Makethingswork Dev

Why "Make Things Work"?

For many years the first line of my resume (after my name) was simply "I make things work." and this landed me more than one excellent job. I've worked on everything from small web applications to large scale enterprise systems and since I started in 2011 I've developed some opinions. You might agree, you might not but I hope you're interested in discussing them.

I love working with Ruby (big Rails nerd here!), Postgresql, APIs, Raspberry PIs, and pretty much anything tech-related. However I've always loved building unique and questionably useful things just for the sake of learning them. I plan to share those things here in hopes that you'll be inspired.

These are the guiding principles that direct most of what I write:

There is no directive: There isn't some master plan. Rather, it's all about working together to figure things out.
The "right" way is subjective. I think it's critical to keep in mind that there are always multiple solutions to a problem and that your favorite might not necessarily be the best. Take the time and effort to absorb other points of view and try to change your own mind.
You don't have to know it all. This may seem obvious but I've often been made to feel incompetent because I didn't understand "X". I've always felt a software developer's primary skill is their ability to "figure it out", not to always have the perfect answer ready to go.

When I'm not coding, you can find me building miniatures, playing D&D, obsessing over my coffee brewing methods, or playing guitar.

Feel free to email me: rick [at] makethingswork [dot] dev

Thanks for visiting.