Thank You Charlie Arehart
A couple of weeks ago I started looking at Transfer. I found myself wishing that I hadn’t missed out on Mark Mandel’s presentation to the Inland Empire ColdFusion User Group that he had given a couple of months ago. Heck I would have been thrilled to see any presentation on Transfer right then and there.
In an all-too-rare moment of clarity, I remembered that Charlie Arehart has a compendium of links to recorded Breeze/Connect presentations, including six on Transfer and, as of this writing, 231(!) on various other topics. Very nice.
I’ve been aware that this existed for quite some time, but I guess I took it for granted until I actually found myself needing it. I meant to post something back then, not only to thank Charlie but also to mention the UGTV page in case there might be a few folks out there who were unaware.
Fast forward to today. Somebody on the BACFUG mailing list asked a question about code generation. I pointed out two resources that I thought may be of use (one being Peter Farrell’s Rooibos Generator, the other being Brian Rinaldi’s Illudium PU-36 Code Generator).
Charlie followed up by mentioning that he had compiled and maintains a list of various tools (including IDEs, code generators, blogging tools, CAPTCHA tools, and more) at http://www.carehart.org/resourcelists/tools_to_consider/. This one, unlike the UGTV page, was actually news to me. I took a look and all I could think was, “holy crap”. Yes, I’m nothing if not eloquent.
Folks, this is the holy grail of “does anybody know of a tool that can do….” If it exists, it’s on this list. Not only was I suprised by how all-encompassing this list was, but it’s also remarkably up-to-date. It’s one thing to put forth the effort to compile such a list. It’s another to put forth the effort that it must take to maintain it and keep it useful and relevant.
Twice in the past two weeks I’ve been duly impressed by two of the many resources that Charlie manages. I figure that if nothing else, that deserves a public “thank you” at the very least. So, thanks, Charlie. I’m sure I speak for quite a few people when I say that all of your efforts on behalf of the community are appreciated.
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Jason Dean
You’re right. I’ve been using UGTV for a few weeks, and I have been watching several presentation. I don’t even need CSI: Miami any more. UGTV is the best TV network around. Thanks Charlie!
Charlie Arehart
Well thank you, very much, Charlie G. That was very kind of you.
If I may, I’ll point out that I spent quite a bit of time on the tools/resources list just this past weekend. It’s now up to 700+ tools/resources in over 100 categories.
I also reorganized it a bit, with the CFML-oriented resources at the top, and the tools (both CFML and other) below that. This way, those who just want to know "where can I find info about xxx in CF?" can find that first. Those wondering "what tools exist to do xxx?" will find that second.
I have plans for more improvement in the future. But in the meantime, I’ll say that feedback like this (about it and the UGTV) is most appreciated and helps keep me going. (You may be surprised to hear how very little feedback I do get. I wonder often if people really do know these things exist, so mentions like this are a big help–all with the goal to help others, of course.) Keep up your own good work, CG.