Stuffleufagus

I have added a disclosure policy page.

Read it and enjoy the goodness

written by rob

And it isn’t me. Yoshi, my six year old Border Collie is not pleased.

Yoshi got very used to me being home - or me taking him with me when I left.

I know he will adjust, but the past two days he has ignored me for a while after I get home. Eventually he warms up - but he is making it very clear he isn’t pleased.

I guess if my dog isn’t happy with my new job I should at least make sure my developer’s are! 

We had a good first day - a “scrum call” (ten minute sync up meeting, a nice lunch, and some nice conversations.

Some very bright people - including “Naked Einstein” (sorry, inside joke, can’t share the details on this one!).

So far Mosso looks like the best place I could have ended up - there are a lot of things I’ve already been through that I can help with, and there is a TON I have never been exposed to that I can learn.

It doesn’t get any better than this!

Looking for a change of pace?  Want to love your work?  Know Python (or are you just really expert at some web technology?) - call me, let’s talk!

Rob

written by rob

I have just accepted a position as Director of Software Development for Mosso.

Mosso is based in San Antonio, and is part of Rackspace.

So, why did I choose Mosso?  From the web site:

We started Mosso because we knew there were web developers who wanted a reliable platform for their applications and email–without being the ones responsible for all the technology.

Basically, Mosso does, on a much larger scale, what I have been doing as a consultant for the last few years – stripping as much of the technology details as possible out of the lives of people that have an idea and/or dream – they want to build the idea, not manage the server, or the databases.  They want to be able to focus on building what they envision.  I’ve helped people focus on that – Mosso lets thousands of people do the same.

That’s what Mosso does.  And more.  And in very cool ways.

Mosso also passed all of my test points:

• I need to build teams.
• I need to work with smart people.
• I need a voice.
• I need responsibility, accountability, AND authority.
• I need the security of a larger company with the atmosphere of a startup.
• I needed a company that is nimble – it can quickly adjust to change, and new ideas.
• My work must have value to me, and to others.
• The impact has to have a large footprint.  I like building big!

So, how did Mosso do on this list?  Extremely well.  I will not be building one team – but several teams.  I have met some of the smartest people – all in one company in downtown San Antonio.

My position is a senior one – I will eventually have a large team – and many of them I will need to hire.  That is important work that is important to the company, and to my new coworkers.  I’ll be allowed to run my teams and do my job – I’ll be helping grow/invent/implement some very cool technology.

The work environment is amazing – we have real humans at Mosso 24/7.  We have developers on call 24/7.  We work 24/7 (so you don’t have to!).  Developers build their own schedules for covering “on call” – they don’t need a “manager” – they are managing quite well right now :)  So I will focus on improving our processes and hiring more talented people (call me if you are interested – 210-845-4440).

New employees get their choice of computers.  You want a Windows desktop? – no problem.  One monitor, or two?  You want a 17” MacBook Pro (I Do!) – that’s cool as well.  One monitor, or two?  It’s really up to you.  Since we are building computing for the cloud, the systems we personally choose don’t really matter (except for where you feel most productive!).

Like any startup, you have a lot to do – your job description might as well read, “Succeed”.  I like that.  But we’re also backed by Rackspace – a very strong company (and a very cool company to work at in their own right – they’ve won a lot of awards for being a cool place to work).

I first met the Mosso crew when I invited Robert Scoble to come to San Antonio – I was just introduced to a couple of them – I didn’t get a chance to talk to them.  But a few weeks later I looked into what they were doing.  I became a customer.  I was (and am even more so now) impressed.  Those blog posts started a conversation that eventually led to here.  It was not planned.

But I am very pleased to be in an exciting position at Mosso – and am very happy to be part of the Rackspace family.  I am a Racker, and already proud of it

I won’t be able to talk much about what I am doing for a while.  But once I can, I’ll be sure to share my experience with you.

But as I learn more about Mosso, and what my teams look like – I’ll share that with you. 

Because I wouldn’t go to work for a company that didn’t excite me   And challenge me.

This one does.

written by rob

OK. If you haven’t read my previous post where MOSSO blew my mind, go read it now.  Then be prepared to be REALLY blown away.

I said I could create one domain that runs Windows and another that runs Linux - all on the same account.

I said I could run Windows with MS SQL or with MySQL.

I said I could run Windows and Ruby on Rails, or Linux and Ruby on Rails.

All of that amazed me.

But I had NO IDEA that I could run, ON ONE DOMAIN .Net, PHP, MySQL, and MS SQL.  I didn’t realize that my .Net app could talk to my MySQL database AND my MS SQL database.  Or that my PHP app could talk to my MySQL and MS SQL databases.

That my Linux apps could talk to my Windows databases.  And vise-versa.

All on the same domain.

All on the same domain!

I didn’t realize how many choices I had, and how many ways I could serve my clients all on one box - regardless of the application, database, Operating System, etc.

I honestly need to sit and think for a while because I have no clue how all of this can be true.  Just thinking about the back end that serves this is making my head spin a little bit.  The front-end - the part *I* work with is just DROP DEAD EASY.

I’ve got a feeling the back end is a bit more complex

The back end is where the BMVS (Black Magic Voodoo Shit) happens.  And it is some serious magic.

In my F.A.Q. page I say DesqView X is my favorite software ever.  Because it was magic.

But I think I need to update my F.A.Q. now.  MOSSO is making my head spin.

It honestly seems impossible.

And if I would not have been lucky enough to just talk to one of the inventors of the technology I probably still wouldn’t believe it.

My brain must rest.

Amazing.  After being at Rackspace all day yesterday, and visiting their new site the day before, I was already wondering if I shouldn’t just go work for them.  Rackspace is an amazing company.

But now I know.  If I leave consulting, I am applying at MOSSO.

It is that freaking cool.

written by rob tags: BMVS, Mosso, Rackspace

I opened an account on MOSSO today. It was VERY easy. Name, address, email, password, credit card number.

Bam! Everything just happens. I didn’t have to pick out a server configuration, a data plan, a firewall, anti-virus - none of that crap that is just a pain in the ass to keep up with.

In fact - I didn’t even have to decide if I wanted to run Windows or Linux — because I can make that decision for each domain I add. I am NOT bullshitting you! I “bought” one server. I created two domains. One runs LAMP and the other runs Windows Server. Really!

I can create another domain and run Ruby on Rails. I can run a domain on Windows with MySQL or MSSQL. I can run Linux with Ruby on Rails, or Linux with PHP/MySQL, etc. One box. One price. One login. One thing to manage. Very sweet!

All on the same “cloud” in the sky. All without worrying about updating anything, managing firewall ports, updating Anti-virus, etc.

Truly amazing technology! This is cloud computing without all of the pitfalls you get with other cloud computing platforms (you have to be a programmer, lightning can strike you at this altitude on some platforms, and the air gets thin up in the clouds).

But MOSSO protects you from ALL OF THAT. Really.

So far, so good. I still have some stuff to learn - and there are two things I don’t like - they aren’t big things, but sometimes it is the little things that bother me.

• First, I can’t pick the day of the month my credit card gets billed. I wish I could.
• Second, it costs $10.00 to transfer an existing domain. Sure, that gives you an extra year on your domain, but I think the first domain transfer should be free - as an incentive for me to move to MOSSO.

Like I said - these aren’t big issues, but they are areas I think MOSSO could improve on.

I won’t really put anything live on the new server until WordPress 2.5 comes out next week. No reason to do an install just to upgrade.

But the back end of this system must be VERY freaking cool. I must talk to them more about it!

And I’ll let the rest of you know more about MOSSO as I learn more.

So far I am more than impressed. I almost cannot believe they are doing what they are doing. It seems illogical!

And what would you expect to pay for this kind of power and flexibility? $1000/month? $500/month? No! It is only $100 a month to run a wide variety of sites on one platform that grows and expands dynamically - as you need it.

Really. Fucking. Amazing.

written by rob tags: Brain Dead Simple to Use, Cloud Computing, Rackspace