For the last 5 years, I was wearing my PairCoaching.net t-shirt at all the conferences I ‘m  going (as a speaker or participant). At every conference there are at least a few people asking me what PairCoaching means.

Some think the logo is about me coaching pair’s (which is logic as I do a lot of things with my father, who does that kind of work. Others think it is about me and my partner coaching people together, which is logic as we have presented together.)

It always ends in a talk about paircoaching and sometimes a few more people willing to try out to do more pairwork. Mission accomplished…

At XP2010, I wore a shirt with burned wholes in it. I received a lot of questions about that.

The shirt is publicity about the talk I’m doing at Agile2010:

What I learned from burning down my house.

When people hear about the talk, they think it is a fake story. I wear the shirt to make people aware it is a real story. 1st August 1991, I (accidently) burned down the house I was living in.
I learned a lot in the next year about myself, my parents, saw the difference between so called friend and real friends etc…

Our talk at the conference is about the book “The sense of urgency”, the story about burning down my house is our way to tell it.

If you compare a picture of me wearing the real fire shirt I wore it at xpDay Benelux last November and the way I looked in 1991, you see another difference.

I had long hair in 1991. Sometimes dedicated actors become really fat or thin or grow long hair for a movie.  I decided to do the same and let my hair grow for my talk at the conference in Orlando. It won’t be that long as in 1991, but should give you an idea.

(Please hope with me, it won’t hurt me at my current client.)

Every year there is some kind of good cause at the conference and the agile alliance hopes people will give some of their money to.

I decided I will have my hair cut at the conference (sometime after my talk).
People can cut a part of my hair if they donating money. (Something like 5 dollars for each time you cut a piece of hair and  10 if you want to take it with you;-) …)
Update: I have contacted the Agile 2010 organizers,  not only have they acceped my proposition; Bob Payne invented a cool name for it: “Locks of Love”