
Help HN: Does anyone need a programmer for the next two days? - devonbarrett
I am in a bit of a tricky financial situation, and urgently need $300 by the next two days; no one I know is able to help me with this so I am reaching out to HN.<p>In return I will do any sort of programming you require for the next 48 hours solid. I can do web development(Experience with Javascript[ Node Meteor] Python[Django], Php[My own frameworks, CakePHP, Codeignitor... etc]), Java, C#...<p>Normally I would not post something like this but I am desperate. If you would like to know more email is in profile.
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larrys
I feel bad for you and actually considered simply advancing you $300. But then
I saw this:

"From start to finish Devon wasted my time for nearly 6 months, teased me with
a demo, then went AWOL, then came back from holiday without advising me and
then still didn't provide any communication. I chased him for two months and
been very patient but the lack of comms on his part was very frustrating. I
would never deal with him again, as I cant trust his judgement and would not
be confident for him to complete any work on time.”

[https://www.elance.com/s/devonbarrett/job-
history/?t=1](https://www.elance.com/s/devonbarrett/job-history/?t=1)

Noting that the other reviews by the same person don't fit that pattern:

[https://www.elance.com/e/public/Co5ig7n7zvxc7ns%257EoswA82UF...](https://www.elance.com/e/public/Co5ig7n7zvxc7ns%257EoswA82UFXEMJtbUiZqb%257EGxOsvm8-/)

Most of the other work for which you have positive reviews are for smaller
dollar amounts.

Reason for the negative feedback?

~~~
devonbarrett
That project was hell.

It started as a simply Android and IOS apps. So I completed a version which
outlined the basic idea that was agreed on along with an API that supported
the apps. So once he was happy he paid the first milestone. Then I did go away
on holiday for two weeks, I tried to send him an email but I saved it to my
drafts by accident - my fault; and his right to be angry at that. We worked it
out and agreed to continue. At this point I was waiting on him to provide the
designs for the final part of the app. A week later still nothing, so we
agreed to go on and have me just put a basic design to it, which I was unhappy
about, as it was not what we agreed on, but I continued. Once I was done I
went to run the app before sending it to him and it would not show any data...

He had another freelancer working on the site who had completely over written
my API. He had no backups. So to make up for my loss of communication before I
agreed to redo it for free, a week after agreeing to redo he cancelled the job
and left that...

They are all small amounts other than the Karaoke Project, which went so well
I have now been building new features for over a year on which is why it is
still in continuation.

~~~
etjossem
Might I suggest discussing version control with your clients in the future?
"Collaboration" might be an over-charitable word for the relationship between
you and the other freelancer, but even an agreement to commit in two branches
to the same git repository (e.g. one hosted privately on
[https://github.com/](https://github.com/) or
[https://bitbucket.org/](https://bitbucket.org/)) would have gone a long way
towards preventing this outcome. In this case, git would have kept a permanent
backup of every new feature/fix in your development process, as well as each
of the other freelancer's changes. You'd have been able to merge the two at
every milestone (or every day!) with minimal pain.

If you're new to version control, GitHub has a nice git tutorial at
[http://try.github.io/](http://try.github.io/).

~~~
devonbarrett
Don't worry I suggested it multiple times -_-

~~~
bdcravens
Give it away. Setup an org bitbucket account. Give other devs access - it's up
to them whether or not to use it.

1) You have an out if others wreck the ship 2) At the very least you've backed
up your stuff (good even if you're the only dev)

------
jawns
I notice your website has a projects page, but it's empty.

Can you tell us about anything you've worked on in the past?

~~~
devonbarrett
Sorry I am in the process of creating the site. I'll stick to my web
development history because that is probably the most appropriate.

I started the web development world in PHP where I used frameworks such as
cakePHP, wordpress, codeignitior from there I progressed into python, Java
Applets. Recently I have been really interested in Meteor and other java
script frameworks. By far Meteor is my favorite tool of the moment.

In terms of what I have worked on: -Last year I was the lead developer on a
web app that allowed users to create funeral programs and other memorial
products. -I freelanced rewriting a music sharing/streaming service. -I have
developed a multi-screen karaoke system for a London based Karaoke company. -I
worked on a Medical system which allowed users to monitor their blood sugar
level and receive alerts when it entered certain thresholds. ... and many
more.

Please email me if you want more information about any of them.

------
salibhai
If you don't get a response, there is always odesk, freelancer, guru, etc..

~~~
tocomment
Or do you have anything you could sell? That might be a quick way to get some
money.

~~~
devonbarrett
Being the super geek I am, all the high value goods I own are either inside my
computer or it is my bed.

~~~
tocomment
Hmm maybe you could donate bone marrow then?

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sdoowpilihp
I can help out, and I do have a small (i.e. easily finished in a day) node.js
project that I would love some help with. email me at the address in my
profile if you haven't already found someone.

------
devonbarrett
I just want to say a big thanks to everyone! I was completely taken a back by
the reaction, and the fact this hit the front page astounded me - thank you!
If I have not replied to you yet I will try to by the end of the night, I have
been swamped. Thank you HN!

------
swohns
I'd like to help a fellow hacker in need! We have a project that could use
some django expertise. I'd love to see some of your work first though, mind
sending it my way? My email is in my profile.

~~~
seagreen
Do you mind if others contact you as well? I might be looking for Django work
soon.

Also, the "email" section of HN profiles is private, so if you want other
people to see your email put it in the "about" section.

EDIT: Soon as in "a couple weeks from now". Not trying to compete with the OP.

------
uptown
Why do you need the money? Someone might be willing to float you if the
reason/situation is valid.

~~~
devonbarrett
I brought an item last month with a deferred 30 day payment, which I was going
to cover when a client I was freelancing for paid me last week. However, they
have disappeared off the face of the earth and it does not look like they will
reappear soon.

~~~
uptown
Is this you?

[http://mugshots.com/Current-Events/Devon-
Barrett.7485208.htm...](http://mugshots.com/Current-Events/Devon-
Barrett.7485208.html)

~~~
e1ven
Why does it matter?

Trying to pull more information from people than they want to share is
somewhat rude.

~~~
uptown
Because lending money is always about trust and managing risk.

In the context of potentially offering to float cash to a stranger - and
getting a vague response about the exact situation requiring urgent cash - I'd
like to know whether the person is trustworthy. Finding a mug shot that
potentially resembles the cartoon version of the person requesting the cash
from their website (
[http://www.devonbarrett.net/](http://www.devonbarrett.net/) ) I see no harm
in asking whether the person in the mug shot with the same name and
potentially similar physical attributes was the same person.

~~~
wtracy
Except that he never asked anyone to lend him money. He asked for someone to
hire him on a contract basis.

~~~
uptown
Totally accurate. But he also replied to my question about why he needed the
money in the context of the money being a loan rather than for work performed,
so I continued the discussion.

Personally, I'd trust somebody with $300 before I'd trust them with my
codebase.

------
dkroy
I most likely would be willing to float you the money just email me, and we
can talk.

~~~
devonbarrett
Thank you for the offer, but, where possible I would like to be able to work
for it. But thank you very much though!!

------
cpach
I’m afraid I can’t help you out directly but I wish you best of luck!

~~~
devonbarrett
Thank you very much!

------
aarondf
emailed

~~~
devonbarrett
Thank you! replied.

~~~
aarondf
where'd you go? We were supposed to chat on Skype and you disappeared.

~~~
devonbarrett
Sorry everything swamped me, give me two mins.

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jiggy2011
Stop buying crack on credit.

~~~
devonbarrett
Sorry the temptation is too much.

~~~
etjossem
I like your style. Hope you find a good gig.

~~~
devonbarrett
Thank you very much!

