By now the news of some changes to the core team of Pattern Lab is making the rounds. The Node version of Pattern Lab is forging ahead with increasing momentum from the community and an inspiring roadmap. I welcome a renewed partnership from the PHP platform. We already have some slick shared features planned. While I am excited for the future, I want to take a moment to thank the person responsible for much of my growth in the past few years, Dave Olsen.
Dave, you might not realize it, but I’ve learned a lot from you.
From you I learned to adhere to a higher degree of professionalism in the code I wrote and documented.
From you I learned to fret over the upgrade paths my users may encounter should they remain vested in my work.
From you I learned how to be prepared for a release, and how to properly communicate change.
From you I learned to embrace the right tool for the job.
From you I learned to sometimes do the simple thing when the clever one seems like a better option.
From you I learned to be firm to an ideal, balancing developer ergonomics for user convenience.
From you I learned to care about people just learning something I had achieved mastery over.
From you I learned how to long term plan an open source project - even if things don’t always go as planned.
From you I learned how to be a team player, playing midfield and running the length of the field to help wherever needed.
From you I learned to support my fellow contributor when they ask for help, for s/he is likely going through just as much bullshit as I am, and STILL choosing to contribute.
From you I learned that you always take a phone call if you can afford to.
From you I learned to separate disparate concerns at an architectural level I had not yet seen put to practice.
From you I learned to think beyond myself, my immediate concerns, and embrace the ideas of those around me. Without your early support, I would have achieved nothing. You are the embodiment of yes, and.
From you I learned what it means to even have users that care about a product I helped build. Making is a core human endeavor. And you helped me get better at the craft.
Thank you Dave.