In about 10 hours a group of likeminded folks will get together for good coffee and conversations with friends and strangers. We do this once a month at the Lake Eola Panera Bread.
We have three of the top 10 largest universities in the country within striking distance and a low cost of living. We have a ton of available angel money and an eager local government. We have affordable bandwidth and office space. We have a strong creative community in part from our proximity to Universal and Disney.
Last night I actually took some time to start getting involved with the discussion over at Doterati, and then this morning, I am treated as though I am a hostile outsider, and I was told by Mark Krupinski to go and read the other blogs and comments that have shaped his comments into being so aggressive.
Apparently, everybody hates Ted Murphy. I don't. I think he's a smart guy who wants to do his job. The fact that he's associated with this community is actually a boon, because he's had several successful businesses. More than I can say for myself.
Hooray for Google Alerts, and my media habits. A few days ago, I got an email from the google (now with a new and un-improved favicon...blech). This email linked to a blog post that linked to a podcast, and that was exciting.
At DeVry University near the Mall of Millenia, tonight at 7PM, I will be presenting at the 2nd ever Orlando PHP user group meeting. David and Derek asked me to come talk about Drupal after my peanut-gallery comments during last month's framework shootout event.
My friend Jake called me a few days ago to tell me he will be teaching a User Interface Design class at Ferris State University in Grand Rapids, MI next Fall. After my congratulations, he asked me to help him pick out a textbook for his students. Here were my suggestions:
Last week, I started the discussion of programming as a form of creative expression with some of the kids at work, and Kevin pointed us to John Littler's Art and Computer Programming article. That led Eric to post a link to Paul Graham's essay on Hackers and Painters, which I gobbled up and loved.
Hooray for Google Alerts, and my media habits. A few days ago, I got an email from the google (now with a new and un-improved favicon...blech). This email linked to a blog post that linked to a podcast, and that was exciting. 