EllisLab is hiring an ExpressionEngine Technical Support Specialist. I won’t bore you with the job specifics (you can already follow a link and are literate) but I will say that 3 out of the 4 people doing development started in the support team (the forth fourth is Rick… who apparently founded the company or something), as well as the Director of Community Services.  I’ll also tell you that its fun, the EllisLab staff are awesome, and working on the product is rewarding.  If you are a CodeIgniter user and thinking about it, drop me a line, I’d be happy to answer questions.  The truth is, aptitude and attitude are universally more important then experience (although, that goes a long way to help). Its a part-time position, so you can get your foot in the door, and still keep freelancing if you wish.

Thank you for your brave and selfless sacrifice. It means more to me, Canada and the world then we usually say.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae

What a fun holiday surprise!  Linux Pro Magazine has a wonderful article in its December issue called Smooth Solution: BambooInvoice web-based invoicing solution, which is (not surprisingly) an article about one users experience installing and using BambooInvoice.  Its wonderfully satisfying to see the popularity of Bamboo steadily climb - makes me feel like I’m on the right track.

Thank you to the author, Dmitri Popov.  Your article really expressed what I try to make BambooInvoice;  simple, uncomplicated, uncluttered.  Also thanks to Linux Magazine, who have made the article freely available as a PDF online (but go buy an issue anyhow!).  I hope this exposes many more people to Bamboo, and the article was certainly written in a way that will facilitate new users to come aboard.  Dmitri walks through setting up a host, configuring Bamboo, and setting up your first client, as well as brief introductions to the process of invoice creation and reports (which I’m proud to hear he reports as “mostly self explanatory”).

I was also very pleased to read the final words of the article:

...the lack of a proper system in place can seriously disrupt your daily work and make the process of running your own business rather frustrating.  BambooInvoice helps you avoid that by giving you simple yet effective tools for generating invoice and keeping tabs on them.

This is exactly why I developed Bamboo in the first place.  The next version will be ready to go soon.  Most of the changes are already made, and while they are mostly compatibility changes and UI adjustments, there are a few nice things in there that I think most people will welcome and enjoy.  I’m also proud to say that the number of languages Bamboo is able to support is steadily growing, and it looks like Indonesian and Danish will be added shortly.

The project itself will continue to grow, as every few weeks I find new things that I’d like to see myself in a program like Bamboo.  Additionally, as more and more coders are picking it up, it means that the number of people offering suggestions, enhancements and code is growing.  It looks like very shortly Bamboo will hit “critical mass”, and become a self-sustaining project with a vibrant community and dedicated users.  To all Bamboo users - thank you; and if you have a need to track invoices and haven’t yet checked it out, please consider giving it a shot!