for the RogueSheep Army.

Things are really starting to cook around here lately. We have a variety of new clients discussing fresh projects and long-term partners coming back with some exciting plans for the remainder of this year. We are also fully engaged in work on our own technology platform that is centered around automated publishing. It has been a busy year and I think I can still see January back there not too far down the timeline.

Those of you that know me, know that I hate saying no. Having to turn down excellent opportunities and slowing down work on our internal projects one to many times has finally tipped the balance. We are ready to shepherd in a new engineer in the Seattle office in the very near future. The full details and job application form are available online.

Send us your résumé if you are interested or pass the word on to anyone you know that might be a good fit. I’m really looking forward to seeing a few fresh muzzles around here.

As Chris mentioned in a previous blog, I’ve returned to the Flock, but from a new location: Long Island. Last week I began searching for office space and I started by reading Joel’s post on the subject. His article is primarily focused on leasing within the city, but it’s also chocked full of good information applicable to anyone looking for new or expansion space.

I have a few requirements to satisfy before I even consider seeing the space itself:

It must be reasonably close to where I live.
It must be near a rail station.
It must be in a good location.

I live in Farmingdale, and through experiential data gathering I have determined reasonably close is bounded by the four sided polygon having vertices at Bellmore (SW), West Babylon (SE), Melville (NE) and Hicksville (NW). I grew up in the West. I never expected to find a town named Hicksville east of the Mississippi, let alone east of NYC. At this point I must say I already prefer the southern half of the quandrangle because it’s simply easier for me to commute to and from that direction.

By and large, near a rail station shouldn’t be a problem, and with that we get easy access to the city and an additional commuting option for new hires. The LIRR has a major branch at Hicksville, a line through two parts of Farmingdale and another line along the southern edge next to Sunrise Highway. Every space I looked at on Friday was within easy walking distance of a platform.

That leaves “good location.” That’s a tough one. There’s plenty of industrial buildings or warehouses but even though it might have a cool factor, the noise from the nearby manufacturing companies using the space will be way too much. Lot’s of retails spaces too, but I don’t want the casual shopper peering into our office space, wondering what we sell. The ideal location will be an office space near several useful businesses for a busy coder: A coffee shop or two (Dunkin’ Donuts doesn’t count — although I love donuts!), good diverse take out and a book store. Something just like the center of the universe. would be perfect. In fact, I looked at space in Bellmore on Friday, and I just peeked at Bellmore Village on my way home. It intrigued me and I will be back this coming week to see exactly what it’s like.

I’ll keep you posted as the office seeking progresses!