I have been doing quite a bit of research to help decide which open source language would be a good choice to work in parallel with CF.

It seems that Ruby and Python are the dominant choices. I am aware of Groovy's popularity amongst the CF community, and it's justified with it's ties to Java.

However, this decision needs to be as isolated as possible from outside dependencies. By that I mean, the most portable. No requirement for a JVM or a specific platform.

I stumbled on to this article To Ruby from Python outlining the differences between the two languages. It looks pretty straight forward, and it should be. It's directly from the Ruby language site.

There's more to this for me than just core language specifics. Most will say to choose a base language then decide on a framework. I can understand that, but I need to keep one factor in mind: learning curve.

Time is of the essence, and from what I have seen, some of the frameworks out there play a large role in development time. Rails is infamous in the Ruby community, but the word on the street is that it's becoming dated. A new kid on the block, rather the 'Chairman of the Board', Sinatra is making quite an impression and gaining lots of traction. Especially, for whipping up a Proof of Concept in a timely manner.

In the Python scene, it's Django that most swear by. After checking out their website and documentation, I was ready to roll with it myself. I kept on digging, just to be sure. It seems the web.py framework is a popular choice for rapid prototyping in Python. I have also heard that dealing with dependencies in Python and distributing development environments for teams is not a pretty process.

I am sitting on the fence right now. Looking for something to push me over one side or the other.

I am reaching out to the CF community, but by no means is it limited to just that realm. I am open to all feedback and suggestions.

I have received a number of emails and some comments about my lack of involvement in the CF community lately.

I do apologize, and am hoping to make a strong return.

After spending a year taking a beating on the West Coast in a corporate environment, establishing a development department, while managing a team, and playing the role of lead developer on applications with unrealistic deadlines...I am happy to still be alive.

It was a learning experience to say the least. Fortunately, I was able to get away when I did.

I have accepted an offer from fellow Team Coldbox member, Ernst van der Linden, to join his company, BehindThe.net and partner RemuNet Services. It's more then just a new job, it's a new country and a new lifestyle.

ColdFusion has taken me from New York to Miami, and from Miami to Los Angeles. Now, it's landed me in the Netherlands. Who says its not a powerful language?

It's been a little over 2 months, and I am finally settled in my own place, and the paperwork is practically complete. I have started to get organized again and re-acquainted with my projects.

I am looking forward to the synergy between Ernst and I, and expect to be contributing quite a bit on a solo and team effort.

I have some old entries to post and a handful of new ones to come.

I also want to thank those who have sent me feedback, comments, and contributions to existing projects during my hiatus. That's the spirit that makes it all worth it, and what makes the CF community so special.