Casey Stengel, a famous baseball player, once said that "The trick is growing up without growing old".  Is he saying here that somehow we should learn how not to age? Well... plastic surgery has its uses.  But I don't think that's what he had in mind.

Mr. Stengel hit a home run here, so to speak.  As a software developer, it is always a conscience effort to take this quote seriously or you could find yourself in 2009 still programming in COBOL with no skill at any newer technologies.  Did I just say that out loud? My apologies to the 4 of you.  

Technology is always evolving, we all know that.  But this quote is really just stating the obvious.  It is a fact that we grow or die; that we take action in our own careers to help keep us as close to the top rung of the ladder as we can get.  It doesn't help that they keep adding rungs to the ladder every time you think you've made it one notch closer to the top, but that's just how it is.  The road is long, and can be tiresome.  But there are plenty of tools and resources available to keep us inspired and fill us with the energy to get to that next rung.  And that's why on October 17th 2009 I will be in Jacksonville, Florida... attending the LessConf.  

I hope to see you there.

In an earlier post, A First, I mentioned the development of a new iPhone app with which I had a hand in called BetAssistant.  It is now officially available for download on the iTunes App Store and works on both the iPhone and iPod Touch.  It's great for horse racing enthusiasts who need a quick look at how much an Exacta, Trifecta or Superfecta bet will cost them to place.  Give it a go for only $0.99!

In 2004, the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 760,840 software engineers holding jobs in the U.S. This number is interesting to me as I am counted as one of the many software developers employed in this great country. In every career path out there, there are some that enjoy what they do and some that just have a "job".  In software development, the latter seems to be much more prevalent than I think it should be.

I think of writing software as an art form, it takes more than just knowing a programming language and going to work from 9 to 5 everyday.  It takes creativity, a strong attention to detail, and to me, a passion and a love for your craft much like an artist has for his art.  

It strikes me as odd to run into other coders out there who lack such characteristics; who don't share the level of passion and pride that I have. I am by no means a great programmer, but the quality of code one writes is directly proportional to the amount of passion they invest into each software product they write.

Since I have been a consultant, I have rewritten a number of software products that were originally developed in-house by the 9 to 5 crew. In each instance, the client has been greatly impressed with the level of quality the software I write for them has. And most of the time, I have been able to do so with a lower budget and timeline than that of the original project. Now, it may not be the best code on the planet; I'm sure I have a lot to learn still.  But the amount of care and pride I take in each software project shows up when the client is excited and appreciative of my work. 

I do run a business, so I'm by no means writing software for free. But the work I do would be my hobby were I not able to make a living at it. And that's the most important point of this post, not only in programming, but in all lines of work. Finding what you love to do and doing it is extremely important in life.

If you do this, most of the rest of your life will fall into place. It's the passion of the coder that determines the quality of the code he/she writes.

Unfuddle

What is it? Unfuddle is by far the best and easiest project management tool I have used to this point.  It allows you to track the project conversation, tickets for bugs, new enhancements, or just things to do; milestones (and the progress made towards their completion); as well as project documentation.  One of the greatest points though that many other similar sites do not offer, is that Unfuddle gives you an SVN repository along with your project and can send notifications to team members when updates are checked in.  The dashboard gives you a quick glance at everything going on with the project and the whole system is very usable.

What does it cost? At the time of this post, plans range from free to $99 per month.  Your choice depending on the needs of you and/or your team.

StackOverflow

What is it? I'd be surprised if you've not had a development question you've googled and not ran across it on StackOverflow.  This is an excellent resource for asking questions to other developers (and helping to answer them) to get your issues resolved.  What I believe is the best feature of the site is the ranking system.  For well answered questions you receive points.  What this means to the asker of the question is that those users out there attempting to gain "karma" on the site are going to answer your question to the best of their ability.  

What does it cost? Totally and utterly free!

Freshbooks

What is it? For consultants like myself, this is the best time tracking and invoicing application there is. Period.  There is even an app on the iphone that you can use to track hours for your clients which is very useful.  The site itself is easy to use.  It allows you to brand your logo on the invoices, send them via snail mail or email, share documents, and there are many reporting options to see where you are financially.

What does it cost? Plans range from free to $149 per month.

buckleFISH

What is it? There are many times when I need to send a large file to a client or colleague and email servers can often times limit the size of attachments. BuckleFish allows you to send any file to anyone, anytime. It is currently in beta and limited to 1Gb per file, but I can't remember ever needing to send a file that large.

What does it cost? Absolutely free!

Mikogo

What is it? Ever heard of GotoMeeting? Well, this is it's free counterpart. Maybe not as full featured, but also not as pricey. The functionality is almost identical minus a few bells and whistles.  This product is an absolute must have for remote meetings, customer support, and other web conferencing needs.

What does it cost? Like I said... nada!

Final Thoughts... I use each of these products multiple times a week, sometimes more.  I cannot say enough about how they help me through my days.  A huge thanks to all the developers that put these products out there for us.

I've had a couple of different blogs in the past and so this isn't my first ever blog post.  But since it's been so long, this is definitely a fresh start and feels new to me.  So I figured I would talk about something that doesn't require much effort... but I couldn't think of anything that fit that criteria. 

CoderBrain marks the start of a new era in my life, both personally and professionally.  CoderBrain also refers to the fact that I am a software developer by trade and that this blog represents some of the thoughts that run across my mind from time to time.  Not only about coding, but about life... or whatever falls under "etc".

I wrote my first software application when I was 13 years old on an Apple IIe.  Basic was the language of choice.  The application was a boxing simulator and required no user input.  The boxers would stand and swing at each other and either be blocked by the other, ducked, or make contact.  It was actually more like a screensaver than an application.

Apple II BASIC Programming Manual (1978)(Apple)

I have been writing software professionally since 2002 after receiving a "Certificate of Computer Programming" from a small school in Utah called Certified Careers Institute.  During school, I excelled and graduated with a 3.9 GPA.  

My first gig following school was working as the lead developer on a new technology platform, the "Payday Loan Machine".  Written in Visual Basic 6.0, it was to be the next wave in the payday loan industry.  We were successfull in creating the machine, which looked and worked similar to an ATM, and released 3 kiosks in the Salt Lake City area.  My conscious felt a bit "dirty" throughout the project after I learned about the insane amounts of interest charged on these short term loans, and I was actually relieved when it was cancelled.

From there, I moved to Indiana and worked for a small software company where I worked on a team dedicated to developing software for payroll companies.  I worked my way up to Lead Tools Programmer and wrote many utility applications and libraries designed to mesh with the primary commercial applications we developed.  During that time, I also continued my education by becoming a Microsoft Certified Application Developer.

In 2006, I went out on my own and started consulting.  With a focus on Microsoft's .Net and related technologies, I began to build a good client base.  I have been building and growing that ever since, continually adding new technologies to my repertoire.

I am now in talks with another developer, with whom I have worked on numerous projects over the years, about merging our efforts and building a software company focused on IPhone apps that will be available in the App Store.

The first app we have worked on will be available in the App Store very soon.  It is called BetAssistant, and the basic premise is to calculate how much your bet will cost you at your local horse racing venue or off-track betting site.  Here is a link to a blog post that talks about it more at Johnny Can't Code. Scott (or "Johnny") is the other developer I told you about.

I will post more about our efforts in future posts.  It is a really exciting time in my life, and over the years I have learned a lot of hard lessons that will stay with me in the years to come.