Writing HTML like it's 1993
Regarding writing HTML in fact, I've hardly written any code whatsoever in the last few weeks.
California Love
January 2005 has been a busy month. During the holidays I received and accepted an unsolicited offer from an employer in Silicon Valley; it was too good to turn down. I handed in my resignation at Critical Mass, and have since relocated to sunny California to commence work. It has been a learning experience as everything is new, but I have had an amazing amount of help from friends and family in getting started up in my new location.
Another cold winter day in Sunnyvale.
Admittedly, there are a few things I am not going to miss - namely, the lack of snow and sub-zero temperatures. In California, they say it is cold if it's under 60. My gauge is still set on "snow and ice equals cold"; so until I see some icicles, it's open season on wearing shorts year-round here.
This is not to say there aren't things to complain about in California, either; I don't live in a high-traffic area, but the US-101 freeway morning commute traffic around San Francisco seems to be one of the cliche topics of the morning news. More often than not (at least recently anyways,) there has been some sort of accident or bad weather causing congestion and backed-up traffic. I am glad I don't have to do that commute five days a week, though I can understand the attraction to living in San Francisco - it's where everything goes on.
Moving down here has probably given me a few extra grey hairs sooner than needed, but as it always does and despite my worries, things have turned out fine and are going very well. I have met a lot of interesting like-minded, talented and friendly people, and expect to meet many more. I feel I am going to have many opportunities to challenge myself and work on some crazy DHTML stuff, which I of course love doing. Many new friends, challenges and opportunities lie ahead; I think I am going to have a lot of fun here.
CSS with Eric and Molly
I had the chance to drop in on a recent presentation on CSS given by two recognised industry professionals - Eric Meyer and Molly Holzschlag. I learned some CSS2 syntax, heard some interesting theory, participated in discussion and enjoyed their presentation - it's clear that they enjoy what they do. I learned from examples, laughed at their geek humour, and had a chance to briefly talk to them afterwards. Good people.
The discussion included theory, best practices and the usual debates about separation of concerns (content and presentation.)
In what was arguably the most memorable quote I walked away from the presentation with, Eric effectively said in closing:
If you're writing HTML like Tim Berners-Lee in 1993, you're doing a good job.
Awesome.