SitePen has a distributed work model that allows members of its team to reside anywhere in the United States. Here at SitePen, we know that talented people do their best work in comfortable, customized environments, away from the blinding glare of fluorescent lighting, the back-breaking, $40 chair from Walmart, and the chatty Kathy who works two cubicles down and never shuts up.

As we continue to gain experience operating in this manner, we have learned that extra effort must be allocated to building community, strengthening communications, and growing together, as a whole. Virtual watercoolers only go so far, so on August 21, each and every employee of SitePen, Inc. loaded up their backups, jumped on planes in cities around the country, and traveled to the lower Klamath River for SitePen Unplugged 2007. We arrived on the river for three, fun-packed days and thanks to our friends at AT&T, there wasn’t an inkling of cell coverage for miles.

Given that we wanted to spend as much time as possible goofing off, we retained the services of Rogue Klamath River Adventures and selected the option titled “Pamper the Camper”. With tasks like pitching/striking camp, cooking, cleaning, etc. completely eliminated, we had oodles of time to pseudo-relax (pseudo because there’s always a lingering deadline just around the corner) in an atmosphere that reeked of boyish camaraderie and perhaps a smidge of tomfoolery. Bottom line: we’re like, really cool.

A very special thanks to the entire Rogue Klamath River Adventures team for a truly amazing experience and especially for getting us geeks back home in one piece!

Lately, I’ve been receiving, more and more, pleas from developers looking for ways to get around their legal departments when it comes to using open source technology for their company’s app. “The suits don’t get it.”, “My lawyer is paranoid.”, “Our legal team doesn’t want the risk!”, “Do you sell IP protection?” Um no.

Quite frankly, my heart goes out to these poor developers that have to swallow their pride and ask their peers these lame questions. How do you tell a lawyer that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about?

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This post marks the one week anniversary of the inception of the Dojo cheer squad. Though the facts are still unverified, this may well be the first ever all-male cheer squad in the history of the world. Perhaps even the universe. If not, it is the first ever all-male cheer squad in the history of the Dojo Toolkit. Go Dojo!

For the past year, SitePen has been providing Dojo training at our clients’ request and more recently we’ve seen an increase in individuals requesting open workshops. Developers who are looking for a solid training course but whose companies have neither the capacity nor the resources to hold private onsite workshops need look no further. We’re going to try out a few one and two-day workshops that will allow lone developers to gain expertise from industry leaders without fear of persecution by the person signing off on their expense reports.

So…without further ado, SitePen presents:

http://sitepen.com/services/training.php

SitePen had a fantastic year. The projects were fun and challenging, we met cool people with even cooler ideas, and while we may still be cringing from some, the lessons learned allowed for 3 gigantic, scissor steps forward!

It has been such a liberating experience to work with so many intelligent, energetic, and seriously hilarious people. Even when deadlines were looming and the stress was nearly unbearable, from hundreds (wait…thousands!) of miles apart, our team pulled together and made unbelievable things happen. I am simply in awe of what was accomplished this year and can’t wait to up the ante in 2007!

To all of SitePen’s employees and consultants, we are bound for great things and even greater rewards. Best wishes, to you and yours, for a safe and happy holiday season and to our continued success in the New Year! Cheers!