Here I am, half a year into my experiment with cutting loose from Microsoft, and I think I can pronounce it a success:

  • I now have two Rails consulting jobs running, and I'm as busy on that front as I want to be from now until about the end of August, which is about as far out as my consulting time has ever been assured. This doesn't mean that I'm not looking for more, but it means that I'm feeling a comfortable cushion, and a confidence that I'll find more work to keep the pipeline full. My Rails rate is nowhere near what my top C# rate was (or for that matter, what my top Netware rate was many years ago), but that's OK.

  • I've got a couple of leads on actual US-dollar paying Second Life work, which I am actively pursuing.

  • I still don't feel like I've reached the "expert" level with Rails yet, but at least I can get it to mostly do what I want with minimal fuss. The times when I go off the clock to research something are getting fewer and taking less time.

  • My .NET skills are rapidly deteriorating; I haven't written a line of C# or VB code in months.

  • I'm moved almost entirely to the Mac for my day-to-day work, with the exception of maintaining the Larkware site.