The summer's flying by and we're seemingly standing still. But not really.

What has actually been happening is that we've been waiting for some updates on the core technologies used on this site, handling some client work (this place is a labour of love, remember?) and enjoying the cottage. Oops, strike that last part.

Another big hurdle is that we're really considering looking for a drop-shipping company to provide us with a good array of products that we can put into an e-commerce section on the site. In keeping with the concept of creating a community where folks can talk boating, share ideas and resources and, yes, even buy their parts and supplies - we're beavering away trying to get some partners in place to bring all those forks into reality.

So bear with us. It's coming!

As we beaver away on the various things we want this site to do and be (a place for boaters to connect, an aggregation of a group of boaters knowledge and buying-power, a nice place to hang-out, etc.) I took a little time out to have a look at Seth Godin's presentation at TED Talks.

 If you're not familiar with it, TED is a conference where brainiacs talk to each other about changing the world. In this installment—a bit of a time-pig at 17 minutes, but worth it—he talks about how tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big change. And that social networking groups are how we create tribes today.

So welcome to the tribe. Enjoy.

Slowly but surely, BoatHQ.ca is beginning to take shape.

On the positive front, it looks like we've nailed down the various technologies that will be the backbone of the site. The challenge has been simple but not easy: open source software that was reliable, secure, scalable and ready-for-prime-time.

We wanted members to be able to connect, communicate and share ideas and resources easily — without any technology getting in the way. Boaters come in all shapes and sizes, and they certainly aren't always technical or even necessarily computer-savvy. So we've been looking for plugins that are easy-to-use and intuitive, so users of all technical levels would be able to utilize them quickly.

 We're still working on it. Refining what we've found. But we're getting warmer.