Brendon slept in this morning, so I left early with D’Arcy and headed over to the convention center to have breakfast.  After breakfast I went to Rob Howard’s presentation on building data driven web sites.  I’ll post the notes I took in another blog posting.

Yesterday, Mark D. told Brendon and myself that if we took the BizTalk mini-exam that we’d get free copies of the Sams Publishing BizTalk Server Unleashed, regardless of our scores.  Now, I’ve never seen BizTalk.  I attended 1/2 a session on beginning BizTalk on Monday and a cabana session with Mark Berry on Tuesday.  Brendon’s company uses BizTalk in their solutions, so he’s been studying (he actually already had the BizTalk book).  Anyway, I went and took the exam and apparently did well enough to get into the BizTalk/Commerce Server/Host Integration Services party at Universal Studios that evening.  I was previously unaware of the party.  I told Brendon about the party and that he should take the exam even if he already had the book.

I BEAT Brendon on the BizTalk exam!  I know I was lucky, but it happens rarely enough that when I beat Brendon at something I get to gloat a bit.  Now that I’ve gloated, Brendon says he committed to grinding me into the dirt with his score on the real BizTalk certification exam when it comes time to take it.  I’m sure he’ll do it too…  But for now, the story is that I beat Brendon at something.

After more cabana sessions, Brendon and I headed over to the BizTalk/Commerce Server/HIS party at Jimmy Buffet’s Marguritaville in Universal Studios.  Open bar, prime rib, mahi-mahi…  I think I’ve had more to eat and drink this week than ever before!  After the party, Brendon and I wander around Universal with Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch (that’s what we started calling Mark Dunn, Mark Berry, and the people from the BizTalk dev team (especially Yumay – the PM for BizTalk – she’s funky).  We watched Shrek 4D, rode the Mummy, Terminator 3D, Back to the Future (my head got bashed into the wall so many times on this ride I left with a headache).  We also indulged in some more free food.  I ate until I was ready to pop!.  Good times!

— Matt Ranlett

posted with BlogJet