My Annual Review 2019

Here’s my annual professional review covering 2018.

Milestones

Here are my milestones from 2019. This year, I:

  • 🎉 Ported this blog from Rails to Gatsby.js. I am ecstatic about this change. Writing React and markdown, and deploying with GitHub, makes for an effortless workflow. I also open sourced the codebase. I’d love some PR’s or issues on the repo.
  • Received a challenge coin from Code Platoon for work as a volunteer. Thank you Rod! I love being a part of this community.
  • Created and administered, along with my colleague Suzanne, an internal Developer’s Survey for Hashrocket. We presented our findings (everybody really loves React and TypeScript) at Hashrocket’s Summer MiniConf.
  • Tried out working 100% remotely. I enjoyed the experience. Along the way, I learned the value of a good coworking space.
  • Doubled my Stack Overflow reputation (1,511 points this year, top 3% of the site for 2019). There are a lot of people out there who need help with their code, and I’m happy to give back. I’m coming for you, Jon Skeet!
  • Spoke at Ancient City Ruby 2019 about React.js. My preparation included some of the most challenging source diving I’ve ever done. My slides are here; video forthcoming I hope. I’m averaging one conference presentation a year, which feels right. Thanks for the opportunity to share, ACR.
  • Mentored four Code Platoon veterans. Proud to have been a part of your journey, Ben, Kyle, Christian, and Hal. Good luck out there.
  • Taught SQL three times at Code Platoon with my friend Jack Christensen.
  • Got paid by a client to write Elixir code for the first time.
  • Attended my first RubyConf with coworkers and friends old and new. Spent some one-on-one time with my programming idols.

What did I learn?

Here are some of my takeaways after another year in the programming trenches.

  • How to do faster planning
  • How to pick a good name
  • How to make social media images with ImageMagick
  • I’m highly motivated to build and ship an application of my own. At some point, a lot of programmers want to take the skills they’ve learned and build something personal and audacious, and 2019 was the year I crossed that threshold. Consulting provides me with the time and inspiration to make such an investment. Watch this space.
  • It’s better to be working with difficult technology, than a difficult team. Applies to many disciplines, including programming.
  • Elixir is a fantastic language to work on professionally. Also, an application written in any language, even a great language like Elixir, can have its edges.
  • Reading technical books consistently requires small, sustained effort every day.
  • If I drink coffee after noon, I don’t fall asleep. ☕️

Thank You

Thanks to my family and friends, everyone at Hashrocket, and my clients for another wonderful years as a programmer. And thank you for reading.

Happy New Year everyone.