Training
Currently I'm working full-time on training related activities. I'm writing this from Canberra, where I'm providing training for a government department. Next week I'll be in Manukau, New Zealand, on another government assignment.

During the time when I'm not in front of a class presenting, I'm writing or reviewing coursework, as we have new courses scheduled for release with very inflexible deadlines. It's certainly left me with much less sleep than I would prefer.

However, my efforts are quite small compared to Jacinta's efforts, which have been nothing short of amazing. Jacinta has been working harder, longer, and more effectively than myself. I'm very blessed to have such a talented business partner and wife.

Social Networking
The Canberra Institute of Technology are teaching their students Perl, and are using our Perl Training Australia course notes as a basis for their course. I arranged to drop in for a chat, and found myself the centre of attention of quite a number of academics who were all eager to learn of my ideas and opinions on a range of subjects. Quite an ego-raising experience.

The visit also confirmed that our support for SAGE-AU is being noticed, as half the group I met with were also SAGE-AU members, and recognised me from the discounts we offer to members, as well as from the mailing list and conferences.

In other social networking activities I had a number of chats with the manager of Clifton and Associate's Canberra offices, who is very clued in technically.

Canberra
Canberra is so very different to Melbourne. The shops close early. The food outlets close early. There appears to be no convenience stores or supermarkets where I'm staying, which is in the centre of town. Almost everyone is involved in the government in some way, which I suppose isn't surprising. Canberra is Australia's capital and the seat of the federal government.

One of the running jokes is that you know when you're in Canberra when you meet a nice person at a party, and when you ask "So, what do you do?", they respond with "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that." That's exactly the sort of response I've been receciving all week. While my students can tell me where they work, and general job roles (developer, sysadmin, coffee boy, etc), anything beyond that can only be couched in the most general of terms.

Course Results
It appears that all my teaching was very well received. Applause at the end of the class and an invitation to come down to the pub with the attendees is a clear sign that the course was thought of as worthwhile. Once again I received the feedback that 'it was good to have such a knowledgable trainer'. I'm a little disturbed that other organisations may use trainers that aren't experts in their field, but it appears to be a very common occurance.

A number of students have expressed a desire for me to return to give more advanced training, so I believe there'll be some requests up the management chain to do so. I'd be more than happy to return, teaching a good class is a real pleasure.