Blue Blazes

In this episode, host J. Tower sits down with Javier Lozano, co-founder of .NET Conf and CEO of Lozanotek, a .NET-focused software consultancy based in Des Moines, Iowa. Javier is a longtime Microsoft MVP, recognized for nearly 20 years for his contributions to ASP.NET, Azure, and the global developer community.

In this episode, Javier shares the origin story of .NET Conf, which began as a small virtual event called MVC Conf 15 years ago, well before online conferences were common. He walks through how it evolved into today’s massive, three-day global launch event for the newest version of .NET, with contributions from Microsoft’s product teams and experts from around the world.

If you’ve ever tuned in to .NET Conf, or wondered what it takes to bring the .NET community together on a global scale, this episode is a must-listen.

Guest Bio: Javier Lozano is the CEO and Founder of Lozanotek, a .NET-focused software development boutique based in Des Moines, Iowa. He’s a Microsoft MVP, community leader, and co-founder of .NET Conf, the world’s largest virtual event celebrating the .NET ecosystem. With nearly two decades of experience building enterprise systems, mentoring teams, and contributing to the developer community, Javier is passionate about helping others grow, learn, and connect through technology.

In this episode, host J. Tower sits down with John Waters, his fellow Partner at Trailhead Technology Partners, to explore how AI is reshaping life as a .NET developer. They talk about the fast-evolving development ecosystem, including GitHub Copilot’s new agent mode, Microsoft.Extensions.AI and its sister packages for vector data, and the growing role of Semantic Kernel. 

John also breaks down the promise of the Model Context Protocol (MCP), explains the tradeoffs of local vs. cloud-based models, and shares practical stories of “pragmatic AI” in action—like fuzzy semantic search and warranty claim automation. The conversation wraps with a look at how AI is surfacing in .NET Aspire, where Copilot helps diagnose complex distributed systems in real time.

Guest Bio:

John Waters is a seasoned technology leader, accomplished architect, and founding partner at Trailhead Technology Partners. With decades of experience in software architecture and a career spanning the U.S. and Sweden, John has delivered innovative solutions for many different industries, including public transit, finance, and healthcare.

John was previously recognized as a Microsoft MVP three times, speaks at conferences worldwide, and is fluent in English and Swedish, and proficient in French. He is also a licensed pilot, bringing the same precision and focus to the skies as he does to software development.

In this episode, host Jonathan “J.” Tower talks with Maddy Montaquila from Microsoft’s .NET team about .NET Aspire—a tool aimed at simplifying modern cloud app development. They discuss how Aspire helps orchestrate services across languages and platforms, improves the local development experience, and introduces powerful diagnostics through OpenTelemetry and AI-powered log analysis. Maddy also shares the story behind Aspire’s creation, clears up common misconceptions, and gives a sneak peek at what’s coming in version 9.4.

Guest Bio:

Maddy Montaquila is a Senior Product Manager at Microsoft on the .NET team. Maddy has been shaping the .NET developer experience since 2018, with work spanning Xamarin, .NET MAUI, and now .NET Aspire. Her journey began as a Microsoft intern with the Xamarin team, where she discovered her passion for creating tools that help developers build modern, scalable applications. Outside of work, you’ll find Maddy singing with her band, big rav.

In this episode, host Jonathan “J.” Tower chats with Varun Vachhar from Chromatic about using Storybook to build, test, and document UI components in isolation. The conversation explores best practices for component-driven development, how visual and accessibility testing integrate into the workflow, and what’s new in Storybook 9.

Guest Bio:

Varun Vachhar is a DX engineer and generative artist focused on design systems, front-end tooling, and creative coding. He’s a core maintainer of Storybook and part of the DX team at Chromatic, where he builds tools to improve developer workflows. 

Outside of work, Varun uses tools like Canvas, SVG, and WebG to create generative art blending geometry, color, and motion. Originally from New Delhi, he now lives in Toronto.

In this episode, host Jonathan “J.” Tower chats with Steve Smith about the modular monolith, an architecture that delivers microservices‑style modularity within a single in‑process deployment. The conversation covers designing modules, leveraging in‑memory messaging for event‑driven workflows, and choosing between vertical‑slice and clean architecture patterns.

Guest Bio:

Steve Smith, or "ardalis" as he is known online, is an entrepreneur and software developer with a passion for building quality software as effectively as possible. He's a Microsoft MVP, a frequent speaker at developer conferences, an author, and a trainer who has published courses on Pluralsight and Dometrain covering DDD, SOLID, design patterns, and software architecture. Steve works with clients through his company, NimblePros. They help teams that want to avoid the trap of technical debt to deliver better software faster. 

In this episode, host Jonathan "J." Tower and his guest, Mary Grygleski, delve into the intricacies of event streaming within distributed systems. They explore the definition of event streaming, its comparison with traditional messaging techniques, and the unique features of platforms like Apache Pulsar and Kafka. The discussion highlights the synergy between AI and event streaming, the challenges of debugging distributed systems, and practical advice for newcomers looking to get started in this field.

Guest Bio:

Mary Grygleski is the Director of Emerging Technologies at Callibrity. With over 20 years of engineering experience, Mary has become a leader in developer and customer advocacy. She has worked for major companies like IBM, US Cellular, Bank of America, and Chicago Mercantile Exchange. She is Java Champion, serves as President of the Chicago Java Users Group, and is Co-Lead for AICamp’s Chicago Chapter.

In this episode, host Jonathan "J." Tower sits down with Guy Royse to explore the power of Redis, an in-memory data store designed around classic data structures. They discuss how Redis enhances application performance and simplifies architectural complexity.

The conversation extends to more advanced Redis topics, including its support for data structures like lists and sets, as well as use cases such as session storage, PubSub messaging, and event streams. They also examine Redis' evolving role as a lightweight document and vector database. Finally, they delve into persistence options, clustering and replication strategies, and best practices for managing connection limits and memory usage.

Guest Bio:

Guy Royse is a Developer Advocate at Redis. With decades of experience in software development and a passion for teaching, Guy is a familiar face in developer communities worldwide. He runs a JavaScript meetup in Ohio, has served on conference selection committees, and has even taught programming in a central Ohio prison.

In this episode, host Jonathan "J." Tower speaks with Sarah Dutkiewicz about Event Storming and how it helps teams unravel complex systems. They discuss the origins of Event Storming in Domain-Driven Design (DDD) and its effectiveness in bridging communication gaps between technical and non-technical stakeholders. Sarah explains the different types of Event Storming—big picture, process modeling, system design, and refactoring—and shares best practices for facilitating a session. They also compare Event Storming with UML and ERP modeling, highlighting its flexibility and focus on collaboration.

Guest Bio:

Sarah Dutkiewicz, known as "Sadukie," is a software developer, mentor, and technical community leader. She has extensive experience in software architecture, data solutions, and developer education. Passionate about knowledge sharing, Sarah speaks at conferences, organizes community events, and helps teams navigate complex technical challenges. She is also an advocate for improving documentation and communication in software projects.

References:

• EventStorming by Alberto Brandolini

• The EventStorming Handbook by Paul Rayner

• EventStorming.com

• 50,000 Stickies Later – Alberto Brandolini (Explore DDD 2017)

• 100,000 Stickies Later – Alberto Brandolini (Øredev 2019)

In this episode, host Jonathan "J." Tower speaks with Carey Payette about Terraform and Infrastructure as Code (IAC). They discuss the benefits of using Terraform for managing cloud infrastructure, including its declarative approach, multi-cloud capabilities, and integration with CI/CD pipelines. Carey emphasizes the importance of managing environment drift, utilizing modules for reusability, and best practices for secrets management. The discussion also touches on comparisons with Ansible, ARM templates, and Bicep, providing insights into when to use each.

Guest Bio:

Carey Payette is a Senior Software Engineer with Trillium Innovations (a Solliance partner), an ASPInsider, a member of the Progress Ninja program, a Microsoft Certified Trainer, and a Microsoft Azure MVP. Her primary focus is Cloud integration and deployment for the web, mobile, big data, AI, machine learning, and IoT spaces. Always eager to learn, you will find her tinkering regularly with various sensors, microcontrollers, programming languages, and frameworks. Carey is also a wife and Mom to three fabulous boys.

In this episode, host Jonathan "J." Tower speaks with fellow Trailhead partner John Waters about the latest features in .NET 9. They dive into the platform’s new capabilities, exploring how updates like performance enhancements, expanded platform support, and cutting-edge tooling empower developers to build scalable, high-performance, modern applications. John shares his insights on which features stand out the most and how they can be leveraged effectively in real-world scenarios. Tune in to discover how .NET 9 can elevate your software development projects.

Guest Bio:

John Waters is a seasoned technology leader, accomplished architect, and founding partner at Trailhead Technology Partners. With decades of experience in software architecture and a career spanning the U.S. and Sweden, John has delivered innovative solutions for many different industries including public transit, finance, and healthcare.

John was previously recognized as a Microsoft MVP three times, speaks at conferences worldwide, and is fluent in English, Swedish, and proficient in French. He is also a licensed pilot, bringing the same precision and focus to the skies as he does to software development.