tl;dr: Fill out this form. Contribute to a great cause. Learn that thing you've been putting off.

A year and change ago I did a Getting Git workshop at my coworker spot in Seattle, Office Nomads.

Getting bootstrapped--self-sufficient--on new technologies is tough, especially if you don't have a good relationship with someone experienced. Conferences and user groups can be intimidating and rarely offer opportunities to dig in from the beginning--especially for more than the length of a 50-minute presentation.

I've learned a lot of fun technology since I left Microsoft 5 years ago--has it been that long?--in no small part because people in the know were kind enough to show me the way.

There are three pieces of tech I love showing people and I feel--at least compared to beginners--I can offer a great starting point:

• Git
• Ruby on Rails
• Google Closure Compiler and Libraries - used to build Agent 008 Ball, among other things at Pixel Lab.

Fill out this form. Once I find a sweet spot of interest, I'm going to schedule a workshop. A weeknight or a weekend morning/afternoon in Capitol Hill (Seattle).

The price of admission? A donation to United Republic -- a group dedicated to getting money out of politics.

You get to learn some great tech and we both get a warm fuzzy helping out a great organization.