Unleash your inner-VBA (Plus a review of the new Silversun Pickups CD)

I’m have been a fan of VBA since its inception. I instantly saw how powerful the Office applications could be because they came with an impressively rich set of APIs, tools, and capabilities. Along with my buddies, Chris Kunicki and Charles Maxson, I started dong things with Office that I am sure even the original Office/VBA creators had not anticipated.

We weren’t alone.

There emerged an incredibly vibrant, loyal, and passionate community of Office VBA developers. I eventually started doing database development, Web development, fully-compiled language development, Exchange development, ActiveDirectory development, SQL-DMO, and the list grew. VBA was definitely my gateway drug.

That community still exists. There are still many, many, many thousands who develop in VBA every day. Today, on Office Online we have begun featuring pages to help connect with VBA devotees. The primary location of all developer content is, of course, MSDN. But, there are many VBA coders who may not consider themselves full-blown professional developers. These Office Online pages are a new way to reach out to you and help you connect with the content that can help you “skill up” and do more.

 

Also, we have way for you to show off and potentially win a little prize. Our “Office Palooza” effort is a sweepstakes-based initiative that is meant to be a bit of fun. Who care’s if you’ll never win American Idol! Showing off your VBA skills could be the kind of street-cred you really need.

Rock Thought of the Day:

I had been excited about Silversun Pickup’s new album “Swoon” ever since I played their previous two albums until I had reach the saturation point. I recall seeing them live at a local club here in Seattle, and I was blown away. It was one of the most exciting live shows I have ever seen. Great vibe. Great music. Great crowd. Great club. Great weather. It was serendipity. The new album, however, is not. I’m sorry to say that while it starts out strong, it fizzles about midway. It just doesn’t carry the intensity and strength of their previous albums. Yes—there is some level of invention here, but it doesn’t take enough risks in any category—not lyrically or vocally. Not in Brian’s guitar work, not in the keyboards (their too often overlooked aspect that makes them truly special), not in the bass lines or the percussion. My recommendation is to pass on this record and hopefully enough people will do the same. That way, they’ll come back stronger with the next album, take more chances, and ultimately reach the heights that I think are their possible destiny.

Rock On