I’ve just arrived back in the uk .. I am still a bit jet lagged .. this seems like an ideal time to catchup on all the bits and bobs for the last 16 days
I flew in to Sydney on Wednesday 9th April arriving before my hotel room was ready ..
So while that was happening, I walked around Sydney
I then had the first quasi-religious experience of this journey
Seeing the architectural marvel that is the Sydney opera house
And as a bonus over its shoulder is the toast rack aka the magnificent Sydney harbour bridge ..
Not bad for the day one morning..
The opera house is a a brilliant physical reminder while it’s stunning it took them a long time to sort out the sound..
good design and development is so much better when it’s functional and useful
My second full day was all hackathon and hanging with Umbraco people
I was roped into hosting this , and hopefully you will have seen bits and bobs on linked in ,
Day 3b was the actual event , and it featured some great talks and discussion, and my talk on data driven design and development.. hint it’s be better than being the deliver the spec-only developer .. much relieved once done nd I got my Optimus prime gag out and few giggles even if if it was just me.
I then went on a mini adventure around Australia , and I was constantly reminded of a the sense of size and epicness but in all situations the things I come back to are the smaller personal details .. the people I’ve met, past present and future.
Be open
I was lucky enough to bump into Chris Evans at the event who I met again after 10 years (at codegarden in 2015 in Odense), this led to us visiting Manly on the ferry on the Saturday after uduf and along with Sarah me we ended end up seeing some Auckland fc fans in and then he suggested maybe we go see a footie (soccer) match .. which we did ..
It reminded me of, when you plan be open to situations be open to the road less travelled. Sometimes those choices are the hard ones, sometimes they are easier but usually when you are open you get the best results .. so do not try and belied on everything, always leave some room for extensions and flexibility.
Also that match ended 2-2 Auckland should have won 5-2
Be customer focussed
I also met another Chris and his lovely team at cantina ok it’s a tiny bar, but they are busy, and I can tell why, slinging good drinks at reasonable prices.. and they are busy doing it with personality and passion.
We often forget the client as developers . They are something that others deal with while we focus on development.
I understand the thinking but if you have good clients or just as important good work, as a developer you will be better and work harder and deliver better results .. they know this at cantina ok by telling stories , making connections and delivering with new drinks and stories of the suppliers they are building repeat customers
Do good work and people come back.
Big and Little (or small and far away)
The Great Barrier Reef reminds me sometimes things just are , it’s a massive ecosystem, but actually it’s just lots of little small components and then put together it becomes something bigger
build small things well to make bigger things better
I went on a short helicopter ride, and the change in perspective is incredible .. I feel the urge here to quote ferris bueller days off .
Life move pretty fast , "If you don't stop and look around every once in awhile, you could miss it.”
Stop come up for air once in a while and make sure you understand the big picture so you don’t just get lost
Remember to marvel and celebrate things
I went to uluru .. it was special in many ways .. whether it was tshe colours , the epic epicness , the seemingly unending landscape and that feeling of being quite short.. err I mean small in the sprawl
Or the way the stars at night bent and seemed to point at the humongous monolith .. in a weird mystical way.
But then I come backs to meeting my friends
Callum , Anthony dang, jax, Kym and jax’s marvellous dad
And all the lovely new people .. who I should have taken more picture with like Sarah Mee
So I hope to see Umbraco grow, and invest in what could be a growth market.. and hopefully that means bigger events in Oceania , and a gateway to Asia (maybe even and Indian conference — Mumbai , Hyderabad.. or kerala , and bengaluru)
Thanks Koben (Cherie, pete, Kirsty, Caleb Hannah, Jake and all the others who I met for a few minutes) luminary , bump and all the other sponsors who helped make the event happen
Drop wallabies and other notes
We may be in digital but until Ai starts paying me , remember we are still in a people business.. I know we aren’t the most extrovert bunch, but people they are pretty good, so meet them interact etc.
Join and support a local Meetup . Submit a talk to a conference both near and far
lastly
Yes that’s me with a koala ( not a drop wallaby ( you had to be there))
