Clash of the Coders: Day 0

One of the many interesting benefits I get working for Big Nerd Ranch is the opportunity to participate in many fun and unique events. One of the bigger ones is called Clash of the Coders.

Clash of the Coders is an annual coding competition, whereby Big Nerd Ranch effectively “shuts down” for a a few days to allow developers to flex their coding muscles in to build something (anything) that is both wizardly and useful.

This years edition of “Clash” starts at 6pm tonight, Wednesday March 30th. While people are encouraged to brainstorm ideas and form teams ahead of time, no code shall be written until the event starts.

During the event we are treated to full time catering, shoulder and neck massages as well as other free-form geek activities. (I hear Christian will have his new Oculus Rift around for testing.)

While remote nerds can choose to stay remote and participate, anyone who wants to come into the office can. Last year I was at home and didn’t really get into it. This year I’m working out of the office so I’m anxious to see how it all works out.

As for my project and team, I’m still working on it. I have an idea and if need be will work on it solo but am also hosting a meeting after lunch for ‘Clash Singles’ to see if we can form some last minute teams.

At the end of Clash (Saturday, 6pm) we have a nice BBQ dinner (spouses and kids welcome) and we run a science fair of sorts, where people demo their work and answer questions. People are judged on project complexity, presentation and other factors. Bonus points are awarded if your team was interdisciplinary (mixing people of different departments) and if you were able to integrate any of the emerging technologies on our watch list. Top prize allows you to choose from list of high end geeky toys (think drones and musical instruments) with second/third prizes getting some nice Amazon gift cards.

I’ll post more as Clash gets going. If you have any questions let me know.