Job ThomasI’m not a WordPress developer, I’m a WordPress site builder. I don’t develop the blocks to create a website, I use those that others have created. Those blocks are themes and plugins. Tweaking designs However, the styling and design will not always look exactly like you want. You’re happy with the majority of it, but […]
Below is a summary of my keynote at CMS Africa Summit 2017, a community summit in Africa. I love working with WordPress. I’m not a web developer, but I’ve tried a lot of different solutions for making websites. My first proper site was built with Flash, and though it was cool back then to have […]
When you listen to music, you get influenced by a lot of other musicians, but I doubt anyone has as much influence as your local bands. Especially in Belgium, where everything is only a short train ride away, I’ve looked up to several bands. I still listen to some of those musicians regularly. So which […]
The first ten days of our trip, we were in Vietnam. On the last day of 2016, we flew into Cambodia for the next half of our holiday. Start We arrived in Sihanoukville when the sun was already setting. It was New Year’s Eve, and we had no idea what to expect of this coast […]
Kim and I have family and friends all over the place. It’s great to visit them, and we love them, but it sometimes results in us exploring less than we’d like to. So we decided to go on a 3-week trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. The first ten days we spent in Vietnam, and we […]
A lot – as in a lot – of admin these days is still very document focused. One thing that always slows down the process, is the need for scanning those documents. Either I have to scan at work, or go to a copy shop, or just buy a scanner. Scanner app At least, that’s what […]
In places with a concentration of Automatticians, we gather with our families for an end-of-year party. In Cape Town, there are quite a few of us and in December we had our party at the amazing Towerbosch, the restaurant on the Knorhoek wine estate. Here are some pics of the lunch.
One aspect of our travels to Vietnam and Cambodia over the Christmas holidays was that Kim and I both struggled a lot with how cheap clothing was. If a shirt costs $1, there is no way everyone in the supply chain got a fair wage out of that, even if the cost of living is cheaper […]
One of the “Christmas gifts” that was awaiting me after being on leave for a few weeks, was my own .blog URL. As of now, you can visit my website on job.blog. Easy to remember, easy to search. No worries, jobthomas.com will still be available too. If you want to get your own .blog address, […]
Last weekend, Jetpack and WooCommerce sponsored the first WordCamp in Zimbabwe ever. My colleague, Herman, and I attended as representatives of the company, and also took a speaking slot. Below are some of the pics I took on Saturday. It’s always great attending WordCamps and other open-source conferences in Africa. People are so friendly and […]
My slides for the very first WordCamp Harare are now available. I spoke about my experience of setting up my first live WooCommerce store after having worked with WooCommerce for 2 years in testing environments.
In 2011, I met my South African wife in Belgium. Her friend Crystal was visiting the town where we both lived in late November that year. Both of them were absolutely shocked when they saw Zwarte Piet (or Black Pete). Blind spots Up until that point, I had never ever considered the racist implications of […]
Yesterday, we went to Oude Kraal for the first time. It’s a very nice place next to the Atlantic Ocean, owned by South African National Parks with great braaing spots next to the water. Stunning way to end the day. Here are some pics of the evening.
Last weekend, Kim and I went to Beaverlac, one of the best camping sites in South Africa. It’s about a two-hour drive from Cape Town – not including a dirt road that’s quite rough on our ’98 Corolla – and the perfect weekend getaway. It was the first time I tried my new (second-hand) Sigma […]
Last month, I went to Kruger National Park again. While I had been to Kruger a few times before, I had never gone up north. This time, we stayed at Shingwedzi. It was an amazing trip. There were several animals that I saw for the first time: tsessebe antelope, eland, grysbok, the very unique roan antelope (which we […]
Update: Two years ago I wrote this post about the great customer support of @Afrihost – currently, I've been overcharged, and have been waiting for 3 months for my issue to be resolved properly. This post is now getting a disclaimer that this is no longer valid. https://t.co/xzRU5FsmxK — Job Thomas (@jobtex) September 14, 2018 […]
Once a year, our entire company meets in person. Last month, 500 Automatticians travelled to Whistler, Canada, for a week of working together and having lots of fun. I went for a few hikes, did a photo tour during which we saw a black bear, drank some nice alcohol at the Whistler Beer Festival. Whistler was […]
My team consists out of people spread over three continents and several times zones. Once a year, we meet, and in 2016 we opted to go to Dublin, a city neither of us had been to before. The time together was great, and Dublin was a good scene for the event. The city has a […]
Last July, we went to Berlin with the whole Woo team. It was great staying in the heart of this beautiful city. My first time visiting Berlin was amazing; the city is vibrant, diverse, colourful. Definitely worth another visit. Highlights were taking the stairs up the Berliner Dom, seeing Protest the Hero live, and the Museum […]
Our company is getting pretty big.