It’s been three weeks since John Newhoff and I attended PauseOnError and I’m still unpacking from the experience (literally and figuratively). I’ve attended a number of FileMaker DevCons in the past (now Engage Beyond), but this was my first PauseOnError and it sure did live up to its reputation! It was such a pleasure to not only meet and learn from a number of FileMaker developers that I greatly respect, but to also have a chance to kick back and get social again.

This year’s PauseOnError was held in the southern part of the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia, at the Kaplan Mitchell Retreat Center at Ramah Darom. First off, I can’t say enough about the wonderful staff at Ramah Darom. Top notch facilities, meals to quench any appetite, and enough southern charm to humor a bunch of devs during a 12-hour power outage, all set in some of the most beautiful scenery the Appalachians have to offer.

This was also my first opportunity to truly explore the Appalachian range, so I took advantage of it by riding my bike to Pause from Mt. Mitchell, near Asheville, NC. The fall colors were just starting to show during my time there, so I’m already making plans to go back another year to catch peak color season. I’m no pro-photographer, but I’ll include some of my favorite photos from my time there.

One of the many things I appreciated about Pause was the range of topics covered in the sessions. Makah Encarnacao led a discussion on UX design that really had me rethinking my ideas of “fun” UX design. I caught the tail end of Dave Sullivan’s REST API session and learned something new in just a few minutes. I thought the group discussion led by Heidi Porter, Wim Decorte, and Chris Moyer on FMS Ransomware was both reassuring and highly informative. John and I did a session on FileMaker application logging. Being that it was my first time speaking at a dev-oriented event, I thought it went rather well. There were a few other sessions I wanted to catch that happened at the same time, so I’m already looking forward to hearing about those online. I’m also including the demo file we created for the Logging session, which covers the Who/What/Why/When, and also includes a few examples of different logging tools and methods.

Not only did I have the opportunity to take part in some great sessions, the amount of knowledge gained from others in the FileMaker community is invaluable. A huge round of applause to Krissy Ferris and Martha Zink! Not only are these some incredibly smart folks, but they sure know how to make everyone feel welcome and accepted, create an environment that promotes learning while building community, and all the while, having a real good time! Certainly not an easy accomplishment!

Thanks to all that made this year’s PauseOnError possible! I’m sure to be back in the future, especially if it’s someplace where I can ride over mountains to get there.

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