Dev Storyteller
Thoughts of practical idealistic problem solver and software engineer, Mark Freedman.
Don’t Use Cautionary Tales as an Excuse to Quit
I try to be a positive thinker. It's against human nature, and it's so easy to get caught up in the negativity and naysayers that surround us (especially these days). But something triggered a backlash reaction inside me recently, and I feel it necessary to respond.A...
read more
Setting Up a JavaScript Testing Environment in Visual Studio
I'm going to walk you through setting up your JavaScript testing environment in Visual Studio, but I'm not going to be explaining how to write Jasmine tests in this article. For that, I recommend going to the Jasmine documentation site for some good examples, or...
read more
JIT Learning
When I first entered the field of software development, in order to become a so-called expert, we needed to learn a handful of technologies. It was challenging, but it was doable. This is no longer possible. Today, we need to be able to apply JIT (just-in-time)...
read more
Handling Session and Authentication Timeouts in ASP.NET MVC
There's a lot more than meets the eye when you need to handle session and authentication timeout scenarios in ASP.NET MVC. For some reason, I expected this to be a no-brainer when I first worked on an app that needed this functionality. Turns out there several...
read more
Wrestling With the Telerik MVC Grid Control (Part 3)
In part 2 of this series on the Telerik MVC Grid control, we discussed the back-end code for supporting the master level of our grid. Here’s a list of tasks we need to take care of for the detail grid: Implementing the detail view within the grid component definition....
read more
Technical User Groups – The Tribe of Passionate Geeks
The bug got me in the mid-70s. My math teacher in junior high, Mr. Blumenfeld, introduced us to a fascinating contraption on a tall stool that appeared, at first glance, to be an adding machine of some sort. But the thing was programmable, and came with this very...
read moreRestoring Expanded Row State with Telerik’s MVC Grid Control
*** Edited on January 30, 2012 - Forgot that FireFox does not support innerText, so I replaced all references to our best friend jQuery's text() method. *** Slight detour... I know I'm behind on posting part three of my series on wresting with Telerik's MVC Grid...
read more
Wrestling With the Telerik MVC Grid Control (Part 2)
In part 1 of this series on the Telerik MVC Grid control, we discussed how to define the front-end. As a refresher, here's a list of tasks we need to account for when implementing the grid: Adding required Telerik references, etc. Implementing the view, with the grid...
read more
Wrestling With the Telerik MVC Grid Control (Part 1)
Third party controls can be a great option when building cost-effective client solutions, but there's always a learning curve that comes with it. It may cost you some significant non-billable time up-front, but will pay dividends down the line. When I first...
read more
“Stuck” In Management, Cause #4: Misdirected Loyalty
This is the next bullet point in my continuing series on how you can find yourself “stuck” in management, and how to get yourself “unstuck.” In this post, we’ll talk about why the illusion of company loyalty somehow remains, and how you can recognize if it’s real or...
read more
“Stuck” In Management, Cause #3: The Temporary Commitment
This is the next bullet point in my continuing series on how you can find yourself “stuck” in management, and how to get yourself “unstuck.” In this post, we’ll talk about how you may find yourself filling a "temporary" management role that somehow became more...
read more
“Stuck” In Management, Cause #2: Time to Climb the Corporate Ladder?
This is the next bullet point in my continuing series on how you can find yourself “stuck” in management, and how to get yourself “unstuck.” In this post, we’ll talk about how you may start convincing yourself that management is where you should be at some point in...
read more
“Stuck” in Management, Cause #1: Obligation
A few months ago, I wrote a post containing a bulleted list about how you can find yourself “stuck” in management, and how to get yourself “unstuck.” It was my most popular post, and it seems to have touched a nerve. In this post, I’ll start diving into these bullet...
read more
Taking the Leap
I’m writing a book. A cautionary tale. It won’t be finished until the final chapters play out. Not sure of the format yet. Not sure it’ll be a novel or a business book. But in order for it to be effective, it needs to be engaging. It’s been said that publicly...
read more
Returning to Development from Management
I originally wrote this article shortly before I returned to development from management. I've now been back to full-time development since 2011, so I'm living proof it's possible. And it's worth it. Around the same time, I was interviewed by Rob Conery for an episode...
read moreFairfield / Westchester Code Camp 4 (2010) Recap
I’m waaaay overdue for this posting. But I would be remiss to pass up the opportunity to thank everyone, from speakers, to organizers, to sponsors and attendees, for making this year’s code camp, on November 6th, the biggest and most successful yet. I’m not...
read moreWeb Reference vs. Service Reference
I'm learning that one of the biggest hurdles to getting back into the day-to-day development game is that a minor wrong turn can send you down a misguided path for a couple of days. If you're not coding daily, your development intuition muscle doesn't respond like it...
read more
Re-Education Action Plan – Learning Process
In my last post, I continued my saga about the re-education of a software developer by introducing the technologies I’m looking to (re)introduce myself to. In this post, I’ll talk a bit about how I learn. Everyone learns differently, so “your mileage may...
read more
Recent Comments