Things I Learned at Prairie Dev Con 2011

I attended Prairie Development Conference this year in Regina. It definitely qualifies as a "hoot". 167 programmers, web developers, and nerds were in attendance. Here is what I learned:

1. It's cool to use Twitter to ask questions during class sessions.
2. The quirky, quasi-antisocial stereotype of techies actually exists. (e.g., Don't ask two guys who happen to look alike if they are brothers...)
3. I am a "web dev".
4. Programmers love chicken wings.
5. HTML5 is the miracle the web has been praying for.
6. There are other people out there like me who think that talking about code is fun.
7. Microsoft might be a big scary monster, but it can also be helpful, and even innovative. (The folks at Microsoft are investing millions of dollars into developing HTML5. Needless to say, this "web dev" is happy.)
8. According to David Alpert, our front-to-back approach to web planning gets an A+. (Don't start with databases; they only store data, not feelings. Always design with the end user in mind.)
9. In the world of web development, I'm still very much a padawan. As much as I've learned, I'm still just a Marshwiggle wandering in the Wild Lands of the North.