Red Squirrel's Nuts

Ward and the Empty Cup

Writing a book for aspiring software developers means I end up having a lot of interactions with all kinds of newbies. Some are just unbelievably good, and I was just talking to one of these high potential newbs a couple weeks ago about what sounded like an epic, though embarrassing, experience.

This newb was at the 2011 Ruby on Ales conference in Bend, Orgeon, and being a Ward Cunningham fan, he asked me to make an introduction. (Ward wrote the foreword to my book, and lives in Oregon, so the newb figured I could make it happen.) This dedicated newb wanted to go on a sort of pilgrimage to meet the inventor of the wiki and the father of extreme programming in the hope that he could learn a few things.

So I made the introduction, and the newb and Ward ended up meeting at a pub. The newb got there a little late but Ward was waiting patiently. As he walked up to Ward, it struck him how perfectly Ward poured a glass of what turned out to be Ward’s favorite local beer. It seemed like a strange little ritual. Anyway, after the newb was a little ways into his PBR, the conversation turned to test-driven development, so the newb yanked out his laptop to show Ward a test framework he’d been developing, excitedly pointing out that he was using the framework itself to test-drive the framework!

The conversation eventually turned to wikis. The newb was a huge Julian Assange fan, and couldn’t resist interrupting Ward to start extolling the awesome power of WikiLeaks, and how he believed it was behind several of the recent revolutions in the Middle East. Ward’s into WikiLeaks too, so he listened patiently while the newb told him all about the other ways that technology could be used to force government transparency.

Finally, the newb asked Ward about design patterns. Ward told him a story of the days when he and Kent Beck were mining Smalltalk-80 for patterns at Tektronix. The newb listened for a bit, but once Ward mentioned Java, the noob jumped all over how the popular patterns in Java are totally unnecessary in Ruby. He ranted about the power of Ruby, which frees up developers to think about the problem domain, rather than focusing on the escape from the Java straightjacket.

When the newb’s rant was over, Ward asked the newb if he’d ever tried the local beer that Ward was drinking. Being from Boston, the noob hadn’t, so Ward graciously bought the next round. The bartender brought out new glasses and set the bottles beside them. Ward picked up the newb’s bottle and performed one of his signature perfect pours. But this time he kept pouring. And pouring. Until that excellent beer spilled over, and onto the bar. The newb stood up surprised, staring at Ward in shock. “Dude! Stop pouring! Can’t you see the glass is full and overflowing?”

And with those words, Ward gently handed the bottle back to the bartender, smiled at the newb and said, “If you meet me with a glass that is already full, how can you expect me to give you something to drink?”

[I made up this story for my Scottish Ruby Conference keynote. I’m riffing off of a story I used in my book. I was doing some end-of-year cleaning and figured I should write it down somewhere before I threw away my notes.]

Recapping an Epic 2011

A Tour

I pulled a Corey Haines, left Chicago for a month, and went on a journeyman tour. I incorporated my family into the journey. This is what happens when you bring an energetic nine-year-old to a pair programming session:

Here are some thoughts I put together along the way:

Africa

I was invited to give the opening talk at RubyFuza in Cape Town, South Africa. Eventually I wandered out of the hotel and up a hill:

A Keynote

I had the astonishing privilidge to give the opening keynote at the 2011 Scottish Ruby Conference.

New Vision

I bought a $2000 Groupon for LASIK. I had the procedure and went from near blindness to better than 20/20. It still amazes me daily.

A Summit

My wife and I climbed Mt. Rainier. As someone who grew up near Seattle and visits there often, it’s always been a dream of mine to climb that beautiful beast.

An Exit

Groupon acquired Obtiva. I worked at Obtiva since I left ThoughtWorks in 2006, and became a partner in 2007. I’ve since worked hard to port our apprenticeship program and geekfest into the Groupon culture. It’s been amazing to see the Obtiva team make an even bigger impact at Chicago’s hottest tech company.

New Adventures

Joining Groupon full-time has been intense(ly awesome). I’ve had a lot of fun flexing some new leadership muscles, but also really enjoying stretching Redis in some interesting directions. (Currently prepping a 48-node Redis cluster.)

I also joined the CodeAcademy team as lead mentor. Watching Neal, Mike, and Jeff hustle through their first quarter was inspiring. I feel lucky to be a part of this phenomenon.

A Death

I lost my paternal grandfather to a stroke this year. He was a blessing to me.

An Angel

I have had the good fortune to recieve equity in 3 different companies over the last 4 years without having to actually pay anything. Obtiva, Mad Mimi, and Code Academy. This year I finally ponied up and made a financial investment in a hot Chicago startup. (Will say more when I can.) I’m looking forward to more angel investing in the years ahead.

2012

I have no resolutions, goals, or plans for the coming year. I am preparing for nothing, so that I will be ready for anything.

Tidbits from the Apprenticeship Panel

Adam Goucher asked me to blog about my contributions to the apprenticeship panel at SCNA 2011. Here’s my brain dump of what I can remember:

The a-hole hat. One topic that came up was how important it was to be an a-hole and hold your apprentices’ feet to the proverbial fire. This question resonated with me because of my background. I was trained and educated as a child and family therapist, so my natural tendency is to encourage, comfort, and sometimes, coddle. There are times when these aren’t helpful to apprentices, and instead, they need honest, sometimes brutal, feedback. We’ve evolved the Obtiva/Groupon apprenticeship program to include explicit opportunities for mentors and leaders to wear the a-hole hat. They’re called milestones. Every 2 months (of the 6 month program) the apprentice demos their pet project, then we code review it, and they present for 5-15 minutes on something they’ve learned. Then, we have a retrospective on the 2 months, providing feedback to the leaders and the apprentice about how we can improve the next 2 months. Finally, we make a decision, one of 3 options: a) the apprentice is dismissed, b) the apprentice is hired, and c) the apprentice continues. At the final milestone, the options are limited to a & b. This structure helps me put on my a-hole hat.

Just do it. (Don’t propose it.) This was actually a point that Uncle Bob and Ken Auer made together. Some people asked about how to go about starting an apprenticeship program. Please, don’t propose an apprenticeship program. Don’t overthink it. Don’t spend tons of time on curriculum and detailed plans. Plans and proposals invite committees and require consensus. Instead, find an apprentice, or if an apprentice found you, accept them. Then just get started. This is how you do pretty much anything new. Just do the thing. Keep doing it until you determine it’s a bad idea, or if it works, then instead of a presenting a proposal, you’re presenting a success story. In terms of how to start the program, it’s incredibly context-dependent, so there’s no single answer. The only mandatory practices I can imagine an “apprenticeship program” should include is frequent feedback loops and retrospectives so that you can continually adapt and improve. The foundation of an apprenticeship program is caring like crazy about the apprentice’s progress.

A dedicated mentor. Our senior engineers volunteer to take on an apprentice. The apprentice joins their team, pairs with them and their teammates, and meets with their mentor weekly for progress updates. The apprentice does not shadow their mentor constantly, and instead, enters the normal flow of the teams’ development process. There may be a week where the mentor is travelling, where the check-in is the only face-time the apprentice gets. There may be weeks where the apprentice pair programs with their mentor all week. The apprentice/mentor check-in is the heart beat that keeps an apprenticeship on track.

Learning is more important than teaching. This didn’t come up at SCNA, but I can’t not mention it. An apprenticeship is about learning, not teaching. If an apprenticeship emphasizes teaching, apprentices will become passive. Passive apprentices won’t have the learning momentum to keep them ramping up to the next level beyond their apprenticeship program. Cultivate an attitude of curiosity. Model this behavior by exposing your own ignorance when you’re working with your apprentice. Show them how you learn. Show them that the learning never ends.

That’s all I can remember right now. (I’m tired.) If anyone from SCNA remembers anything noteworthy that I’ve forgotten, please comment. Also, feel free to post questions!

“Walden” by Henry David Thoreau

The following is a quote dump from Walden, a book that inspires me to step away, seek simplicity, and feel comfortable with solitude.

Actually, the laboring man has not leisure for a true integrity day by day; he cannot afford to sustain the manliest relations to men; his labor would be depreciated in the market. He has no time to be any thing but a machine. How can he remember well his ignorance — which his growth requires — who has so often to use his knowledge? p. 4

The mass of men lead quiet lives of desperation. p. 6

But man’s capacities have never been measured; nor are we to judge of what he can do by any precedents, so little has been tried. p. 8

Most of the luxuries, and many of the so called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hinderances to the elevation of mankind. p. 12

The life which men praise and regard as successful is but one kind. Why should we exaggerate any one kind at the expense of the others? p. 17

I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes. p. 21

Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new. p. 23

In the long run men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, though they should fail immediately, they had better aim at something high. p. 24

While civilization has been improving our houses, it has not equally improved the men who are to inhabit them. p. 31

Most men appear never to have considered what a house is, and are actually though needlessly poor all their lives because they think that they must have such a one as their neighbors have. p. 32

Those conveniences which the student requires at Cambridge or elsewhere cost him or somebody else ten times as great a sacrifice of life as they would with proper management on both sides. Those things for which the most money is demanded are never the things which the student most wants. Tuition, for instance, is an important item in the term bill, while for the far more valuable education which he gets by associating with the most cultivated of his contemporaries no charge is made. p. 46

I have learned that the swiftest traveller is he that goes afoot. p. 48

The spending the best part of one’s life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of it, reminds me of the Englishman who went to India to make a fortune first, in order that he might return to England and live the life of a poet. He should have gone up garret at once. “What!” exclaim a million Irishmen starting up from all the shanties in the land, “is not this railroad which we have built a good thing?” Yes, I answer, comparatively good, that is, you might have done worse; but I wish, as you are brothers of mine, that you could have spent your time better than digging in the dirt. p. 50

I was more independent than any farmer in Concord, for I was not anchored to a house or farm, but could follow the bent of my genius, which is a very crooked one, every moment. p. 51

For more than five years I maintained myself thus solely by the labor of my hands, and I found, that by working about six weeks in a year, I could meet all the expenses of living … for my greatest skill has been to want but little. p. 64

I would not have any one adopt my mode of living on any account; for, beside that before he has fairly learned it I may have found out another for myself, I desire that there may be as many different persons in the world as possible; but I would have each one be very careful to find out and pursue his own way, and not his father’s or his mother’s or his neighbor’s instead. The youth may build or plant or sail, only let him not be hindered from doing that which he tells me he would like to do. It is only by a mathematical point that we are wise, as the sailor or the fugitive slave keeps the pole-star in his eye; but that is sufficient guidance for all our life. We may not arrive at our port within a calculable period, but we would preserve the true course. p. 66

I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor. p. 85

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. p. 85

Be it life or death, we crave only reality. If we are really dying, let us hear the rattle in our throats and feel cold in our extremities; if we are alive, let us go about our business. p. 92

Books must be read as deliberately and reservedly as they were written. p. 96

How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book. p. 102

It is time that villages were universities, and their elder inhabitants the fellows of universities, with leisure — if they are indeed so well off — to pursue liberal studies the rest of their lives. p. 103

Instead of singing like the birds, I silently smiled at my incessant good fortune. p. 106

Follow your genius closely enough, and it will not fail to show you a fresh prospect every hour. p. 106

Every path but your own is the path of fate. Keep on your own track, then. p. 112

It is surprising and memorable, as well as valuable experience, to be lost in the woods any time. p. 161

Not till we are lost, in other words, not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations. p. 162

The virtues of a superior man are like the wind; the virtues of a common man are like the grass; the grass, when the wind passes over it, bends. p. 163

Give me the poverty that enjoys true wealth. p. 185

I did not use tea, nor coffee, nor butter, nor milk, nor fresh meat, and so did not have to work to get them; again, as I did not work hard, I did not have to eat hard, and it cost me but a trifle for my food. p. 193

[Footnote] Our ignorance of our own financial lives is the greatest threat to our independence. p. 194

Rise free from care before the dawn and seek adventures. p. 195

A farmer, a hunter, a soldier, a reporter, even a philosopher, may be daunted; but nothing can deter a poet, for he is actuated by pure love. p. 251-2

We should be blessed if we lived in the present always, and took advantage of every accident that befell us. p. 294

The universe is wider than our views of it. p. 299

It is easier to sail many thousand miles through cold and storm and cannibals, in a government ship with five hundred men and boys to assist one, than it is to explore the private sea, the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean of one’s being alone. p. 300-1

The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. p. 302

Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed, and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to his own music which he hears, however measured or far away. p. 305

How to stop killing yourself by listening to speeches

Dr. Nic wrote a great post about how to stop killing people with your public speeches. As someone who tends to “wing” public speaking opportunities, it’s a post I needed to read. And I’m thankful to have a gathering like geekfest where geeks in Chicago can practice our talks. For as much as I appreciated Dr. Nic’s post, something bothered me while I read it, and I feel compelled to call it out.

The post assumes that the attendees at a speech are passive recipients.

If you’re listening to a speech and feel your life slipping away, don’t just sit there dying, get up! Don’t just sit there and be bored. Don’t just open your laptop and tune out. Go for a walk outside. Find a friend in the hallway. Hack on something that interests you.

Be an active learner, not a passive recipient!

100 Days into Groupon

100 days ago, Groupon bought Obtiva. I am happy to report that my favorite aspects of Obtiva are still alive and well. This is thanks to the hard work and support of both former Obtivians and awesome Grouponers.

My favorites aspects:

Not long after the acquisition, we carved out some space for what I referred to as an “engineering lounge”, but was soon renamed The Obtiva Memorial Library. We missed our bean bag chairs, our bookshelves, and a quiet room to relax, think, and possibly strum a guitar. The library isn’t completed yet, but the plans are drawn and the room has been set aside.

One of the first worries that people had when they were told about the acquisition was that Geekfest would have to stop. Not only has it happened more consistently than ever, attendance has often double or tripled our old numbers. It’s still a great place for both practicing talks and hearing from thought leaders. And, more than ever, it is open to the surrounding community. As always, lunch is free for all.

Our Apprenticeship Program was another key asset that we brought with us from Obtiva. We’ve maintained a nearly identical structure for the program initially in order to reduce the number of variables. Once we see it stabilize at Groupon, we’ll continue its adaptation. We brought in our first apprentice last month, and we’re actively seeking our next apprentices right now.

Software Craftsmanship North America is happening for the 3rd year in a row. The existence of this conference still boggles my mind. Kevin Taylor has led the charge this year. Groupon will have a big presence at the conference, and the speaker line-up should be the best yet.

Stay tuned!

Autodidactic Programmers Q&A

My friend Dale introduced me to an aspiring self-taught programmer. This eager learner had a few questions for me, so I figured I’d blog my response.

What types of projects are best for someone with little experience?

Little projects. Public-facing projects. Projects that scratch your own itch.

My first project was prescribed to me by some very experienced guys who wanted to see how quickly I could learn. I was hacking Perl CGI’s on a Linux box owned by the startup I was working for as an HTML/content editor. The thrill of that project was surprising those guys with what I could do, despite the contrived nature of the project.

My first truly thrilling project was PGAS, a Perl Golf Administration System. Yes, that’s right. You can see the remnants of this interesting time of my career at http://perlgolf.sourceforge.net. I still remember the amazing feeling of knowing that dozens, and hundreds of people from all over the globe were using my software to have fun, compete, and learn more about Perl. It was just a humble set of Perl scripts and a MySQL database, but it was a great learning experience on so many levels.

What resources or tools or books did you find most helpful when you were getting started?

Short, simple, and practical. Tiny, theory-less bites are key. Perl and CGI for the World Wide Web was the book that got me over the hump back in 2000. Then I dug into heavier books about Perl.

Nowadays, I recommend people take a look at Ruby. Give it a try.

What were the one or two biggest wastes of time?

The biggest waste of time was training courses. The quality of these 2-4 day courses was extremely variable. Sometimes they were great, like when I got to pair with Micah for a week. But most of the time, they were complete wastes of time. With no formal training, I felt compelled to go to as many training classes as I could. That time would have been better spent taking the week off and working on side projects. Choose training courses wisely.

Thankfully, I didn’t have any other big wastes of time. I’ve never had any patience for being blocked or distracted, mostly because I always felt like I needed to catch-up to my peers. I absolutely never shave yaks.

Pops

My grandfather lived for the past 88 years. He was born into a wealthy family in Evanston. He married my grandmother after he served in the navy in World War II. He had one daughter, and then four sons. His daughter died when she was a baby. All of his sons are still alive, and have given their parents 12 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren (and still counting). We called him Pops. When Pops was surrounded by his family, he’d often exclaim, “How sweet it is!”

As a child, Pops spent a lot of time in the outdoors, especially in the boundary waters north of Minnesota. He went to summer camp up there, and all of his sons, and some of his grandsons went to that camp as well. When he married my grandmother, they spent 2 weeks up there in a tent for part of their honeymoon. Eventually, they bought some property up there, on the Canadian side. Our family still owns that property. We call it the Island. A lot of our birthdays are in April because the boundary waters are nicest in July. The Island is my favorite spot on this planet. I take my wife and kids there every summer. They love it too.

Pops was a sailor. In 7th and 8th grade, I lived near Evanston. I spent a lot of time with Pops in those summers, serving as his first mate during sailboat races. I don’t remember winning, but I remember the sun, the water, the misty breeze, and the amazing feeling you get when the boat is in perfect tension and cuts through the water. Pops loved to teach, and everything I know about sailing, I learned from him.

Pops was also a skier. My grandparents owned a house in Colorado, and that’s where I learned to ski, along with all of my siblings and cousins. Pops had to stop downhill skiing a long time ago, but did a lot of cross-country skiing. I love skiing fast, so cross-country seemed like it would be boring. But when we spent a day cross-country skiing with Pops, I was amazed at how stunning the scenery was. Some of our best times as an extended family were had in Colorado. At least once during each reunion, Pops would have a little speech for us after dinner. He’d compliment our grandmother, and finish with “How sweet it is!”

Two weeks ago, Pops had a stroke. My dad and I went to see him. He was in bad shape. He had to work hard just to speak. There are three memories I’ll always cherish from my time with Pops in the hospital.

First, was his humor. The first time I visited him in the hospital, he was cracking jokes any chance he could get. I learned a lot about life, watching the way he chose to behave in his final week. His spirit was strong, and you could see it in his persistent humor.

Second, was his love for his family. As my uncle, my dad, and I got up to leave at the end of my first visit, Pops launched into an emotional plea to us, particularly to my uncle. He was hard to understand, and I didn’t have a lot of context into what he was talking about, but the overall message was clear: It was incredibly important to Pops that his family stay connected, led by his sons, acting like a team.

Last, I’ll never forget his final words to me, as we held hands, the day before he died. “Keep doing what you know is right.” The backdrop of this advice is the past year of my life, which has been simultaneously the absolute worst and absolute best year I’ve ever lived. Coming out of that year, it’s a priceless treasure to have my grandfather express that sort of confidence in me. Thanks, Pops. I love you.

How sweet it is.

Toward a More Integrated Life

At SCNA in 2009, Ken Auer talked to us about his desire to live an integrated life. Our modern life, according to Ken, tends toward compartmentalization rather than integration. Children go learn in a school, while parents go work in an office. Prayer is saved for churches. Adult learning is saved for continuing education. Family is for after hours. Business is for business hours. Exercise is for sports. Hard work is for pay. Let’s keep things clean and separate, with nice, clear boundaries.

As a father of three awesome children, and a husband to someone I love spending time with, the idea of an integrated life is appealing. But listening to Ken talk, and hearing how far he’s taken his integration, I was intimidated. Ken’s kids are home-schooled. Ken’s software studio is in the lower-level of his house. Ken’s team prays together before their daily standup meetings. Ken has extra space in his house for his kids’ grandparents. At first it was easy for me to think in all-or-nothing terms, and make excuses. Home-schooling isn’t an option for my family. Chicago housing costs make it incredibly expensive to consider multi-generational living arrangements. The work I want to do is in downtown Chicago, but my family is planted firmly in the suburbs. Everything in my life seemed to persistently nudge me toward the compartmentalization that Ken was talking about. I felt pretty helpless to resist it.

Since Ken’s introduction to an integrated life, though, I’ve been noticing more opportunities. So I’ve taken small, baby steps toward integration, and as a result, have experienced a higher quality of life. One of the first tensions between integration and compartmentalization I recognized was phone calls. If my wife, kids, non-work friends, brother, sister or parents called between 9am-5pm, I would often feel guilty and rushed answering the call or giving them much time. Similarly, if I got a call from a client or co-worker between 5pm-9am, I’d feel the exact same way. I decided to try integrating. I told myself, “If I can take business calls at home, then I can take personal calls at work.” I do the same with email. All of my email addresses forward to a single, unified inbox. I can use any of my email addresses to send from that inbox. It works great and helps me remain extremely responsive when important emails come, regardless of who it comes from.

I do hold certain hours of the day aside for specific activities. The hours between 6pm and 10pm are mostly focused on my wife and children. A friend of mine said it well: “There are 24 hours in a day. If I need to put in some extra hours on a project, I’m up for it, but it will happen during the other 20 hours of the day.” I’ve stuck to this pattern over my entire career, which has always been, and will always be, a challenge. It’s no fun to be the guy who’s walking out the door “early” while so many others stay later. It’s worth it, though, and to toot my own horn a little, I’ve been successful. Successful despite these boundaries? No, these boundaries are a contributor to my success. They help ensure I’m working at a sustainable pace and with a lot of energy.

As I said before, I like spending time with my family. So I’ve been on the lookout for ways of integrating them into typical “business hours”. With Staci, the easiest way to spend time with her while I work is to bring her with me to conferences. With my children, I occasionally bring them with me to the office, but it’s pretty rare since they’re all in school. But when I took my Journeyman Tour this year, I pulled each of my two older kids out of school for a week at a time, and brought them with me.[1] We had some seriously memorable times together. This, of course, made my youngest son jealous. So we’ve been looking for a way for him to come with me on a trip. At the end of the negotiations for Groupon’s Obtiva acquisition, I was visiting my extended family in Seattle. When it was time for us to fly back to Chicago, I suddenly needed to meet with Groupon’s senior engineering leadership in Palo Alto. The family was set to fly back without me when Charlie (the youngest) asked to come with me. I loved the idea, and so we flew to California together.

Having Charlie with me during this extremely important conversation with some Groupon VPs wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns. He got antsy, and needed to sit on my lap for a bit. That was challenging. Same deal with having my wife with me at conferences. I’m balancing my time between her and the conference happenings. Same deal on the Journeyman Tour. The kids limited the time I spent out late with people, and I had to think about how to occupy their time. All of this stuff is nerve-wracking. But, across the board, everyone was extremely accepting of involving my family more in these professional situations. Moment-to-moment, adopting a more integrated life is difficult, and yet I find that these integrations give me energy, which then helps me power through these difficulties.

I believe it’s possible to follow your passion, enjoy your job, provide for your family, and be a good spouse and parent. There are far, far too many people who choose not pursue these possibilities. They have a tough, demotivating job. Or a career that doesn’t pay enough. Or a job that pays great, fulfills them, but requires too much time away. My only advice: don’t give up. Having success in business and career does not require failure in marriage and parenthood. Nor vice versa. I’ve never been satisfied until I could have my cake and eat it too. I want it all, and too many of us settle for success in one or the other “compartment” rather than experiencing an integrated, overall success.

One of the subtle but powerful ways that compartmentalization seeps into our thinking is via language such as “work/life balance” or “live to work vs. work to live”. Bullshit. Juxtaposing work vs. life is a horrifying way to think. It implies that work is a form of death. Do you understand how much of your life you spending working? Work is a huge part of your life so don’t settle for a sort of everyday dying. Don’t work to live. Don’t live to work. Deliberately walk a path that leads you toward a more integrated existence, which gives you the energy to do good work, which in turn opens up more opportunities for integration.

[1] Ken actually suggested I bring my whole family for the entire trip. Instead, I chopped up the trip with my two older kids, but did have my whole family come out for a weekend together in the middle of it. Thanks for the ideas and inspiration, Ken!

Chicago needs Code Academy

Earlier this year, I blogged about Chicago’s Ruby Developer Crisis. As far as I can tell, not much has changed. In fact, with Braintree’s funding and the acqusition of Obtiva by Groupon, the demand for Ruby developers has likely grown even stronger. So, what are we, the Chicago Ruby community, going to do about it? Like I said back in January, we’re going to grow these people.

I’ve spent a significant amount of time this year looking for ways to grow more people for Obtiva. I’ve been hanging out at the Chicago Technology Academy, talking to i.c.stars, and learning from 8th Light about how they’ve expanded their apprenticeship program to allow them to take on many more apprentices at once. All of these organizations have made growing great technologists in Chicago a top priority. We can certainly relocate some people to help reduce the demand, but let’s face it, Chicago isn’t a one-size-fits-all town. Relocation will only get us so far. So, I want to highlight a startup whose entire existence is dedicated to developing new Ruby on Rails developers in Chicago.

It’s called Code Academy. I first met Neal Sales-Griffin like I meet a lot of other awesome people. Through Corey Haines. It’s really hard to describe Neal and his co-founders Mike and Claire, but I’ll try. First, you should know that the 3 of them constitute the 3 most recent student body presidents at Northwestern University. Yes, that’s right, and the venture they’ve decided to throw their heart-and-soul into is an academy that develops Ruby developers out of the raw materials of intelligence and a passion for learning. They’re looking for raw beginners, and that’s where I come in. I’m looking for new places to find apprentices for ObtivaGroupon, and after spending the last few months working with Neal and his team on the formation and planning for Code Academy, I’m convinced that some amazing people will emerge from it. Look at the people they have involved! And the partners and advisors they’ve assembled are truly remarkable, particularly for a few new college grads. The people who leave Code Academy will leave with the Ruby on Rails knowledge and connections to set themselves up for a bright future in Chicago’s technology scene, and I’m looking forward to meeting them.

Why do I believe that Code Academy will be successful? First, because of the people involved. (To land Jeff Cohen as their instructor was a major accomplishment.) But on a more personal note, I believe they will be able to turn beginners into Ruby developers because I’ve been there. I’ve been through that process. Back in January, 2000, I was 25, married, with a baby daughter, and a practicing child and family therapist. During that year, I made the decision to become a software developer. I read books, sought out mentors, went to conferences, and constructed my own education. Looking back over the last decade, I’m glad I made that decision, despite how strange it felt back then. I’ve learned that with the right mix of potential, motivation, and guidance, people can become programmers much later in life than most people think.

In a time when there are historic levels of unemployment and undprecedented demand for technical skills, Code Academy is exactly what we need. If you know someone who you think would make the most of this opportunity, encourage them to apply.