The work that I did for VersionTracker.com is finally seeing the light of day.

The new developer connect system is available, and looks so much better than the last one (no frames!). I spent a majority of the summer and fall working on this – the various forms went through a hefty amount of revisions but after several months it all paid off.

Here is a small image of the default page after logging in to dev connect:

The new category navigation system is finally visible. The original specification did not have the fade-out that you see now, but that was one of my recommendations as the menu was vanishing too quickly.

The sub-category navigation took some work getting things to work properly across the various browsers, but it looks great!

The new Updates by Category page looks good too. The grid system was fairly simple, although I had some tweaks to do in IE6/7.

The menu was the most difficult part, and unfortunately I didn’t have any time to clean up my javascript (don’t look at the source!). Getting the sub menu to display and have a hover color in both IE6 and Safari was a pain. I wasted several days and several emails to the css-discuss list trying to figure out what was happening. I finally found a work-around, but the javascript is still ugly.

VT uses the prototype framework on some pages, so I was trying to see if they wanted to use it on the home page, however I left in the middle of those decisions. VT already suffers from an immensely high page size, so I doubt they want another library attached.

Although it’s been out for a while, the VT subscription system is the only xhtml/css work that’s entirely from me.

One month ago today I left my web developer position with TechTracker and immediately began focusing on building up client work. I’ve been doing web work in some form or another for others since 1998, and while it began as a hobby business it quickly evolved into a way to make some additional cash.

In 2001 I forced myself to keep up to date with the latest and greatest and managed to turn that knowledge into some basic web work. I formed a few relationships with marketing companies and graphic design firms, and suddenly found the business growing. In 2004 I really began paying attention to how well it was working out, and I began the first steps of planning to make it my full-time job.

In early 2006 it was clear that I was fast approaching the level necessary to sustain me full-time, but I was turning down a lot of work because I was working a full-time job, supporting a family, etc. I worked for several months revamping my website, forming a professional image, and trying to prepare myself for the eventual flip.

It came much earlier than anticipated, and the opportunity was a surprise. I began devoting my time to pulling in additional clients and I began working to forge new relationships with companies that would provide recurring work. It’s now been one month since I began and I’ve surprised myself with how much opportunity was out there.

I’ve gotten some excellent work and the variety of it has been enjoyable, and I’m about to begin some larger projects which will be nice. I’m beginning to figure out what type of project schedule works best and I’m slowly adapting to running everything full-time rather than just here-and-there. The technology and the development aspect is the easy part, it’s keep everything organized that’s the problem.

For seven years the work has been tightly integrated with my personal life because it was so minimal it didn’t matter. All of a sudden my leads, clients, estimates, projects, and invoices have snowballed into this giant mass of stuff. I realized right away that my existing methods of organization and project management were about to become seriously wiped out of existence.

Now that things are rolling along a bit I’m going to be posting more work-related entries. I may even need to separate this blog, one for personal and one for work. Right now, the News link on botsko.net leads to this work category only, however I’ll need to customize the rss feed so that it only pulls this category as well.

My future posts on work will be more technical and more enjoyable for clients and fellow developers. Next on my list is to share what I’ve learned about this type of work in the last four weeks.

On Friday 9/29 around noon my manager sent me into the conference room and sat me down. He gave me a look for a minute and then told me they were letting me go. He made sure I understood that it wasn’t anything I did – my performance was excellent and they didn’t have any problem with me. They wanted to combine the work I did into a different position which I am not qualified for (nor would I want to do) so they had to let me go.

He told me that if I wanted to go home I could, or I could finish out the day. He said that he would understand if I wanted to say “fuck you” and never deal with them again they would understand. He said that they really want to continue to work together on a contract basis if I would let them.

Granted I’m pissed that a) they laid me off, b) without warning, and c) on Friday afternoon making me wait three days until I could really do anything about getting a new job. But I will work with them because I want money, and I want all of the decent clients I can get. Plus, I can bill them my usual rate.

So much for three months of research.

Friday! The keynotes on the last day of OSCON were the best: A very cool presentation by Dave Bradely (IBM engineer who invented ctrl+alt+delete) about the history of computers and what open source means to him.

Then, Damian Conway (Perl master) gave an amazing fake-keynote on some great new technologies. It was really just a skit to make fun of tech trends today but it was so funny that people were about to fall out of their seats. I’ve heard that Damian is an amazing speaker even when he’s serious. Makes me really regret his Mastering VIM tutorial.

I attended one really boring session of the titled-wrong-just-so-you-might-attend kind, kind of a bait-and-switch situation. I then decided to attend a full session from Dave Bradley about the history of PCs because I was so interested from his morning keynote. Not quite a usual OSCON session but it was a good way to end the sessions.

The closing keynote was by a lawyer who is involved in protecting free software and trying to protect us from the patent system. He went on for a while longer than necessary but he really had people thinking by the end. He was the only speaker I saw recieve a standing ovation.

I then headed back to work to finish up some loose ends. I had spent almost forty hours over the last two weeks carrying around my laptop bag and sitting for hours on end – not only is my mind ready for a break but so is my shoulders and back.

Beth took the MAX down to meet me after work and we had a picnic at the waterfront. Later I took her to Pioneer Courthouse Square for the Flicks on the Bricks showing of City Slickers. It was colder than we anticipated but we really had fun.

One of my coworkers mentioned that I was probably the first web engineer to work for TechTracker who had attended all three days of the sessions – and all of the sessions available on each day. Most just picked a few and then left to return to work. She was surprised that I had actually spent so much time there.

I asked her to also mention the fact that I got my work done while doing so – that is a crucial thing to remember. However, I told her that I was surprised. The other web engineer did attend some sessions but she didn’t stay for more than a few.

My reasoning was that I’m being giving the chance to learn anything I want relating to the open source technology from the best open source leaders in the world – for free. The only thing that kept me from attending more session was the laws of physics. Having the chance to be exposed to the crowd and the information is worth having to work until two in the morning. It’s only a few days.

Oh well, that’s them. This is me.

Before taking my current position at TechTracker, I said that CSS development was easier than PHP programming. CSS development is my task for TechTracker, although JavaScript and PHP work happens here or there. My first few Botsko.net projects for 2006 have been more programming-based than the design-based projects I was working on in Fall 2005. It’s become clear that programming is much easier than CSS.

Programming is like a puzzle. You need to figure out where each piece goes and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. You’re trying to put a square shape into a round hole and it doesn’t work that way. You’re solution is obvious – either change the circle to a square or a square to a circle. It’s pretty black and white and the only reason I could spend two hours trying to figure out why it won’t work is because I forgot a character somewhere.

CSS is like trying to put together a three-dimensional puzzle when you can’t see the edges of the other pieces. You can easily follow the logic in your programming because you can see what’s going in and what’s coming out of each step and programming doesn’t change because of the web-browser you’re using.

Developing something in css depends on what version of the CSS standard is used, what browsers support it, and what browsers have bugs when one item is combined with the next. There are several hundred ways of defining styles, and even multiple times in multiple files. It’s hard to keep tabs on where each element is getting its styles from.

Oh well, both are still better than WF.

It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been working at TechTracker for one month now. I spent a lot of time trying to determine if TechTracker was going to be a better place to work, and whether or not it was the right time for a transition.

One month in, and I do not regret making the decision to move on. The only aspect I could (but don’t) complain about is the fact that I have a longer commute. I spend and hour and a half on the max in total each day during the rush hour shifts, which is when you’re lucky if you get a seat. Yet with the fact that it’s 90 minutes of space-out time and iPod time, it really isn’t that bad. Out of all of the jobs I’ve ever held, I’ve always had some sort of commute, so it’s more like a return to normality.

Ten years after I first sat down in an internet cafe with my Mom, I now work with computers and the internet for a living. It certainly didn’t take long to get used to the laid-back atmosphere in which everyone brings in their dogs, video games are played during lunches, and the dress code is geeky. Playing with Windows Vista, IE7, Dual Core machines, learning new CSS, XHTML, JavaScript, PHP, XML, XML-RPC, and getting to call it work – now that’s what I was looking for.

P.S. For those at Wells, I’m planning to drop by with a visitors badge and spend some time seeing friends again sometime at the end of April, around two months.

P.S.S Tri-Met should pay me when I have to sit/stand next to some smelly homeless person – ACK! Builds character?

Things are going well with my new position. The only thing I miss from WF are the people, and how well I got along with every one. I just haven’t had enough time to get to know people from my new position, but tech people have always been, let’s say, hermits. Oh well, I’ve known that one forever.

I’ve been getting some good work done, but I’ll be able to get more done once I really understand how the sites are setup. My job title is Web Developer, which means I am responsible for the look and layout of the TechTracker websites. This includes making sure my XHTML/CSS is valid, works on the various browsers, and keeps the file size and render-time of the websites low. Once the important issues have been dealt with I can begin improving existing features and making sure the sites are as accessible as possible.

• VersionTracker.com
• MacFixIt.com
• MacFixItForums.com
• TechTracker.com
• TechTrackerMedia.com

My main focus for VersionTracker is speeding it up. It’s known for being a tad slow, which is bad for business. According to Alexa VT is ranked 2,395 among websites which is excellent (MacFixIt is 19,568, Botsko.net is 258,146) Right there on the Alexa page it says “Very Slow” which we’re going to change.

I’ve already done some work on each of those sites except for the last one. I knew before I even applied for this position that getting to work with XHTML, CSS, and web standards as a full-time job would be fun, but I never thought it would be this fun. I no longer am wasting time when I play around with new web-based technology, I’m doing work.

Not only am I working with a subject that I love learning about, but I’m also spending less time looking up programming stuff for personal reasons. Stuff that I learn at home applies at work and vice-versa. It’s nice to know the field before beginning a new position, so that I’m only the new guy in the sense that I was the one most recently hired. All they had to do was show the me the code repository and how they wanted me to test/deploy it and I was good to go. I’m also thankful for my knowledge of Javascript and PHP, as both have already come in handy. I’ve already assisted a colleage with javascript issues.

I spent almost eight years learning everything myself, I only took a few computer classes and none really dealt with Internet stuff. I never knew anyone who could help me when I faced a problem, so I had to learn to solve it myself. I know how to use tools, debug, google, test, and simply investigate. For so long it was simply the only way and now it’s become a bonus.

Update: MacFixIt.com was briefly mentioned in the WSJ.

I almost spent three months considering if this job transition was going to be worth it. I applied in early December and started almost three months later, and those three months were filled with a lot of research, planning, and pondering.

I was in deed very lucky to have my position at Wells, but there were a lot of things that didn’t make the job feel productive, yet I was getting a very good pay with a larger and more stable company. With a wife, a son, a mortgage, and bills at stake if a job transition went sour, I needed to make sure I was making a good decision before it was too late.

TechTracker wanted to do a small project with me before hand, which was good because it got me into the office again and I had a bit of work experience with two employees. I researched the company online, and weighed my options.

On Thursday I went down and got everything setup. I’m now using a brand new dual core Windows machine with 250 GB drive space and 1GB of RAM, a large monitor (CRT, but it’s doesn’t matter) and a Mac – not sure on the specs yet. Thursday went very well but didn’t involve any actual work, just lots of downloading, installing, and waiting.

On Friday I was ready to get started, and I began setting up some tests on a development server to fix one of the four bugs currently assigned. Within a few hours I had found the problem and had a solution in mind. The fact that I had so quickly found the problem for something that had baffled everyone before made it’s way around the office and I was already getting a great feeling. I continued working the rest of the day, but as I’m still not clear on exactly how they have everything setup, I’m going at a slow pace.

During lunch I can peruse the Borders store two blocks away, eat, walk around downtown, or maybe shop. On Friday I went out to the waterfront for a bit (it’s literally across the street) and just enjoyed it.

The environment is just as I had predicted – very friendly but also hard-working and very flexible with schedules and needs as long as the job gets done. There’s also the option of telecommuting, which I won’t really want to use unless it’s necessary.

If I’m this comfortable after only two days, I’m excited for the rest of my time there.

Today is my last day at Wells Fargo. My manager took me and a coworker out to lunch at Applebees and I’ve been collecting some email addresses from friends to keep in touch. All of my work has been reassigned and today has been a simple one. I’ve finished up a few last things and am waiting on a single item to come back, which may not arrive before I leave.

As I’ve said before, the only thing I’ll miss are the people. Several people have asked if I’m excited and of course I am, but it will take some adjustment as usual when beginning a new position. I’ll be leaving my contact information for business and personal reasons, as I want to keep in contact. I’m sure a few questions might popup after today that only I can answer, so I’ll expect some communication later on.

A few months from now I’ll come in and visit because I live so close, I’ll be interested to hear what became of certain projects or what happened with certain issues. I will wonder what my life would be like if I had stayed, and it visiting may help show me what would have changed.

The only aspect of the new job that I don’t like is the longer commute, and that’s not that big of a deal. I have more time to listen to my music, and maybe even read, but overall I think that this move is worth it. Of course, that also means I’ll need to get up earlier.

I’m not nervous at all because I’ve been so careful about my decisions that I’m 100% sure I made the right ones. There are a hundred reasons why I took this new job, the top reasons being:

1. Better pay.
2. I really want to work closer with web technology, and with people who know it as well.
3. I’ll be able to cut back a bit on my Botsko.net projects, and have more time with Boo, Beth, and Me.
4. The commute will allow me to listen to my music more, something that’s really important to me.
5. I love working in the downtown area, and until the company moves into a newer building I’ll have a window overlooking the waterfront, sure beats a cube in the middle of a large building.

Luckily I’ve kept some pictures and such of people that I work with, and of my cube. I’m an hour away from turning over all of my files, yet it doesn’t quite seem like it’s the end.

On 12/12/2005 I responded to a job listing for a web-developer on Craigslist. A few phone calls, an interview, and a meeting later I was working on a freelance project (redesigning a page) as a test – to show them that I knew what I was doing and to make sure that we could work together.

Yesterday morning I received a job offer from TechTracker Inc. for the position of Web Developer. The position seems to be just what I want right now, and everything seems to suggest that I accept the offer.

Pros

• I’d love to do web development as a full-time job.
• They have decent time off, great benefits, and 401k (among other things).
• They have transportation reimbursement.
• After working with the managers on a small project, I feel like we’d be compatible.
• The office seems to be a very professional and friendly place.
• It’s located downtown, and I love downtown.
• They’ve been around more or less since 1996, and since I used their products since around 2001 before I knew about the company, I feel that they’re not going anywhere soon.
• I would really enjoy being able to speak to people about technical things, and not receive blank looks back.
• Better pay.
• Better pay means I can cut down on the side-job work I do, meaning more time for Beth, as well as time to just sit down and PLAY.

Cons

• Wells Fargo is obviously much more secure, but there’s nothing above what I do now that I would enjoy doing. I wouldn’t mind getting away from the large corporation aspect of Wells, and there’s certain aspects of my job that I just don’t enjoy.
• TechTracker would require a 50 minute MAX ride every day, whereas Wells is just five minutes from the house.
• I won’t truly know what it’s like to work there until I actually do, so I cannot be 100% sure.

This would be a very big transition for me, and this is not a good time for such a transition to go sour. Granted I would have Wells as a backup, but I’m not sure that I could do what I do now. In order to be sure that this would be a good idea, I’ve done some research.

I’ve contacted a few former employees to get their opinions on their former company. Since techtracker is a small company and most tech people post their resume online, it was pretty easy to find them. I’ve spent time researching the company on the internet. From reading old press releases, news items, to searching the net for “techtracker sucks“. I’ve even tried reading comments from customers who hate their products, but there are not many to find (relatively).

I’ve asked several questions about the job and gotten answers that I was hoping for. On February 10th I’ll be visiting the TechTracker office for the third time to get a better idea of the projects I’ll be working on. I’ll get to see the machines (that’s machines, plural!) I’ll be using, meet other employees, etc. I think that what I learn from just hanging around on a “preliminary first day” will make or break the deal.

I decided to submit my three-week notice to Wells Fargo today, February 1. My last day will be February 22 assuming nothing in the next three weeks changes my mind about TechTracker. My first official day will be February 23rd, a Thursday.

Wells Fargo was a good company to work for. I began on April 15, 2003 as temporary employee working through a temp agency. On October 1st, 2003 I was hired directly with Wells as a telephone rep for their Equity applications department. In May 2004 I was promoted to an application processor for two weeks, as I was promoted again in the middle of my training. My new position was as an Operations Analyst, essentially someone who works on projects.

From planning moves, scheduling, telephony routing, and lots and lots of Excel reports my name made it’s way through the emails of managers in several states. It was an excellent position for someone who was 22 / 23 years old. I worked with senior managers on a daily basis doing this, that, and the other thing. Taking this position is what really saved us after the problems Beth had when she was pregnant. Now that we’re finally getting things wrapped up from almost three years ago, this new position will definately help.

2006 will certainly be an interesting year.