Indefatigable

Posted by indomitablehef | Filed under LeanKit, Kanban, Personal

I have this little tagline at the top of my blog: “Inimitable. Indefatigable. Indomitable.” Now, those are mostly there because I’m a lover of words, and I just like those words. But I also see them as something to aspire to. I think I can lay some claim to being “Inimitable”, and at times even “Indomitable”. But until recently, I don’t think I ever understood how hard “Indefatigable” can be. (Indefatigable = tireless). You see, I’ve started my own business, with a couple of partners. I still have my regular job, too. My wife says that I’m now working three full time jobs (she counts being a Dad and Husband as one of those jobs, which is nice).

My third job (the new business) starts every night at about 10 or 11PM, after my daughter is asleep, and my wife and I have had time to sit together and drink a glass of wine and watch a little TV. At midnight, we have our daily standup call with my partners here in Tennessee and our European contractors, who are waking up early (at 7 or 8AM) to join the call. This time pretty much guarantees that everyone is equally sleepy.

From there, I work until 2 or 3AM, or even later, and finally collapse into bed when I start falling asleep at the keyboard. Our daughter likes to wake up at 5 or 6 in the morning, so my wife and I take turns being the one to wake up first, and whoever gets that first duty usually gets a few more minutes of sleep right before having to get up and start the day. My wonderful wife is very supportive and works out ways to give me blocks of time on weekends where I can work as well.

It’s been a lot of hard work for the past few months, but we’re finally getting very close to a full product launch. We’ve been in beta for awhile, and we may still call it “beta” for a little while after we launch, but it will be out there and available for use and purchase by early November. I should mention, too, that my partners, Stephen Franklin and Daniel Norton, have also been burning the candle at both ends - and I send out a special “thanks” to Leslie and Mary (their wives) for also being so supportive during this time. And we couldn’t have done it without the help of our intrepid young team of contractors - those guys are rock stars, and I feel lucky to know them.

I don’t expect I’ll be back to regular blogging anytime soon. There’s still much work to be done, and my personal blog is definitely going to take a back seat for awhile. But someday, when “we own the company we want to work for”, I’ll be back to writing on my own a bit.

Oh, yes…the new company! We’re called Bandit Software, LLC. (named after Stephen’s dog, Bandit). Our first product is LeanKit Kanban, and you can sign up for the beta, and get a free account, at http://LeanKitKanban.com

Shaving, as it should be

Posted by indomitablehef | Filed under Personal

During my recent lapse in posting, sleepingKelly has finally prevailed upon me to post more personal things on this blog. I don’t intend to stop doing the kinds of things I’ve been posting so far, but I’ve agreed that it might be nice to have a little less structure. After all, I can only give out so much advice before I begin to gag on my own hypocrisy.

Anyway, I recently celebrated my 32nd birthday in grand style. My lovely wife threw me a kick-ass party, baked a kick-ass cake, and bought me the best (kick-ass) birthday gift I’ve gotten in a long time: A traditional shaving kit - brush, razor, and soap.

She knew I wanted one, because I’d been talking about it and doing iWindow shopping for awhile now. I first got interested in the idea after reading this article. It turns out the way to get the best shave is the old-fashioned way, with an old-fashioned safety razor that takes double-edged blades. Believe me, I will never willingly buy another Mach3, Turbo4 or any other multi-bladed razor again.

The set that sleepingKelly bought me is this one:

If you shave, do yourself a favor. Throw away your old razors, and get one of these. You will not regret it. While you’re at it, get yourself some of this for afterwards. A little expensive, but it lasts a long time, and it’s worth it. Not convinced? Go back and read the article. He does a great job of explaining all the details. And it’s all true. Trust me.

Gettin’ Hitched

Posted by indomitablehef | Filed under Personal

The IndomitableHef is getting married and honeymooning. This blog will go on a short break until June 25. See you on the other side.

Home Sweet IndomitableHome

Posted by indomitablehef | Filed under Personal

I’ve neglected this blog for the past couple of weeks, while I’ve been busy buying and moving into this little house in Franklin, TN.

But I’m back!