# pluralizeListTitles = "true" # hugo function useful for non-english languages, find out more in https://gohugo.io/getting-started/configuration/#pluralizelisttitles
@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ Hi, my name's Nick, he/him. I'm a software developer, infrastructure engineer, a
I do a little [drawing](https://www.artstation.com/nickdumas) now and then but my big artistic focuses are music and tabletop gaming with an emphasis on systems that decrease the power imbalance between the facilitator and players. I make weird abstract tracks with [bespoke synth](https://www.bespokesynth.com/) and have a weekly game session where we try out new game systems and regularly rotate through who's running what.
I also offer [mentoring](/services/mentoring/) services for programming, note-taking, and general problem-solving.
## My Credentials
In no particular order I've worked on
- Python set-top box and browser frontends for OTT ( over the topology ) media delivery networks.
@ -3,15 +3,27 @@ title: "Personalized Coaching and Mentorship"
description: "Are you having trouble organizing your knowledge or making concrete decisions about priorities and solving challenges? I might be able to help."
showTableofContents: true
showTaxonomies: false
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---
{{<lead>}} Life is complicated. Your notes don't have to be.{{</lead>}}
## Why should you trust me?
I've got [~20 years experience](/resume.pdf) in software engineering and system administration, roles which call for attention to detail, the ability to recall and synthesize information in novel ways, as well as identifying problems and breaking them down into specific actionable goals. Effective note-taking is much the same: [notes are tools](/2024/09/notes-as-tools) that you create to make some part of your life better. Sometimes the problems they solve are foreseen and sometimes they surprise you.
I've got [~20 years experience](/resume.pdf) in software engineering and system administration, roles which call for attention to detail, the ability to recall and synthesize information in novel ways, as well as identifying problems and breaking them down into specific actionable goals. Effective note-taking is much the same: notes are tools that you create to make some part of your life better. Sometimes the problems they solve are foreseen and sometimes they surprise you.
Effective software and effective note-taking systems both combine interactive human input with "stored" data to offer a solution to some problem in a person or organization's life.
## How can I help you?
### The Short List
What kind of mentorship can I offer?
- Programming
- Python
- Golang
- Note-taking
- For concrete technical advice, most of my experience is with [Obsidian.md](https://obsidian.md)
- General philosophy ( see below )
- Website development and hosting
- Career advice in softare development and system administration
### Analysis Paralysis
Knowledge management presents an almost endless ocean of possible solutions. Being able to [rubber-duck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging) your problems with someone who can offer concrete guidance on tools that can solve them will let you move from "I don't know where to start" to "It works, how can I improve it even more?"