During the last year I met a vibrant young Adelaide graphic artist and website enthusiast called Eli Burford. Eli now works with me although what we do in the office is often very different to each other. My work is often highly structured and often administrative in nature. Eli's work allows and even encourages freedom of expression and creativity. He seems to flourish in it.
Aside from his creative abilities, Eli is also a very smart guy. He is quick to learn, very quick at grasping new ideas and is able to process and challenge new or different ideas on the run. He's a lot of fun to have around. The reason I am writing about Eli, which I know I haven't mentioned yet, is to place some context about what I am about to say next.
Well, it's been about two weeks since Joomla! 1.6 was released into the wild and I've jumped on board to see what it is all about. Having spent lots of time with Joomla 1.0 and Joomla 1.5, I was sure this was going to be good.
Open Source Matters (OSM), who is the organisation behind Joomla, have consistently overseen and supported Joomla development and the result has been the creation of the friendliest and best CMS (content management system) in the world. Although OSM oversee and somewhat guide Joomla, the real strength of Joomla is in the multitude of talented developers around the world who put their skills and time into making Joomla what it is today.
It wouldn't be Adelaide if it wasn't for at least a few days of hot weather, and it wouldn't be Alltraders if if didn't have yet another air conditioner malfunction during the heat. We have a really dedicated team of talented graphic artists and web developers but working in 42 degrees with the conditioner broken again is getting a bit much. Over the last 24 months I reckon it has malfunctioned for about 15 to 20 weeks. For any other team, this might be too much but not for our team.
Even though it is surprising, you might be shocked if you visit the web developers during the heat. Almost to a man, they all stick to their desks and keep working while lesser beings (like the few Apple lovers) make a run for it and sook and hide. The Alltraders web developers deserve a great big pat on the back so if you get the chance, drop them a line or just drop in. I know they'll be pleased to see you.
Next door to Alltraders is a fascinating supermarket that could be said to epitomise Adelaide, if not Australia's current trend toward obesity. Alltraders have always practiced hospitality and take pride in providing food for guests when lunchtime interrupts long days of web design or web development. Although brave, we are yet to buy from the specialist store next door. The shop is called "Dai Phat" and although it probably doesn't mean what is sounds like phonetically, we take care with all we do and dying fat is something that we do our best to avoid. No matter what it means, walking past it from Alltraders to our favourite lunch spot always brings a smile to our faces.
Hear the thoughts of Adelaide Joomla enthusiast, Michael O'Loughlin. Michael's work in Adelaide centers around website and on-line solutions for businesses.