I'm running for the Board of Alderman in my hometown of Smithville, Missouri. I've set up a campaign site, and I get to meet the public as a candidate for the first time tonight at a candidate forum being hosted by the local newspaper. Whether I win or lose, I am honored to have the opportunity to get to know the members of my community, and I hope I get to serve as their alderman. Whether you live in my ward or not, please be sure to vote on April 6!

A couple months ago I announced my departure from Commerce Bank.  I left my job as their lead developer of online banking, and joined RiverPoint Group as a contractor.

I'm not going to blog bile (see #5 on that list).  I'll just say this:  I don't think contracting is a good fit for me.  I wasn't as effective as I'm used to being, and it really hurt me to go from feeling like a leader, in control of my project and caring about its outcome as a reflection on me, to being a detached mercenary, without a whole lot of say in anything.  I also wasn't prepared to put in the time the client required of me, especially in light of my family life;  I just didn't have any time with my wife, Michelle, or our two awesome little boys, Connor and Cade.  That was the hardest thing for me to deal with:  Seeing my boys in the morning when I left for work, only to return home after they were in bed.

Be sure you understand me when I say I'm not blogging bile.  RiverPoint is a great company, and if you want to be a contractor, I think they're a great company to work for.  Our client, who has asked me not to disclose their name on this blog, is one of the best companies in the country to work for, and they deserve that reputation.  I just did not fully anticipate what my new role was and how it was going to affect me on a personal and professional level.

So I was talking with some friends of mine at Corillian (now a part of CheckFree), and I asked them if they thought I'd be a good fit there.  My friends gave me a good recommendation, then I went through a series of intense interviews, and now I've been hired.  On September 17, after taking a week off to relax, I will be joining Corillian/CheckFree as a Sr. Software Engineer/Technical Lead in their Professional Services division.  What this means is I will be doing a job very similar to my old job at Commerce, but I will be doing it for other clients of Corillian Pro Services. 

Ready for the best part?  I'll be working remotely from my home office.  This is the Holy Grail for me;  A job that suits my talents, that I enjoy doing, in a company whose values align with my own, that I can do from home.  I'm thrilled that the time I used to spend commuting can now be spent with the kids, or on open source projects, or going to Lodge meetings, or .NET user groups.  As much as I hate to leave a new job so soon, there are no words to describe how much I am looking forward to this.

For almost seven years, I have been very proud to count myself as an employee of Commerce Bank.  Circa 2003 or so, I started to establish myself as the go-to guy for all things web technology-related in the bank as I took over primary responsibility as the lone developer on many of Commerce's retail Internet and intranet applications.  I was very successful in that role, and over the past few years, Commerce gave me the opportunity to lead the effort to move Commerce Bank's online banking development away from Corillian's professional services division and into our own development house.  With a great team of developers, QA testers, and project leaders, we succeeded with flying colors.  I put in many long days and had a great deal of fun, both in terms of technical problems and interpersonal interactions.

Then, one day a few weeks ago, I realized that I wasn't finding any joy in it anymore.  I was burnt out.  I haven't entirely pinpointed why.  There is a feeling of needing a new challenge, like I've done all there is for me to do at Commerce.  There's some minor dissatisfaction with finding clear direction for me to grow my career.  And, to be truthful, there's probably a little wanderlust, a need for a change in scenery.

Whatever it was causing my funk, it wasn't getting any better, so I acted on it.  And so it is with a mixture of regret, trepidation, and excitement that I announce that I have resigned my position at Commerce Bank as of July 11.

I have accepted a position as an Associate with the RiverPoint Group, taking a contract engagement with a local interactive media company.  This company has a reputation as one of the best environments for developers in the KC area, and has been named one of the best places to work in the country.  I'm thrilled that I get to experience that environment, and I'm looking forward to meeting the new challenges that are sure to come.

At the same time, I'm very, very nervous about my decision.  Commerce is all I've known for seven years.  I'm very comfortable there.  Everyone knows me.  I have a reputation as a guru on a range of topics.  I've put much of myself into our online banking system and our development process.  I consider my coworkers at Commerce to be my closest friends and family.  As excited as I am, all of this makes it very hard to let go.

However, I'm (mostly) confident I've made the right choice, and I know that, win, lose, or draw, this whole experience is something I have to do to understand what I'm really capable of and where I really fit in the developer community.  As my mom says, for every door that closes, another opens.

So, grieving over the end of this era be damned, I have to boldly stride forward and meet this challenge head-on.

Wish me luck.

I decided to go ahead and purchase my own domain name.  Welcome to CamTheGeek.com!

This is my latest attempt at a blog.  My previous attempts were of lower quality than what I had envisioned, so I'm taking another whack at it.  Ideally, I'm trying to model myself as a one-man Slashdot, bringing forth news and articles most important to me, and hopefully, you, the reader.

So what does "most important to me" mean?  This means that what you'll read will include:

• Hardcore geek stuff, like C# code samples.
• Articles culled from IT news sources, such as Slashdot.
• Articles of interest (or humor) from other general sources, like Fark.
• Reviews of software and gizmos.
  
• More hardcore geek stuff, like Star Wars book reviews.
• Thoughts and comments on video gaming, particularly Xbox and Xbox 360.
  
• Occasional musings on the Kansas City Chiefs.
• Occasional thoughts on fatherhood and family.  Expect to see cute photos of my kid from time to time.
• Maybe, possibly, a very rare comment about Freemasonry (my fraternity) or the Knights Templar.
  

• Anything overly political and/or of an inflammatory religious nature.  Suffice to say, I am basically libertarian in all my beliefs, religious and political, and to me that implies that my beliefs are mine, yours are yours, and it's not my responsibility to bring you to my way of thinking.  I believe in a supreme being and in civil liberty.  That's as far as I'm willing to affirm my faith and politics in the eyes of the public.
• Anything overly critical of Commerce Bank, my employer.  Constructive criticism is one thing.  Openly biting the hand that feeds you is just stupid.  So, from this point forward, pay heed to the disclaimer listed on this blog (the one about how my opinions are not those of my employer).

Without further ado, let the blogging begin.  Thanks for reading!