Keeping Up with TFS 2010 Service Packs and Updates
Grant Holliday posted a really nice reference guide yesterday explaining the various Service Packs and Hotfixes that are currently available for TFS 2010 and its underlying components. This is something I had been searching for recently to ensure my own TFS installation was up-to-date. It is very thorough and highlights several aspects of the TFS infrastructure.
Thanks for putting this together Grant!
Theme Update R2
Decided to update the theme again. While the last one was pretty good, I was getting tired of just how big everything was. Hopefully this new theme sticks for a while.
Changing Roles
This week, I made the transition to a new team within my company. It's good to make a change every once in a while so that things don't get stale. I've heard it said that, as soon as you are so comfortable in your current role that you're afraid to make a change - that's when it's time to try something new. 
My new role is a bit more technical than my last and will give me more time to dig deeper into the latest .NET technologies out there. I'm also going to be doing a bit more TFS administration. I'm looking forward to seeing how TFS works "under the hood" and be able to play around with all the cool new ALM features that are getting baked into the product.
I know I've been pretty lackadaisical lately with my posts. To tell you the truth, I just wasn't getting a lot of time to play with the tools, technologies and practices that this blog is all about, and I just didn't have anything noteworthy to write about. With this new role change, I expect that will change.
Most of you have visited this blog for TFS-related content. Look for more of that (and other topics) to come!
EvoLving the Design
I decided to update the theme again. The last one was getting a bit stale, and didn't take advantage of a lot of the new WordPress features. I had been considered styling my own for some time now, but just haven't had the time. Also, why spend the time designing my own look and feel when there are so many existing designs out there.
So my look isn't original. I can deal with that. It gives me more time to spend on writing. 
Reading about HTML5
I just picked up the Lawson/Sharp book Introducing HTML5 (Voices that Matter) and, so far, I like what I've read. The book is authored by a couple of developers (Lawson and Sharp) who can relate to the struggles that the rest of us have with regards to learning a new technology, and they write about the topic with pragmatism in mind. They also lace the content with a wit that keeps you engaged and entertained in the material - a struggle sometimes when it comes to writing about language topics.
It's not often you'll find "WTF" references in a technical book.
This is the second New Riders Voices That Matter book that I've purchased and have been pleased with (the other being Jeffrey Zeldman's Designing with Web Standards). Whether its due to the author or the publisher, these books tend to do a good job presenting technical material in a fun way that makes you actually want to keep reading.
Hard to consider the idea of a page-turning technical book...
So if you're interested in finding out about this new technology that is HTML5, I'd definitely recommend the Lawson/Sharp book. Pick up a copy today.
Certified Again
Last year, I mentioned passing my first Microsoft certification exam to get certified in the .NET 3.5 Framework (exam 70-536). Earlier this month, I took one step closer to getting my web development MCPD by passing - nay, acing - exam 70-562. And with this exam completed, I can now create a fancy little logo for my accomplishment. (It's the little things...):
With any luck, I'll have the third exam under my belt in the next month and be done with it... until it's time to upgrade.