Two project updates this week. A light week apparently. Perhaps open source authors were dismayed and distraught by the failing of their favorite NFL team as I was (mine is the Dolphins). Thankfully, I have come to expect disappointment from my teams - it makes life easier seeing as that is generally what they deliver. Well, on with the update...

I finally had the pleasure of attending the last 360|Flex event in Indianapolis and I have to say, this is an excellent event (see my review on InsideRIA) and I can't wait for next year's. Well, Tom and John just posted the dates and venue for the next event which will be held in San Jose (eBay and Paypal are hosting again) on March 7-10th. Tickets are already available so you can sign up now to get the lowest price possible!

However, if you are lucky enough to be coming to my RIA Unleashed : Boston event this November 13th in Waltham, MA you could win one of 2 free tickets we have for 360|Flex 2010! We have an awesome lineup of speakers and topics at this event, are giving away a PS3 Slim and tons of free books and now you could also win entrance to 360|Flex. All this for the incredibly low price of $50 for individuals or $40 for groups of 3 or more! Seriously, we have limited space, so why are you waiting?! One last note, if you choose to register now for 360|Flex (to get the low introductory price) and happen to win, don't worry, you'll be refunded the fee. So, register for both events today!

I caught a post on TechCrunch about a service called TweepML which is a new XML-based, open format for sharing groups of Twitter. They actually have a published spec for developers to use and extend if they wish. However, you can also simply use the site to create groups of users and get a link that should allow people to follow all of the suggested users with a single-click (or maybe a click or two). I thought this was a very useful idea for businesses and sites that include multiple contributors. It is also interesting, in part, because I know a lot of people just getting started on Twitter who don't know who to follow. I decided to try it out and create two lists - one of ColdFusion bloggers who are using Twitter and one of Flex bloggers. I did my best to include everyone I know (both are a subset of people I follow) but focused on those that a) have an active blog focused on the specific technology and b) actively use Twitter (so don't be offended if I didn't include you). Also, some people write about both but I decided to include them in one list or the other depending on what I perceive as their emphasis. If people find this useful I will try to keep the lists up to date, and if you have suggestions on users to add (or remove) please email me or comment on this post.

ColdFusion Bloggers
Flex Bloggers

Three new projects and one update this week in ColdFusion open source. Forgive me as my head is in the clouds today. I am suffering from both a lack of sleep and overexcitement after watching my Miami Hurricanes beat our hated arch-rival FSU last night. Its been a few years since Miami had any real national prominence in college football, so it feels good (at least today) to think we are on the right track. Plus, any day that is bad for FSU (out of the AP rankings) is a good day in my opinion. On another completely unrelated note, if you want a PS3 Slim and are planning on attending RIA Unleashed : Boston, check out our new referral contest! Anyway, pardon the interruption, back to the topic at hand.

I am excited to announce this year's referral contest for RIA Unleashed Boston. Here's how the contest works. Tell your coworkers, friends, blog readers, twitter followers to enter your name under the "Other Information" field that reads "If a current registrant referred you, please enter their name" when they register. For each referral we get with your name on it, you are entered to win a prize. The prize will be randomly drawn during the closing of RIA Unleashed on November 13th and you must be a registered attendee to win (including speakers and sponsors who choose to participate).

The grand prize is a brand new, just released Playstation 3 Slim model that retails for $299! Four second prizes will also be drawn for a copy of the "Adobe AIR 1.5 Cookbook" from O'Reilly and written by one of our speakers, David Tucker. So, what are you waiting for, start referring your friends and coworkers today.

Win a CF Dude Video Camera
In addition to our referral contest (and other giveaways at the event), Simon Free, who will be speaking at our event, is running a contest of his own. All you need to do is tell him why you think ColdFusion rocks or why you want to learn ColdFusion (in 100 words or less) and you could win a customized Flip video camera with the CF dude on it. For more details visit the site he has created for this contest at http://www.winacfdudecamera.com/.