Trading Jacks

Jan 6, 2009

There was some lively discussion at Stardust this Tuesday, where the Orlando PHP group had its monthly meeting.  The table was opened up for discussion about where the group wanted to head in the future, at which several ideas surfaced and were discussed.  

David Rogers suggested doing Pecha Kucha style presentations during group meetings.  Pecha Kucha is a technique by which a speaker creates 20 slides, each which will be shown for 20 seconds during the presentation.  Some suggestions for future presentations include talks on how PHP can be used in conjunction with other applications written in languages such as Ajax or Flex.  Derek Gallo suggested that a presentation could be done on a comparison of different frameworks (like Zend) to show the similarities and differences and to provide information on which platforms would be best used for certain purposes.

Bensan George suggested that the group take on a community project that could be contributed to by both novice and seasoned PHP programmers.  The project could be used to benefit a non-profit or not-for-profit organization and provide opportunities for interaction and collaboration within the development community.  One outlet that was discussed was to use the orlandophp.org as a platform for group projects, and Eric Marden expressed his opinion that the creation of the site could produce open-source material that could be used in the wider community.  

The evening’s main presentation was “PHP Basics”, created by Chris Chubb.  (David Rogers covered the presentation, as Chris was unable to be present.)  The talk covered Anatomy of a Web Request, PHP Syntax, Comments on Code, Variables, Language Constructs, Data Types, Data Type Conversions, Variable Scope, Constants, and Operator Precedence.  

Orlando PHP normally meets on the first Thursday of every month.  (This month was an exception due to the holiday.)  Next month, Erik Marden will be doing a Pecha Kucha style presentation on “Anatomy of a WordPress Site”.

Tags: orlando, PHP, User Groups

Tuesdays are official coworking days in Orlando.  Every Tuesday, people gather at Stardust Video and Coffee, sit at tables, and work together.  While they work, they drink coffee or tea or root beer or kombucha, or any other of the various beverages Stardust offers.  The shop is a great environment for casual coworking:  the tables are easy to work at, the wi-fi is free, and the food is excellent.

For those of you unfamiliar with “casual coworking,” it is essentially an informal gathering of professionals who would otherwise work independently.  There are some exceptions to this rule:  some people who hold day jobs come to cowork during the lunch hour.  The level of responsibility is relatively low:  you show up when you can and stay as long as you want.  Different members of the coworking group work at Stardust throughout the day, but the biggest crowd is generally during the lunch hour, when people who normally work out of an office are able to join the group.  People use the time together to collaborate, to discuss current projects, or simply to enjoy the luxury of working with and near other people.

Most of the regulars in the group are people in the tech community, but people of any profession are welcome to join.  The group usually sits on the far right side of the shop.  If you’re interested - or even just curious - the invite is open; check us out.

Stardust Video and Coffee offers an extensive range of beverages, including coffee and tea, gourmet sodas, niche ‘health-food’ drinks, hard-to-find brews, and other alcoholic drinks.  A wide selection of lunch and snack items is also offered, with vegetarian and organic options available.  Stardust is open from 10am-10pm.

Tags: coworking, orlando