[also posted on Elizabeth’s Blog]

Short version: it rocked!

See the photos.

Long version: 3+ days of collaboration, exchanging information, hiking, building campfires, and basically getting silly is now on my “highly recommended things to do before you die” list. Not only does a gathering like this provide you with an outlet to expand and share your knowledge on a professional level, it gives you an opportunity to relax with like-minded people and just plain have a good time. We had 12 total attendees, which made it nice to get together as a large group, but also allowed those who wanted to venture off in smaller groups to do so. There were ample opportunities to talk about technology and other subjects, and the conversations were always lively. I enjoyed the “take it as it goes” attitude we adopted, and I think it really fostered the development of professional relationships. The Wi-Fi and cell phone service was a little flaky, but I think we were all able to go with the flow, and we didn’t let it get in the way of our un-conference.

I really enjoyed Ben and Chris’s presentations on REST and regex, and they did a great job of making them easy to understand and professional. Thanks for all your hard work, guys! I also greatly enjoyed the informal discussions that came up. Some of the topics we discussed included

• trying to hire good developers & the Zend certification’s role in that
• managing client expectations through agile development
• how books introduce people to PHP and how beginners may learn pitfalls from the very beginning
• the Zend Framework and the front controllers
• simplepie.org’s RSS aggregator
• Ajax and accessibility issues
• JSON and JPSPAN
• why and how we all got into PHP
• the publishing industry
• s5
• astronomy and other related topics
• and numerous others

There were also others on our list that we didn’t get to talk about as a group, but perhaps we’ll continue those through our phpappalachia mailing list.

The weather was basically cooperative (except for the hailstorm we got caught in while hiking up to Clingman’s Dome on Day #2!) Thankfully Day #3 redeemed itself and we were able to make a return trip. We saw some amazing views although I was terrified to climb to the top of the observation tower, so I hung back near the bottom.

All in all I greatly enjoyed the mix of professional discussions with the informal attitude we adopted, and I am happy to have fostered some great PHP friendships. Heck, I even got to try some grits which I’d never had.

I think the photos really captured the spirit of the conference. I’m really looking forward to a bigger and better PHP Appalachia next year!

To me, it’s always very interesting to hear the pre-PHP stories of other PHP programmers — the days before they programmed in PHP, what they did and how they came to call themselves PHP programmers. The stories vary greatly from programmer to programmer, and almost none begin with: “I was working toward a degree in computer science ….” In fact, the more people I talk with, the more I’m convinced that the typical PHP programmer, in fact, sort of got to where they are by an odd arrangement of life circumstances we call coincidences. Almost none elected to be where they are, but nearly all enjoy the work they do, many to a great degree of passion.

Joined by Elizabeth Naramore, Chris Spruck, Randall Bollig, and James Logsdon, we discussed how we all have diverse backgrounds ranging from marine biology to organizational behavior to literature to business to early employment from job offers while in high school. I’ll let the reader decide to whom each background belongs. I think other programming communities do not have such diversity of backgrounds; I could be wrong. Yet, it seems to me that other communities have developers who started with the intention of gaining a Computer Science degree for the purpose of being a programmer. This does not seem to be the case (to me) with much of the PHP community.

Such were the conversations held in my Honda Pilot as we ascended into the Great Smoky Mountains with the intent to reach the summit of Clingman’s Dome. As I pulled into the parking lot near the summit, visibility dropped to near zero as clouds enveloped us. I opened the door to a great blast of icy wind, and though we weren’t exactly dressed for the occassion — we saw a family wearing scarves and toboggans — we proceeded to hike up the half mile trail to the summit. We couldn’t make out much of the way in front of us, so as it began to sprinkle a freezing rain, we made the decision to turn back, not knowing how far from the top we were. We determined this was a good thing, for, even as we were soaked in the rain walking back to the car, it began to hail and sleet with great force once we reached my Pilot.

Rain-soaked and cold, we proceeded down the mountain, nevertheless upbeat and, I think, happy to have shared the adventure with fellow and diverse PHPers.

How did you come to be a PHP programmer?

[Cross-posted on BenRamsey.com]

Ben Ramsey is, at this very moment, giving a presentation on REST, and you are missing it if you aren’t here.

If you are here, we seem to be getting the best internet access on the “Linksys” network. There are 5 access points above 60dB in the conference room. Randall is getting 0% packet loss to New York : 38.1/44.2/148.2ms.

For anyone curious about what our plans are for the PHP Appalachia conference, we’ve posted our schedule here on the site. Our plan is to keep things flexible, but with a pinch of structure, and a couple of formal presentations thrown in for good measure. If you’re going to be attending and you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send an email to the mailing list, or to me or Ben.

It’s getting closer - only 7 more days until PHP Appalachia. Looks like the weather will be cooperative, at least as far as they can predict today. I’m dusting off my camping gear and getting ready to head out.

I wanted to give a quick acknowledgement to our sponsors for the event, as posted by Ben on our PHP Appalachia site. We have so many sponsors, and so many door prizes to give away, a good time will definitely be had by all. Their donations are really helping our grass roots gathering come together, and we all greatly appreciate their efforts. I also want to give a quick thanks to Cal Evans who also personally donated numerous t-shirts and goodies as well.

Our rough schedule is in the final stages of completion, and besides alotting time for our presentations and lively campfire discussions, we’re also going to be setting aside time for lightning talks (in true OSCON fashion) so the attendees can take the floor for 5-10 minutes and speak about whatever’s on their mind. We’ve also of course included time for hiking, sightseeing, and simply hanging out around the campsite. I’ll be posting the schedule to the PHP Appalachia site once everything is finalized… or as finalized as we’re getting at this gathering.

Although it’s only a week away, you can still register for the event. Registration is only $15, and all attendees get a free t-shirt and free Wi-Fi while they’re at the conference. The more the merrier we say - so come join us!

Thanks to Ben, we now have an IRC channel for PHP Appalachia: Freenode- #phpappalachia. Come join us!

The time for PHP Appalachia is drawing near, but don’t let the word of expired “deadlines” keep you from signing up; there is still time to register. In fact, you can register up until the event.

The reason we had deadlines was to ensure that those reserving a campsite/cabin would be placed with the group. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that you will be placed with the group now, but if you call the campground and request a site with us, they may be able to accomodate. Regardless of where your campsite is, there will still be plenty of room for you to hang out with the group.

Register today, and don’t forget to reserve your campsite/cabin!

Everybody knows a good conference gives stuff away. But since we’re on a budget here at PHP Appalachia, we decided to make our prizes a little more “not so fabulous”. The folks at www.giftsforengineers.com (read: me) have donated some door prizes that will be given away to one random attendee per day. So, all you have to do is just show up and you’ll be in the running.

What are those “not so fabulous” prizes, you ask?

• The Geek Man Action Figure (superman, shmuperman)
• Circuitboard Tic-Tac-Toe and Coaster Set (make good use of the environment and avoid work at the same time)
• Computer Lock (keep those laptop-stealing hooligans in line!)

And the best part is, because these are random giveaways, you can be a total schmuck-slob-loser and still win something. What could be better?

Ok, listen up all you slackers out there (and you know who you are). We’ve schemed and connived our way into getting the reservations deadline extended to August 1. You can still sign up until August 1 and get the PHP Appalachia discount, but after that you’re on your own. There are still plenty of spots available, but it is first come, first served so unless you want a cabin next to the dumpsters you’d better get on it.

Cherokee/Great Smokies KOA - (800) 562-7784

For more info about the types of sites you can reserve at the campground, visit the Accommodations page.

Many of you have not noticed this important message on the “Accomodations” page. The text of the note follows:

Important! Reservations can be made beginning June 9, and should be made before July 5 if you want to ensure you are placed with the PHP Appalachia group, and that you get our discounted rate.

This means you must reserve your spot with the campground today!

Here are the steps to do this:

1. Register for PHP Appalachia. Click this button to do so:
   
2. Reserve your spot at the campground. Call the campground at (800) 562-7784 and be sure to tell them you’re with “PHP Appalachia.”