The SquizLog

Central Coast Work at Jelly

Working as a freelancer based at home has it's advantages. No need to commute, limited interruptions and freedom of working hours are some that come quickly to mind.

However, every now and again the absence of co-located work colleagues can be a handicap. It could be when the need to bounce an idea off another developer presents itself. On those frustrating occasions when one is trying to find the cause of a problem the presence of a fellow developer for a spot of explanatory debugging would be helpful.

More fundamentally, working alone limits the simple opportunities to enjoy those brief social interludes that can enhance the working day.

Sure, tools such as instant messaging, IRC and pastie can facilitate distributed collaboration but sometimes there simply is no substitute for face to face communication.

What's the solution? It's called Work at Jelly. What is it? With apologies for the American turn of phrase, here is what the Work at Jelly site says:

Jelly is casual coworking. We invite people to work from our home for the day. We provide chairs and sofas, wireless internet, and interesting people to talk to, collaborate with, and bounce ideas off of.

Recently several Ruby developers on the NSW Central Coast have put the idea into practice. Last Monday I played host. We even had several intrepid visitors from the Sydney "big smoke" for the day. These included Tim Lucas, who co-hosted Work at Jelly days in Sydney for a time.

So, what's the verdict? I've thoroughly enjoyed each day so far and have found them surprisingly productive. Everyone present has been keen to get on with their work. I've learnt plenty from the other participants and, most importantly, it has been lots of fun.

Bring on the next Work at Jelly day!

Save us from US Republicans!

Oh dear. I learned from the ABC just now that Sarah Palin, the woman chosen by Senator John McCain as his running mate on the Republican ticket for the upcoming US Presidential elections, once described the war in Iraq as "part of God's plan".

Hopefully enough American voters will reject this narrow "my God is better than your God" point of view!