Dev day, rants etc

For those who asked what I recommend as a web platform, the basic answer is I don't. I personally use Turbogears, a python-based framework - it works really well for me, but the key thing is that pretty much any of the next-gen platforms (or should I say "current-gen") are a huge step up. Much of it comes down to the way in which you like to code - some of the frameworks work better for people who like working in text and coding, others work better for people who like wizard-based construction and auto-templates. Go experiment.

Dev day at Entrecard went really amazingly well, while the 8am session was dead that was perhaps to be expected, the rest of the sessions had plenty of people, lively discussion, and I managed to implement most of the features people suggested on the spot.

I've got to say, just before the first session I thought to myself "You're mad, why are you doing this? nobody implements features on the spot, it's just stupid", but damn if I didn't manage to pull it off.

In the end I see it as a fundamental statement about what we are - other places try and tack a shiny web2.0 appearance onto an outdated technical approach, this was as bold a statement as I knew how to make for saying "we live and breathe agile". Also, it was great fun, and we got some fantastic ideas.

Also, full credit to Mibbit for their ajax IRC client, the embedded version performed perfectly and let us provide an easy, robust chat platform without putting any load on our server.