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March 2012

1st week as PM...

on Saturday, 3rd March 2012 - 22:21

So far, so good.  It's been an incredible week of trying to get up to speed and work at a sprinting pace.  I'm thrilled with my new colleagues and co-workers and working out of the NPG office has also been pleasant - if dotted by the occasional concern that I may be making too much noise with the array of phone meetings.  That said, my new headphones (w/mic) have arrived and I'm set to start my 2nd week.

I'm especially looking forward to Drupalcon Denver coming up in two short weeks.  This is the first time that my 'real time' job coincides with my interest in all things Drupal.  When I went to the Paris Drupalcon, I was a freelance web developer working in D6.  Since then, D7 has been released, I've worked as a reviewer, and built several sites including upgrading this one to D7.  Now, we're on the verge D8.  The numbers keep building!  It's a challenge to keep up and to stay involved.  I can safely say, for the first time in two years - that I have invested interest in staying involved in the community.  I will no longer be sitting on the sidelines or outside the window looking in.  In light of this BIG change, I have finally become a member of the Drupal Association!

In other news... our family's bout with the Norovirus has passed.  Everyone including the nanny and the temp nanny has had it.  The house has been disinfected and all the sheets washed.  May it never pass this way again!

D6 modules that deserve some thanks...

on Thursday, 8th March 2012 - 23:06

Recent roll out of a website meant hunting about for some quick fixes in a hurry.  A few lightweight and very easy to use Drupal modules made my list for "Worth mentioning and giving some thanks".

String Overrides by Rob Loach - String overrides is great for quickly replacing text that is displayed by default by Drupal Core.. at least, that was my use case.  I'm sure it can also be used to change various strings on the site and can serve as a good backup if you're making major changes and are unsure as to how often a particular specific string of text shows up.

External Links by quicksketch - I needed a way to get RSS feeds to open to a new page (especially since the content would take you away from our site).  This module was quick and easy to install.  You also can enable/disable icons which will show you when there is an email address or an external link.

Lots of releases today!

on Wednesday, 14th March 2012 - 19:32

Not reporting on the wonderful site I've been a part of (in the latter stages) with bioraft.com.

No, instead - I am happy to release the Limerick Insight Meditation Centre website.  The former managers of the Sunyata Centre came to me asking to make a sister site to their current promoting Insight Meditation in Limerick, Ireland.  

In addition, the Galway Gospel Choir website (formerly in Drupal 6) has been upgraded to a new site hosted at Drupal Gardens!  There are still a few hiccups there as we're waiting for the domain name to transfer over.

Conducting interviews...

on Wednesday, 28th March 2012 - 14:49

Relax!  Just be yourself... talk and chances are the interviewer is as nervous as you may be!  That said, I came across a quick article and I'd love to post it here - ALWAYS send a Thank You note (preferably email!)  The reasons are pretty sound.  I've currently got about 25 people on my list to be interviewed and generally the people I interview get access to my email address.  Even if they don't, they have access to our jobs email address.  After each interaction, if a person still wants to be considered - they should follow up with a Thank you and how they were happy to hear x,y,z, and how the position would better fulfill their lives.  Knowing how keen a person is to get the job adds to my excitement at pulling them to the next round!  So far, only a few people have responded with such enthusiasm. 

I went around in circles...

on Thursday, 29th March 2012 - 20:35

Core mentoring, and xjm's guide to patch review

I just wanted to copy a link to somewhere so that I can read and use this later.  While doing that, i had the thought - can't I add a rich snippet (facebook like) to my blogsite?!  Alas, the Drupal module that would allow for that has yet to have a stable D7 release!  But it was  good thought, and cost me 30 minutes of hunting around and reading before I came to that conclusion. (Facebook Style Micropublisher module)

Cutting fingernails...

on Thursday, 29th March 2012 - 21:34

As usual, its been awhile.  Between K-man's recovery, changing jobs, and travel arrangements... I have been busy.  The good news is that there were no repeated seizures!  The bad news, my little man is growing day by day and sometimes it feels like its happening too fast!  He's finally standing and walking while holding an adult hand.  He has definitely graduated from cruising but finds it faster to get about on his hands and knees.

Today I had to practically assault him to cut his nails!  He cried and cried and although I had given him the nail cutter for a few minutes - he was adamant that I was inflicting some sort of terrible punishment on him.  The good news is that soon after his bath, his nails cut, and his annoyance ceased with a good bottle of milk - he fell into a deep deep sleep.  Finally, I can relax!

I think it's really important to let your child be frustrated.  I was reading Pamela Drucker's Bringing up Bébé and she puts a lot of the common sense we feel into a good context.  Children need to have boundaries from time to time in order to establish their own responses.  If he's going to be terribly upset that I'm cutting his nails, and I stop - then how will he be one day when he's upset about something else?  As human beings we are constantly determining where our wills end and the rest of the world begins.  The sooner the better that he understand that when Mommy says 'No', she means it.  The super bad news, I just have to wait two or three more days to repeat the process as his nails tend to grow very quickly.  It's bad news because I find it incredibly hard to listen to him wail and cry.  The good news, I'll have another opportunity to teach him a lesson in frustration.

With so many spoilt kids out there, lets see how mine fares!