Good Bye to One of Our Favorite Geeks
Last week one of my favorite developers walked into my office and gave his 2 week notice. Ryan Stille has taken a position with another company here in Omaha. We are extremely sad to see him go. Not Dumbledore dying in book 6 sad... but still really sad. I first met Ryan Stille years ago when I started the Nebraska ColdFusion User Group (Necfug.com). He and his co-worker drove to the meetings from Sioux City - about an hour and a half away. I had no idea that this chance meeting would turn into such a long and profitable friendship for me.
A little more than 3 years ago I was looking for an addition to my growing staff and Ryan graciously consented to come on board as a ColdFusion programmer. Ryan has been a tremendous asset to our staff in the time he has been here and CF Webtools has grown with his help and expertise. For one thing, we were mostly a Windows shop when Ryan came on board, but by now we are about half Windows and half Linux. It's no small feat to convince a guy (yours truly) who has made his living as an MCSE to move the bulk of his heavy lifting to Linux, but Ryan's quiet confidence made it a piece of cake.
Here are a few things I learned from Ryan over the years we have been associated.
- Practically everything I know about Linux.
- There is always a better way to do things.
- There is probably a cheaper way to do things.
- What an "unconference" is.
- Geeks can be NASCAR fans.
- Some ice is better than others. As a corollary, not all "on-tap" soft drinks are created equal.
- If you are persistent you can buy a great used car for next to nothing.
- 3 monitors are better than 2.
- When it comes to monitors size does matter/
- A good RC helicopter is expensive and can cause injury.
- How to successfully manage a user group.
I hope he shines as brightly for his next employer as he has here at CF Webtools. He will be greatly missed. Actually, it's my fondest hope that he really hates his next place and comes crawling asking for his job back (with a substantial raise of course :). Anyway, good luck to you Ryan. We'll keep track of you on your blog and see you at the user group meetings. Here's hoping you continue to increase in knowledge and experience. I know if hard work and intelligence equal success you will undoubtedly rise to the top wherever you go.
5 Comments
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Wow Mark, thanks for the kind comments. I've really appreciated my time here at CF WebTools. I've learned a lot and everyone has been great to work with. I'm happy to be able to call you a former boss and current friend.
-Ryan -
Thank you Mark (and please thank Ann for us, too) for all the kindness & caring you have shown us these past few years. -
wow. Hey Mark, chin up, you know Dumbledore didn't really die right? ;) To Ryan, in the short time we worked together i feel you taught me alot as well, and i wish you the best of luck in whatever your new job brings. -
Stille is a great guy and cf genius. Just being friends with him, I learn so much. Well said Mark.
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