Michael Koby

It occurs to me as I look back at my posts from last year, I didn’t do a 2013 “year in review” and that’s poor form on my part.

As I sat down to do this review of 2014, I went back and reviewed my goals. I knew that I wasn’t really working towards them, and we’ll get into the reason why in a minute. But to say that nothing really got done in 2014 would be a mostly true statement. At least from the perspective of personal goals. And will henceforth be referred to as “the lost year.” Continue reading →

On Friday, my boss asked to speak with me in private. He had just gotten back from talking to his investors, and I had an inkling it wasn’t good news. My instincts were correct. Turns out, things have been pretty bad for the last few months (something I had also guessed but didn’t push for more information on at the time). The choices were work without pay while he attempts to work out funding (something not unheard of at start ups), or start looking for work. As much as I’d like to work for him while he works on getting more funding, my family situation doesn’t allow me to not get paid.

As of right now, I’m seeking employment. I’d like to stay in the Ruby on Rails world, but I’d be willing to entertain Javascript positions with Ruby on Rails back ends, since Javascript seems to be popular (and important) these days and it’s something I need to become better at. I’ve got almost four years of Ruby on Rails experience building my own web applications and helping my employer and friends build theirs. It has to be a full time, salaried job, with benefits (good or great medical coverage is a must due to my son’s medical issues), and I’m looking to take on a telecommuting (remote working) position. No more 2 hours worth of commuting every single day. I know that all may be asking much, but I know I’m good enough to make it work.

A little about me: I’m a software developer with 10 years experience, primarily in C# and Ruby on Rails, but I’ve done work in the past in Java, Python, and Objective-C though I wouldn’t claim to be “good” at those. I have worked in both Windows and Unix like environments and have server administration in both. I’m a huge proponent of open source technologies. I’m a quick study on new languages, especially when surrounded by others who are extremely familiar with the language. I work on “make it work, then optimize it” philosophy because, I believe, if you can’t make it work you’ll never understand how to fully optimize it. I’m also a fantastic communicator, I’ve written a book, scripted and recorded screencasts, been on a radio show, and given many a tech related talk.

I’m writing this blog post mostly as a way to inform my colleagues and friends that I’m looking for work. I know a lot of people who do what I do, so I’m sure someone I know has job leads of some kind. Also, it’ll allow me to link to my current resume for anyone that might think I’d be a fit at their company.

Download my latest resume.

Things change, and sometimes we have to roll with those changes. This is me, doing that.

If you know me personally, you know I have little reservation about discussing religion or politics in a public setting. I think the idea that you should not discuss these things in “polite” conversation is an idiotic one. If we never discuss these things, how do we have any chance of understanding one another better and thus improving our situation on a political level? Reasonable discussion is the only way we’re going to better understand each other and move past much of the extremism that dominating the political culture in the United States right now. However, while I have a mild understanding of several important topics that affect today (politics, economics, philosophy), I’m not well educated enough to have the kind of discussions I’d like to be able to have. Or put another way, there are people who know more about these things and debating them sucks because I can’t counter their arguments due to my limited understanding of certain topics.

I now wish to remedy this problem. Not only to be able to bring more to these discussions I enjoy having, but I think that better understanding various topics would improve myself overall. There are lots of things I wish I understood better, and not all of them fall into the realm of political discussions. There are aspects of science I would love to be better versed in. I’d love to understand things like mechanics, electronics, and other forms of engineering better. But these topics take time to digest. You have to read, comprehend, ponder on, and eventually regurgitate the information. So I’ve come up with a plan to help me with this and I’m writing this post as both a way to tell others so they can help keep me on track, and to allow others to join in on the “fun” because I’m sure I’m not the only one who would like a better understanding in some of the topics I plan on learning.

This the plan.

Pick a subject for the year. For example, I’m picking economics for 2014. I will then find 12 books on that subject that should give me a decent understanding of various points of views, theories, and thoughts on the chosen subject. I will then spend each month of the year reading each book. The goal is to finish each book within the specified month. Again, for example, I’ll be re-reading “Wealth of Nations” in January of 2014. In February, “The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money”
by John Maynard Keynes. And this will continue throughout the year. While the goal is to finish each book, there’s a good chance I might not be able to read the entire book within the allotted month, should this happen, depending on how much of the book is left to read, I’ll either finish it or just move onto the next book. The idea is to grasp a decent understanding of the concepts and ideas presented in each book, not become an expert on them. In January of the following year (2015), I will then attempt to write my understanding of the various thoughts, ideas, and theories down in my own words. This is will be the proof that I at least understood the basics of what I read.

I understand that doing this isn’t going to make me an expert in the chosen subject of study but I’m almost certain to walk away with a better understanding of it by the end of the year and that’s my goal.

I then plan to do a completely different subject each year. Some possible topics I’m considering are philosophy, US constitutional law, physics, and world history.

If you’re interested in joining me on this, leave a comment, I may work on creating an online community for those of us who are interested in doing this.