Relight My Fire
I’m back.
It seems like ages since I was last typing a blog post. It reality of course, it’s been less than a month - but I’ve always found the speed at which the Blogosphere (and Internet in general) moves a little disproportionate to the rest of life anyway!
So what to write about then? I’ve drafted several posts during the last two weeks, but none of them seemed worthy of the comeback piece I was looking for. Then it occurred to me: I may never get back into a writing routine at all if I keep searching for that illusive perfect post. So I decided just to write something, and I hope that it helps me to slip gently back into my blogging groove!
As you may have gathered, I’ve been rather busy since I last wrote! I’ve been working on the beast that is Britster, created several websites for one marketing company, another site for a different marketing company, eight commercial HTML newsletter templates, a site for a paving company, developed my own digital mixing application and started writing a book. Not bad for a month away eh? 
I’ve really missed all the friends I’ve made through blogging though, but I’ve been reading all my favourite blogs via RSS so I haven’t missed out on everything that’s been going on! It’s been hard though - not having the time to comment, answer tag memes, or respond to guest blogging opportunities. On the plus side, I’ve managed to gain about a hundred new feed subscribers during my absence - thanks for your support, whoever you are!
And as I rapidly approach this blog’s six-month anniversary, I’ve begun to really appreciate everything that blogging has given me - from the friends and useful business contacts, to food for thought and raucous laughter. It’s been an exciting journey - and long may it continue to be!
What does the future hold for this blog then? Well, I’ve got loads of ideas for articles (making inspirational notes while working means that I have a long list now), and I intend to write about them on a regular basis. I’ve still got lots of paid work to do (the next month is dedicated to a core rewrite for Britster, and getting the site live on November 1st) - but I’m going to be making time for my blogging too.
Thank you to everybody who’s sent messages of encouragement, or joined my feed, or commented on posts, or simply waited for me to sort it out! Your support is truly appreciated, and I promise you that it isn’t misplaced!
Here’s to the future… 
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Glad to see you back!
Thanks Robyn. I particularly enjoyed your article about Turbo-Charging Nutrients, which rang true with much of my supplemental diet - and partially mirrored a recent post on the HDDW site.
Welcome back, Paul!
Quite the wide range of designs you’re producing there. Nice job. I’ve not given Joomla a shot yet, and notice you’re using it (took a look at the code behind one of the websites).
I guess you recommend it for CMS solutions?
Thanks David. Well done with that massive competition you ran - I was gutted to be missing out…
It’s funny you should mention Joomla. I’ve used it for the last couple of years, as my standard CMS platform. I reckon I’ve built 40 sites with it, including my own portfolio.
But the times are changing - and it feels like Joomla is slipping behind a little, especially when compared to some of the other offerings out there. It’s a shame because it’s remarkably flexible and extensible.
A redesign of my portfolio is imminent, and I’ve been looking at other CMS platforms (including a hosted solution that looks great). I was planning on writing a series of articles about the process, including one focusing on the pros and cons of each potential CMS application. What do you think - would you be interested in reading it?
I think that series would be a valuable one to have in your archives, and beneficial for many designers.
As for the competition, it had its pros and cons, and I’ll write about them soon. The winners have been picked and will be announced tomorrow.
Welcome back!
I agree with the above; a CMS comparison post would be great. I have a client who wants me to produce a custom template for his Mambo site, which is something I’m not familiar with. Should be a fun experience though!
Haven’t quite gotten your new engine online then, I see?
but of course I’d be happy to help test it once it’s up and running.
Thanks Damien! Mambo is practically the same as Joomla - so if you get stuck then feel free to ask!
Thanks for the heads up on that - I didn’t realise that they’d installed it yet! LOL…
I’m doing all the customisation work on two other domains actually, so that I don’t screw up the main installation in the process! It’s coming along nicely actually, with testing scheduled for October 8 - 14, and tweaking from October 15 - 21. I’ll drop you a mail once we’re good to go!
Good to see you back, Paul.
We’re all looking forward to seeing Britster too.
Looking forward to future posts. All the best!
Thanks mate!
Great to see you back
Can’t wait to read your posts !
My blogging come back should be soon also !
Thank you Ludovic! I look forward to your comeback too!
Back once again for the Renegade Master
Good to see you in the Virtual World once more mate, and I do hope that the new Britster doesn’t weigh you down too much!!
Speaking of your CMS Run-Down I would love to hear your comments on each of the “major players” (like the Joomla’s E107’s etc. of the world) as I’m still in the process of redesigning my site (good ol’ V6 should be live by end of October for an official launch on the 1st of November (I hope!!))
BTW where did you get the imagery for your comeback post?
All the best mate!
P
Thanks mate! Looks like there’s a lot of interest in a series of CMS reviews - so expect them soon!
The pic came from one of my fave free sources - Image*After.
Welcome back!! Yay! I feared you might’ve been gone for good
Nah… I’m like a bad smell - just when you think you’ve got rid of me, I come back unannouced and five times stronger than before!
Ahhh. Breathe deep and enjoy reaching a calmer period after such a frenzy of work.
I’m curious about your book now. It’s a bit funny - well over a month has passed since we’ve been in touch, and yet I feel we’re still on the same wavelength! I’ve been tossing around the idea of writing a short ebook. I was also recently approached by a colleague to collaborate on a manual for a high-end CMS her company is positioning themselves to publicly release. If it ever comes to pass, I’ll really enjoy learning from either of those endeavors.
Actually, the workload’s just as high - I’ve just decided to panic about it less!
I can’t talk too much about the book just yet… But I promise that I’ll post about it when I can!
So that’s another vote for CMS-related stuff then? Guess I know what my new writing theme for the next couple of months will be then!
So glad to see you back, Paul, and to see your optimistic look on blogging
+1 vote from me on CMS comparison. Curious to see which one is your favourite, if not Joomla would it be Drupal I wonder? I’m building one of my current client’s site with Drupal. I wonder if you’ll be covering eZ publish there as well - that’s the CMS released by a company I currently work for.
Hey, were those three sites, linked in a row, the ones you had to build in 3 days? Very impressive work. Look forward to your future posts and finding out more about your book. Would it be design, music or business related?
Glad to be back!
I don’t really have a favourite CMS - although I use Joomla more than any other. I think it boils down to the client and their needs!
How can I not pass judgment on eZP when you work there? LOL! I’ll try to be gentle!
There were five sites linked in a row actually - and yes, they all got built in 3 days!
The book would be design-and-slightly-business-related.
hahaha… I started reading that quote in the comment by email, and thought - what the heck? why is Paul writing about me like that… and then I realized you copied it from the eZ site
You can be as harsh as you want with eZP, I could even assist you in critiquing eZ myself
Like any CMS it has its own advantages and disadvantages. There’s no such thing as a perfect CMS.
good luck with the book!
Thanks Vivien!
Good to have you back! I know what its like, so many things you want/need to do and not enough time to do it all.
Another vote from me on the CMS stuff too!
mmm.. the book sounds intriguing, I started writing a novel a while ago but ran out of steam… hopefully you will give us some sneaky previews of the book when you can?
Cheers Tara!
Maybe we could develop a compression algorithm that would allow 32 hours to be squeezed into a 24-hour day? 
Seems like an overwhelming majority in favour of a series of CMS-related articles then!
I tried the novel-writing thing, but it’s harder than it sounds! Maybe one day - when my patience and wisdom have grown to the necessary level!
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Maybe we could develop a compression algorithm that would allow 32 hours to be squeezed into a 24-hour day?
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Paul, I’ve been working on an extreme compression algorithm to allow 72 hours to be squeezed into a 24 hour day, so far not much luck….. can only get 25 hours in
Nope - that’s not enough mate.
Have you considered implementing a form of the Multiwavelet technology? It basically removes the bits that aren’t needed from an image - so the same technique could remove bits that aren’t needed from a day (nagging from the boss, wasted lunchtimes etc). What do you think?
Welcome back Paul
See? I can be good and leave a proper comment instead of lurking *hehe* Sounds to me you are still going to be busy but perhaps with a different pace this time. Well I’m ready for Monday testday and will have most of the day along with Tuesday if that’s alright?
After next week I should have time to look into MT 4.0 [thanks again!]. I did solve some issues btw but still not the main problem. Email works, no cron job needed just a change in config file
And thanks for the quick adjustment!
Thanks Tess! You, lurk? Never… Hover silently in the background perhaps - but never lurk.
Any time you can spare to the testing will be appreciated. I’ll be sending out a group email tomorrow - so keep an eye on the spam filter!
Anything I can do to help with your MT4 endeavours will be done! It’s a useful learning excersise for me too… I’ve also got ExpressionEngine 1.6 running on another domain, so that’s available for playing/learning too if you’re interested?
No problem on the link update!
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