Okay, 2020 didn’t quite start out the way we were expecting it. What does that mean as we move forward? There are so many countries in “lock-down”, my own parents are on a mandatory 12 week “stay at home” instruction. My niece is stuck in France on a Cruise ship, locked down in a cabin (at least now with a portal) suffering symptoms along with 20 other of her colleagues, my other daughter is under the French lockdown in the Alps where you can’t leave the house without draconian paperwork. Australia on stage 3 meaning you can go to the shops with 1 other person, but you can’t have your parents (at your home) while getting married — sorry son, hopefully next year.
In short, we are in the middle of a shit storm. Oh, and I got in trouble the other day for using “swear” words on a Facebook.
I’m not allowed to go to events (because they’re cancelled), I’m supposed to stay away from clients (unless following *strict* protocols). So what does that mean for a Technical Evangelist? in short, the same as most of you. STAY HOME, STAY SAFE. And I mean that. Someone pointed out to me today, it’s not a matter of protecting YOU, it’s all the other people you meet, you could be killing someone’s grandma!
With schools in Queensland already in Pupil Free mode, and the holidays coming up, I wanted to share a concept that a mate of mine has been working on, the “Junior Entrepreneur Program”, man I hate typing that “E” word. But seriously, if you have (or know) young people (13-22) that are bored, want something to focus on during this crazy time then check out Junior Entrepreneur. Justin Herald has rattled many cages over his career and continues to do so, his no nonsense approach on customer service and client engagement is what we should be focused on. Let’s face it, heading out of the crisis, the world is going to be a much different place, and we need to ensure the leaders of tomorrow are ready. I’m going to be doing a 1 on 1 interview with Justin in the coming weeks so be sure to check back for details on that.
In the meantime, we (DevExpress) are busy recording new content across the whole product line to help developers gear up regardless of the platform of choice. More on this in the coming weeks too.
For any company looking to review their developer services, software licences or just get a good old look at all the cools tools DevExpress provide, I am available on Zoom, Slack, Twitter, Skype, Facebook, TeamViewer or any other sharing platform you care to mention and ready and able to share my knowledge and experience. Just reach out.
For those who follow my blogs for the “healthy” stuff…. have I got some exciting news. It is three months since I finished the Garden of Vegan “6 week back to health” program and the results are mixed. I let myself down because I allowed some of the old behaviours back… NO, not the meat, but the beers, the pizza. So, April 1, my beautiful wife and I are resetting. A new six week challenge. Whilst observing the limitations that Covid-19 impose, we are going to prove that you can achieve ANYTHING whilst dealing with the challenges life throws… stay tuned for more on that this week.