Ok, it is time.

For blogging in general, I have been using Wordpress (http://blog.crabrising.info). I like Wordpress and I have no quarrel with them.

But, there is something about Drupal.

Drupal appeals to the programmer in me. The problem solver that likes to break stuff, fix it and make it better.

I have ideas that outstrip what is possible with Wordpress but is just right for Drupal.

Now, finding the time to do it is another story.

It's official. I am an individual member of the Drupal Association, a not-for-profit designed to protect and promote the Drupal CMS.

You know, you should all be celebrating International Talk Like a Pirate Day. I went and got a special Drupal module for the occasion -- written by Richard of Bryght.

I hope you all enjoy!

Last weekend, I went to Drupal Camp Toronto II. Not only did I get to spend a weekend in a beautiful city (Toronto is a world-class city and it's almost a One Tank Trip-- I hope Neil Zurcher doesn't sue me for that) but I got some good insight into Drupal. I found out a few things:

• I am not the only guy named Derek that seems to think that multi-site Drupal is fun (thanks Derek)

I touched down just a little over 3 hours ago. If you don't already know, I attended the Open Source Content Management System Summit 2007 on the campus of Yahoo! in Sunnyvale, CA.

This was my first trip to California. I was going to meet some new contacts and learn about CMSes in general and more about Drupal in particular.

More about the specifics later... but now, I must sleep.

I have always wanted to be an expert at something...

This story talks about becoming an expert...

Once again, I am working on Drupal-based sites for a living. I didn't realize how much of a unique and enjoyable challenge this is. Sure, there are the necessary evils of all web development (e.g. creating cross-platform CSS and the like) but I like (1) who I am working with and (2) the tools that I get to use.

Plus, I get to do a lion's share of it from home. I knew I would need this laptop :-).

My goal is to, by the end of this year (though probably sooner) to be a pretty good source of Drupal knowledge in Northeast Ohio.