Hi there, I’m Josh.

I’ve got way more projects than I have time and energy for, but here’s the threads that tie much of my work together:

• Software
• Teaching
• Writing

As of late 2020, I’ve got three primary projects:

1. Software development coaching and training #

I love to help software developers level up their skills. All this happens at intermediateruby.com.

This training takes place via 1:1 coaching/conversations, small-group training, and detailed, bespoke resources to level up very specific skills, like: effective Nokogiri usage, becoming effective with background jobs, Rubocop usage, and much more.

I once gave a 40 minute talk on how software developers should embrace working with other non-development teams at their company: Combining “the Business” and Improving the Performance of a Rails App

Intrigued? Let’s talk about it

2. Software consulting/implementation #

I operate at both the strategic/consulting level and the tactical/implementation level. Depending on the level, I write words for either people or machines.

Learn a bit more about working together

3. Helping my hometown of Golden, CO legalize an authentic and beautiful architectural style #

This last project is far and away the most impactful, potentially valuable, and experimental project I’m working on.

I use an email campaign as my experimental medium.

Email isn’t original at all, Josh. 🙄

I know, I know! It’s not experimental because I send emails, it’s experimental because of how I’ve structured the information within the email.

If you sign up today, you’ll get about 15 emails before “catching up” with what I’m writing to the list right now.

It’s an interesting format; I’ve had an absolute blast, and lots of thoughtful people from the internet have written me interesting and helpful responses.

I’d love for you join:

What this newsletter is about #

Here’s a teaser of what we will discuss in the newsletter.

Compare these two images:

I live in Golden, CO, and what’s true in Charleston, South Carolina is true in Golden, Colorado.

Josh, why is this “local and authentic” building style illegal?

Great question! It’s a bit of a winding story, which is why it takes a series of emails to unpack.

There’s three classes of laws that make the beautiful urbanism illegal:

1. Mandatory minimum parking laws
2. Minimum setback laws
3. Minimum lot size laws

I’d like to help fix all three of these barriers, and I literally¹ cannot do it without you.

And if you are skeptical of what I’m trying to do? Or you’d rather read about software and not urban design? I’d recommend experimenting with the newsletter despite these reservations:

Other topics #

I’ve written over 250 posts on my own website, and others around the internet. Here’s a good place to start:

• Turing Prep Chapter 1 of 8: Make Mod 1 Easier Than It Otherwise Would Be
• How to ask questions of experts and gain more than just an answer
• Remote Job Hunting Resources for Turing Grads and Anyone Else
• A little bit of slope makes up for a lot of y-intercept
• Rails Migrations: When you can’t add a uniqueness constraint because you already have duplicates
• Boulder Ruby Group: Developers should embrace working with the non-development parts of the business, and the constraints this entails. (30 min)