2007 Highlights

• Mon, 07 Jan 2008 at 01:42:25 GMT
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Posting highlights of the previous year has become a blogging cliché, but this is my 5th consecutive year doing so, and it's a tradition I hope to keep. It gives me a nice record of the previous year as well as a chance to make my plans for the upcoming year public. Nothing like sharing your goals with a few thousand friends to motivate you. :-)

I devoted a lot of my time and effort to work, and I hope the results will speak for themselves in the coming year. In an effort to continue to attract top talent, we recently opened an office in New York, widely considered to be the greatest city in the world. For those familiar with New York, the office is in DUMBO, a Brooklyn neighborhood that boasts such establishments as world-famous Grimaldi's Pizzeria, Jacques Torres Chocolate, River Café, Superfine, Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, and Brooklyn Bridge Park. (I could go on.) With great colleagues, interesting and challenging work, and an awesome neighborhood, going to the office is something I look forward to every morning. (We have some extra desks if you're interested.)

Christina and I bought our first home. It's in Prospect Heights, another awesome Brooklyn neighborhood just steps from Prospect Park, where I play soccer every weekend. We're also in close proximity to Bierkraft, The Chocolate Room, Le Gamin, Gorilla Coffee, Tea Lounge, Joyce Bakeshop, Union Hall, and Tom's Restaurant. (Again, I could go on. Can you tell I love Brooklyn?)

Other highlights include:

• In February, I attended the inaugural Kiwi Foo Camp. (I was fortunate enough to be invited to the inaugural Foo Camp a few years prior, but I wasn't able to attend until the following year.) I met some interesting people and got a chance to visit New Zealand and Australia for the first time.

• In March, I unveiled a major update to my blog, including an award-winning new design by Jon Tan.

• Also in March, I disclosed a CSRF vulnerability in Amazon after a year of silence.

• In April, I participated in my first CSS Naked Day. It was a chance to show off my new design, particularly the fact that the design is more than skin deep.

• In August, I participated in the 10th and final Midnight Madness, my 5th, and we won!

• In September, OmniTI turned 10.

• In December, I organized the first PHP Advent Calendar, hopefully creating a new tradition.

I didn't blog nearly as much as I would have liked, dropping from 106 posts in 2006 to 66 posts in 2007. Hopefully I can regain my inspiration for learning and sharing what I know.

I did manage to speak at fewer conferences:

• Spoke at PHP Quebec for the third time. (15 - 16 Mar)

• Spoke at php|tek for the third time. (16 - 18 May)

• Spoke at OSCON for the fifth time. (23 - 27 Jul)

• Spoke at php|works for the fourth time. (13 - 14 Sep)

• Spoke at the Future of Web Apps for the first time. (01 - 05 Oct)

• Spoke at ZendCon for the third time. (08 - 11 Oct)

• Spoke at the DC PHP Conference for the second time. (07 - 09 Nov)

• Spoke at ApacheCon for the fourth time. (14 - 15 Nov)

I'm particularly proud of this, since I have been trying to reduce my travel time for a few years. I also gave two keynotes, including the opening keynote at the DC PHP Conference.

This time next year, I hope to include the following in my highlights:

• A Useful Open Source Project

• A Cool Web Site

• A Successful Year for OmniTI

• Another Injury-Free Year of Soccer

• More Blog Posts

• Fewer Conferences

I hope everyone has a wonderful 2008. :-)