Joseph Timmer: to create more than I consume

I like using code to solve real problems that I've had.

Monetizing time spent in an app is not pro-human.

Technology should be optimized for humans, and prioritizing less in-app time needed to get the job done is so right now.

I make things around my house - furniture, decks and what not.

I make things in the yard - zip-lines, forts, vegetables, and such.

I make things on the computer - but try to keep it out of my life otherwise.

Tools

CSS HTML Javascript Ruby Python Go Staedtler black triplus fineliner Ubuntu PostgreSQL Table Saw Honda F220 tiller Hestra Tived Apple Notes Sliding Miter Saw

Writing: I write as a way to grow and process the things that are naturally occupying my mind. These writings will range from technical topics to gardening strategies, but they will all have some philosophical abstract which drives my writing about concrete things. I believe that thinking time is something we are loosing quickly in the battle for our attention driven by the internet. Personally, I have attempted to optimize my device use and have thought quite a bit about it here. The goal of this silliness is to create as much space as possible to ponder things. This means that when I go the bathroom, I do not have a device to pull out and spend my attention, but I get to think about things, like parenting, and how to write better css.

Projects

Coming soon

Work: I dropped out of college in 2009 and spent the following summer selling pest control door-to-door. Motivated from door-to-door sales as an introvert, I quickly began brainstorming on what I could be working on next. I was lucky enough to get into programming food sorting equipment through my father's business. In this time, I continued to ponder how to spend 80% of my work life in my sweet spot. This eventually led me to programming for the web.

AdvicePay + XY Planning Network [2017 - now]

I joined AdvicePay as an opportuntiy to use Go on a daily basis. The project existed as a couple hundred files in a single directory. I helped organize and create a framework for this pile, and we launched the product a couple of months after I got involved. It is cash-flow positive today after a small investment.

After launch, I hopped over to XY Planning Network where we built an archiving tool to help keep our members compliant. It's been a tool where I've learned a lot and wrote a lot of code. Most recently, I am pondering the best tooling to be effective and how shared internal libraries can make our work more robust.

Bethel Music [2015 - 2017]

I had a fantasic time building rails applications for the Bethel family of companies. They are a scrappy group of people trying to do big things and taking lots of risks along the way. I had a fantastic team that helped to quickly grow my arhcitecural thinking as it relates to building scalable applications. Seth Davis is a gem, and I can't recommend him highly enough. John Burtness managed our small team and created an environment without limits. This will always be a picture of what a small team can produce when the environment is right.

NewBOS Partners [2014 - 2015]

NewBOS took a chance on me when I was fresh out of a Dev Bootcamp, and I was delighted to build actual tools for real people. This was a short-lived opportunity as I was the first primary web developer on the team and quickly saw my inadequacy and need for mentoring. I credit Jeff White for my spark in the industry, hiring me when I needed it, and I hope some value was created for the organization through my time there.

Loring Industries [2009 - 2014]

Working with family is a wonderful and terrifying experience. I'm extremely grateful for this time as it had zero structure and forced me to think like an entreprenuer if I was going to provide any value to the business. My father taught me that no job is too small and lived out humility in the workplace. My sister taught me to stand tough and to do the right thing, even when the whole world seems against you.