I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Martin Luther King, August 28, 1963

Last month I was corresponding with a CODE Magazine reader. I've had similar conversations numerous times, only this conversation ended with a twist. The author asked:

I didn't receive the last two issues of CODE-Magazine!! We had a war in Lebanon, as you know, and now things are getting better. Can I have my latest two issues?

This e-mail floored me. The author lives in Lebanon. You see, to me, I'm really only familiar with the Lebanon-Israel conflict through the newscasts from CNN. I know people that know people in Israel and Lebanon, but never have I had something like this happen so close to me.

I consider myself fortunate to work in an industry that is pretty blind to issues of race, religion, gender, country of origin, and sexual orientation.

I run an online message board for FoxPro developers (www.foxforum.com). When users sign up, I ask them where they're from. In the last 100 or so signups, people have indicated they're from Philippines, Malaysia, Iran, United Kingdom, Serbia, Vietnam, United States, Canada, China, Russia, India, France, Costa Rica, Australia, Hungary, and the list goes on.

Working as a developer allows me to meet people from around the world. Every year Microsoft hosts an MVP summit. In my opinion, this meeting would challenge any international summit. It's like a United Nations of nerds . Attendees of the MVP Summit are definitely more interested in what's new with Microsoft Windows, Visual Studio, and Microsoft Office than race, color, and creed.

So to take from Martin Luther King's speech: I am happy I work in an industry that judges people by the merit of their work and the content of their character. You just need to be able to write good CODE and get along with others in the developer community. Now if only the world would follow suit.

Columnist News

I want to personally congratulate columnist Kevin S. Goff for his “The Bakers Dozen” article series which he started over two years ago. As of this issue, we will officially make Kevin a regular columnist for CODE Magazine. Kevin consistently delivers useful as well as high-rated content. If you haven't kept up with Kevin's efforts in CODE Magazine, I encourage you to go back and read his series online. Kevin's columns offer valuable tips that most .NET developers will benefit from.

In another issue soon, CODE Magazine will start a SQL Server column penned by Ron Talmage. Ron is highly-respected SQL Server MVP who I have had the honor of working with over the last decade. Ron will gather SQL Server content for future issues of CODE Magazine and he has already contacted a number of really cool SQL authors. I can't wait to see what they come up with. In addition, Ron just started “SQL Server Observer,” a montly newsletter in partnership with CODE Magazine. You can sign up at www.codemag.com.

While you're digging through this issue, take a moment to read our editorial section called “MVP Corner.” Here we dedicate space for Microsoft MVPs and other .NET community pundits to express their opinions in our magazine. Recent issues featured Sahil Malik and Julia Lerman, and it is a coincidence that Kevin Goff writes this month's opinion. Now it's your turn-if you have ideas for an “MVP Corner” editorial, send me an e-mail.

Thanks

Rodman

P.S. The reader finally did receive his issues. He had evacuated but his mail finally caught up with him.