Over the years, various people have scoffed at my aspirations of political involvement. Astrologically, I am a Leo, and I fulfill that stereotype quite well, if I do say so. Leo's are typically attributed with leadership skills and a strong inclination to use them. I am no exception. I was a supervisor almost as soon as I was hired on in many of the jobs that I have held over the years. Let's say that I just... have a tendency to take over.

As of this month, I am now officially a member of the Xaraya PMC (Project Management Committee), the body responsible for maintaining and supporting the Xaraya platform and it's developer communitee. Together with Marty Vance and Chris Powis, we will be responsible for ensuring that Xaraya continues to be the most viable web platform available.

Xaraya is free and Open Source software (FOSS) licensed under the GPL. 

Stay tuned for details about the Xaraya PMC and what it will be doing to start building the community. Not all of the developers have to work on the code; some of them have to work on the bigger picture.

It is my privilege and pleasure to serve alongside my fellow committee members. I look forward to posting here about my many successes with inspiring other leadership within the Xaraya community. This incredible tool is available to give web developers what they will find missing in any other FOSS platform on the market today. Welcome home and thank you for voting!

If you have ever wished that your client had a sense of humor, you should try working for a comedian. I've spent a good portion of this year creating a website for Aaron Karo, a published comedian, called Ruminations.

Phrases like "please tell me you are joking" take on a whole new meaning in this context. When you are working on a funny website for a funny client, it is difficult to lose your sense of humor. I have often wondered what it would be like to hang out with a real comedian, because it would be like being privvy to jokes before they become part of an act. You know: the impromptu funny remarks that are the hallmark of any time spent around people who have a penchant for being entertaining.

During the course of the project, I had the distinct privilege of attending one of Karo's live performances here, in Austin. Afterwards, like an overgrown kid being sponsored by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, I got to attend the afterparty...

Hanging out with Aaron Karo fulfilled my expectations and proved to be a tremendously enjoyable experience. RTFA for more details.

What does it mean to get "Slashdotted"?

If you have been online for a decent amount of time, you probably know about the news site for geeks called Slashdot.

From this, you may surmise that getting "Slashdotted" involves getting your site linked to in an article on Slashdot, resulting in a significant increase in your site traffic.

You would be correct. Very correct.

You may also surmise that this increase in traffic results in a corresponding increase in sales/leads/etc.