Nicholas (Nikk) Madigan Folts

Welcome

Welcome to my site! I am Nicholas Madigan Folts. This site is a collection of everything "Nikk-ish"... I am a complete geek so bare with me... So a little about myself... I am a 30-year-old who recently graduated from Florida State University with a Masters in Computer Science. During school I worked as a Teaching Assistant for Computer Literacy I and II, and during summer breaks I worked at Freescale Semiconductors writing extensive Excel/Powerpoint VBA macros. I love programming, video games, bowling, and movies.

Nikk with 2 k's?

The question that I am asked the most by people I meet is "Why do you spell your name (Nikk) with two k's?" Well, the answer is quite simple, I am too unique to be another "Nick"... But seriously, it actually came about because, until I was about 11-years-old, I was known as "Nikkie". A title which, quite obviously, I had to put an end to before it stuck (unfortunately many of the people I grew up around still know me as this "Nikkie" person). I decided to drop the "ie" and finally graduate into man-hood...

Now, you may wonder why "Nikkie" was spelt with two k's... My father's name is Patt (notice the two t's), the second t came about because his mother's name is Patrica, and she too often went by Pat... So, to be able to determine which "Pat" you were talking about, my grandmother slapped an extra t onto her son's name... My parents then thought it'd be clever to spell it Nikk rather than Nick..

Folts Family

One of my many geek-traits is that I am obsessed with researching my genealogy... I find it mezmorizing and can get lost in research for days on end... This is a quick rundown of my Folts heritage... For a more detailed list, as well as links, check the genealogy section of my site for more details... You can also check out my Uncle's Folts genealogy page...

1. John FOLTS - Polly MARKLAND
2. Alpha Joesph FOLTS- Martha Hariet WARDLAW
3. Henry Douglas FOLTS - Jennie Speed BOYD
4. Aubry Fairfax FOLTS - Frances Ingram Lawson LOCKWOOD
5. Lavens Douglas FOLTS - Patricia Fox HOLLAND
6. Patrick Douglas FOLTS - Lori Marie MADIGAN
7. Nicholas Madigan FOLTS "Nikk" - ?

I’m a Father!

Posted May 9th, 2012

YAY! This last Saturday (Cinco de Mayo) at 7:39 PM, I became a father to a beautiful, healthy little girl, Kaylee Madigan Folts. She was 7 lbs 4 oz. and 19.5 inches long. Contractions started during the Avenger’s movie on Friday night around 9:30, and got more and more frequent and intense. By 12:00 I had called the doctor, as they were getting closer and closer together. By 2:00, we were loading up the car to head to the hospital.

Once we got to the hospital, Christine’s contractions had died down, she felt we were going to be sent home, but boy was she wrong! We were admitted, and eventually they Dr. confirmed that her water had broken and that she was 3cm dilated! It turned out later, it was only leaking, but enough to relieve some of the pain, and they think that is what caused the contractions to die down. Anyway, we were brought to a delivery room at about 4:30, where Christine was prepped. By 6:30 she was in enough pain for an epidural. Christine’s mom and sister were on their way up from Connecticut at this point, and were expected by 7:30 AM.

Well, 7:30 AM rolls around, and we get a call from Alison (Christine’s sister), and she informs us that they were in a car accident literally at the very last stop light pulling into the hospital. This intersection happened to be on the city lines of Boston and Brookline, and be on a state road. So, after figuring out whose jurisdiction it was, they talked to the Police, and a tow truck came and took their car. Finally, at around 9 AM they made it to the room and which gave me the opportunity to relax a little, as I knew there was more people to help.

At around 10:30, Christine’s epidural stopped working, and the pain was even more intense than before, as they had given her medication to help with the contractions. Turns out, that the epidural was able to work its way 4 to 5cm further than it was originally intended. The reason for this seems to have been that during the first procedure, Christine got light headed so the Dr. let her lay down before applying enough tape to be sure it would not slip. Luckily, it slipped further in, as they could simply adjust it and reapply tape (more thoroughly this time). Then the pain went away.

The rest of the day was pretty much sit and wait. The Dr. checked her progress around 2:45, at which point she was only 4cm, so the Dr. investigated further and determined that the water was still (partially) intact. At 3:30ish, they properly broke the water, and again we waited.

Eventually, the Dr. decides that enough time had passed and went to check how things were progressing. “Hmmmm” she says with a big smile, followed by “You’re 10cm dilated.” This is when my adrenaline peaked higher than it has ever ever ever been before. To the point where I had to sit down. All I could think is “Wow, this is about to happen.”

While I was freaking out, I tried (pretty miserably) to play it cool and make Christine not worry. Christine’s mom was calling Alison, as she had left to get some dinner with her dad. Turns out, they had just sat down, and she was just served a large margarita (which was very appropriate for Cinco de Mayo). From her accounts, she downed the whole thing while she was standing up, and then she sprinted back to the hospital.

Luckily, the Dr. had kindly asked Christine to hold off on pushing, as 3 other people were in the process of delivering at that exact same time. That super moon seemed to put everyone in labor, to the point where nurses were working double shifts.

Finally, at around 5:45, we were told she could start pushing. I was taught the count, and away we went. I counted and counted and counted… to the point I was sick of my own hypnotic voice. “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 <with a downward stress>, 10 <with and upward stress>”. At one point, I felt like I was speeding up the count as to help out Christine, turns out the nurse agreed and helped me find my pace again.

The top of the head became visible about an hour into the battle, 15 minutes after that, Kaylee decided it was a good time to get the hiccups… right there in the birth canal. With ever hiccup, you could see her little head jump. It was hilarious!

Pushing continued, and so did my counting… until finally one last big push at 7:39 PM, and there she was. My daughter! I cut the umbilical cord (something I was unsure I could do without passing out, as I almost passed out when I saw Jesse cut Ashlyn’s during her delivery), and then Kaylee was placed onto Christine’s chest.

Welcome to the world Kaylee! You have made me the happiest man ever! Can’t wait to see you grow up and to experience all these new things that we will get to share!

New Gig

Posted March 23rd, 2012

Man, that was a very hard decision, but in the end I am pretty sure it is the best one! I have picked my next gig and will be working for a company called iFactory. They seem to have an awesome culture. They are also a family oriented business with a good work/life balance. Very nervous, but very excited at the same time.

I think this will be a great next step for me, giving me the opportunity to work with a larger team, with a more back-end focused track. I’ll be working on their core platform that they have built for hosting websites for publishers/dictionaries. Having this experience will make me more well-rounded and I can get as familiar with back-end work as I am with front-end. Though I have done back-end work, my focus has been front-end as the companies I have been with have needed me there the most. Anyway, I can’t wait to get my hands dirty and dive-in.

So between my now and when I start I have to finish getting the house put together (which I had hoped to do while interviewing, but interviewing is harder than a full time job), get my wisdom teeth removed (which will take away from the time I have to get the house ready for the baby), and finally get my hip fixed.

Decision Time

Posted March 22nd, 2012

So, after having 2-3 phone or in-person interviews a day for nearly 3 straight weeks, it is finally time to make a decision as to what it is I want to do as a next step in my career. I have lots of things to consider, from some very different companies.

1. Which company would allow me to have the best work/life balance? I need to know that I will have time to get to know my daughter, who is on the way in May.
2. Where can I learn the most, and continue down a path of becoming a well-rounded developer? I really need a place where the people, technologies, and the overall atmosphere foster my personal growth as an engineer.
3. What salary will support our lifestyle, especially with a baby on the way? While not too important to me, I do need to know that I will be able to afford having a newborn… especially with the cost of daycare in the Boston area.
4. How do I fit in culturally with the companies? Will I mesh well both personally and professionally with the current processes, policies and people?
5. How much stability do I need? The job market is hot, which permits more risk, but at the same time, I have a daughter on the way… so where is that sweet spot?
6. How excited can I get about a company and their product? As anyone who knows me is well aware of, I think people should be excited to go to work everyday. Of course, I am excited about all the places I applied to, but regardless, this is a factor that I need to consider.
7. Flexibility of hours and working at home? If I have a plumber, or some other sort of service person that needs to come to my house, can I work from home? Or, if I need to run errands in the evening, can I skip the commute so I can do just that.
8. Location, location, location…. what will the commute be like? One train, two train, a train and a bus, 30 minutes each way, an hour each way? Places to eat, ease of getting to after work events, etc.

Those are all the key points, at least the ones that have enough weight for me to put on the list. I really need to pick a position without having any doubts. The worst situation I could put myself in is accepting something and then always wondering “what if I had gone with company X?”. Of course, nothing will match my awesome story of turning down the chance of millions of dollars by working for Facebook…. I love my wife and have never been more excited (other than the day Christine agreed to marry me, and the day I was married) about the upcoming events in my life. Baby Kaylee wouldn’t be on her way into this world if I had taken Facebook’s offer. B-)

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