite it as a Yahoo! Widget. That would make it cross platform. But I would have to rewrite it as XML and JavaScript. (Not as much fun as HTML and JavaScript. ) Plus, it's not like Yahoo! Widgets is lighting up the Internets.

If only there was a cross platform application engine that could present applications written in HTML and JavaScript. It would harness the ease of HTML and JavaScript development with a portable runtime. It could also package them into self contained little applications that don't need the screen real estate of an entire web browser.

Oh wait, isn't that what Apollo is supposed to be? Can't it do Flash and Flex too? Isn't it also going to package whole applications, not just nuggets of applications?

I finally get it Adobe. I was lukewarm at first. But now that I see how effective these little applications can be, how easy they are to write, and my frustration with platform issues, I totally get it now. Assuming you can leverage your "Version Penetration" for Flash into seats with Apollo, you will kick the crap out of all of those other options.

But now I want Apollo. Crap.

Oh well, my plan is to keep writing the occasional Gadget, really get the whole Ajax thing down, and be better positioned to take advantage of Apollo when it is released.

At first I was apprehensive. The last time I tried Laphroaig I didn't like it, as it tasted like suffering. But that was not the Laphroaig Quarter Cask.

This time, it's not that bad, maybe it was my older palate. Maybe it was the whole 100 years ago thing. Maybe I like the taste of peat.

I'm glad Janice is asleep though. She doesn't like when I come to bed smelling like cigar. I can't imagine her reaction to "peat moss breath."

I had house guests who promote hangovers. (Well, only one of them did that.) But I've need a couple days to recover from all of the Black Label, (and Captain Morgan's and Aberlour and egg nog) and cigars and food that were consumed.

It's about a guy who finds a philosophical master, but he's a guy who works at the gas station. But he's really wise. Then they get in a fight. But then the younger guy realizes that the older guy was right. And then this happens again like another 20 or 30 times. Then the older guy dies, and the younger guy regrets all the fighting. And then the older guy appears in a vision and shows the young guy what it is like to be dead. And then the young guy realizes that he should be nicer to his wife.

Actually wait. That does sound pretty subject to mockery. Ummm. Never mind guys.

I tend to look at my life in 5 year markers. I remember a lot about 5 years ago at 25. I remember impressions of me at 20. I have only the vaguest sense of me at 15.

I know that all of those different versions of me would not have expected me to be where I am. That's not a lament. It's just further proof that life is really hard to plot out past 5 years.

At 15:

• I was painfully single, but somehow
• I thought I would be married at 25
• I thought I would be a Psychologist
• I thought I would move away from the Philadelphia area forever
• I didn't think life was that great
• I thought High school was pretty pointless
• I figured college would be more of the same, but at least I'd be out of my parents' house

At 20:

• I was painfully single, but
• I hoped I would be married at 25
• I feared I wouldn't be able to get a real job
• I didn't care where I lived as long as I had a job
• Life was okay, but would be better once I started making real money
• That high school was pointless was a confirmed fact
• College was more of the same, but at least I was out of my parent's house.

At 25

• I was painfully single, and
• I accepted that I would always be this way (thanks to my ex's for that )
• I was a relatively successful computer geek.
• I felt like I might just accept Philadelphia as a home
• Life was better than before, but the real fun started when I made more money
• I couldn't remember almost anything about high school; except a vague suspicion that it had been uncomfortable.
• College was the best time in my life, and I wished I had lived it up a little more.

Now we come to 30

• I'm happily married
• I hope for a long, long time
• I'm still a geek.
• Hey, assface, you didn't just say something bad about Philly? Did you?
• Life is pretty great, but you know what would be greater? More money.
• I assume I went to a high school at some point
• College was the best time in my life until now. (Thanks to Janice)

I have no idea what 35 and 40 will hold. I hope I hold on to my wife, I hope I have some kids, I hope health is in there too. Past that, not much you can really plan on.

Except that more money would be nice too.

You Better Watch Out!

Oh well, hopefully for me, no one will.

This probably hit me because today was my last day of work for three weeks. I've never had a three week vacation in my life. One of the reasons I love working at Wharton is the awesome vacation benefits (5 weeks and the week between Christmas and New Years off. ) But I never take them. Part of it is I'm a bit of a workaholic, and part of it is I truly like the job. But now contemplating three weeks away.... I'm thrilled. Maybe a little scared, but truly looking forward to it.