Thoughts

JAN 26, 2023, 3 minute read — BOOTSTRAPPING, SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

I naively thought I could apply the same complex & scalable solutions used by actual companies to my side projects. I was wrong.

JAN 22, 2023, 3 minute read — SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

DNS sinkholes like Pi-hole have to rapidly decide whether a new URL is allowed - what data structures might they use under the hood to enable quick responses?

JAN 12, 2023, 5 minute read — SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

A small collection of confessions from everyday devs at companies across the industry. When impostor syndrome strikes, they can act as a reminder that we're all human.

JAN 4, 2023, 5 minute read — GUIDES

Not overwhelmed yet by all the Spotify Wrapped clones? Follow along to make your own Venmo Wrapped!

DEC 11, 2022, 2 minute read — MISC

Icebreakers that don't suck, already tested in real-life rather than being written for SEO spam.

DEC 9, 2022, 5 minute read — SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Finding a solution to parse unescaped double quotes in my JSON strings, with minimal tears.

OCT 4, 2022, 5 minute read — CAREER

Given a remote worker allowed to live in any state, how does their tax burden vary if they move?

OCT 4, 2022, 5 minute read — GUIDES

A simple guide to self-host n8n in just a few minutes on fly.io.

AUG 25, 2022, 3 minute read — SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Tired of hand calculating the total cost for your graduated pricing tier in Stripe? Me, too!

MAY 7, 2022, 4 minute read — GUIDES

A simple guide to self-host a NocodDB Airtable alternative in just a few minutes, for free.

MAY 7, 2022, 4 minute read — GUIDES

A simple guide to self-host an Actual server in just a few minutes, for free.

MAY 4, 2022, 6 minute read — GUIDES

Let the nice robots at GitHub handle sending Venmo requests to your friends.

APR 30, 2022, 3 minute read — SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Widely useful skills & tools you will be asked to use in your career.

APR 27, 2022, 7 minute read — CAREER

The simple steps I would follow if I got to re-do my college CS program.

APR 26, 2022, 1 minute read — CAREER

You don’t have to be a software developer writing code to break into working at a tech company.

APR 25, 2022, 1 minute read — SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

I thought sales was a distant concept from compilers and syntax errors...I've been a fool.

APR 19, 2022, 2 minute read — TIL

Emoji cursors changing based on position? Oh my.

APR 13, 2022, 1 minute read — CAREER

APR 13, 2022, 4 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

if a genie could snap their fingers and give you 500 hours to spend on anything, what would you use it for?

APR 13, 2022, 2 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Confusing the tracking of habits as being enough to build them.

APR 13, 2022, 1 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

There's only so much time you can spend looking for shortcuts or trying to learn more before you need to buckle down and get your hands dirty.

APR 13, 2022, 2 minute read — CAREER

90% of advice ends up wasted, so stop asking.

APR 13, 2022, 4 minute read — CAREER

If the resume should showcase your skills, why is company pedigree the most eye-catching?

APR 13, 2022, 4 minute read — BOOTSTRAPPING

Maintain a toolkit to avoid shiny objects and be a quicker creator.

APR 13, 2022, 3 minute read — TIME MANAGEMENT

Removing negative elements of your day can be more effective than optimizing your time to perfection.

APR 13, 2022, 5 minute read — PRIVACY & SECURITY

Help your friends nab the low hanging fruits of security posture.

APR 13, 2022, 4 minute read — CAREER

Leveraging multiple strengths in concert to make the whole better.

APR 13, 2022, 5 minute read — WRITING

Stockpiling your best ideas for a future audience won’t make you a better writer.

APR 13, 2022, 5 minute read — PRIVACY & SECURITY

Incrementally remove Google from your life without having to rip it out immediately.

APR 13, 2022, 4 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Desiring to be creative, but defaulting to consuming content to the extreme.

APR 13, 2022, 4 minute read — GUIDES

Ways to programmatically generate pages from data for Hugo. Automate your page creation.

APR 13, 2022, 4 minute read — TIME MANAGEMENT

Are you spending your minutes with intention?

APR 13, 2022, 5 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

A project person that can't seem to ship ideas.

APR 9, 2022, 3 minute read — GUIDES

Plugins to make Obsidian as comfortable as other note apps, aimed at those who want tools that don’t need tinkering.

MAR 31, 2022, 3 minute read — DEVEX/UX

Lessons in developer experience learned from the best and worst tools.

MAR 24, 2022, 6 minute read — PRODUCT IDEAS

An engine that unlocks the knowledge already within your company, no matter if it's in people or tools.

MAR 23, 2022, 10 minute read — BOOTSTRAPPING

A reflection on my failure to build a viable product, so others can learn from my mistakes.

MAR 21, 2022, 5 minute read — SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Lessons learned from a couple days spent debugging everything BUT the problem.

MAR 19, 2022, 2 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Only YOU can see the perfect vision in your imagination. Everyone else can only see what you've published, good or bad.

MAR 9, 2022, 1 minute read — MISC

FEB 13, 2022, 2 minute read — TIL

Let users read a random page on your site. A quick guide on how to add this feature to your site in no time.

FEB 3, 2022, 1 minute read — TIL

Parsing RSS with Python standard library.

JAN 28, 2022, 2 minute read — TIL

Add search to your static site in 5 minutes, the 80/20 effort-saving guide. No dependencies needed here.

JAN 21, 2022, 3 minute read — TIL

The utility of Python Flask routing on a Lambda, without the framework.

JAN 20, 2022, 1 minute read — TIL

JAN 5, 2022, 3 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Over 9 months ago, I set out with a simple task: paint a 3-D printed Halo Pelican I was gifted. Do I have any experience painting miniatures? Tons, and none.

DEC 17, 2021, 5 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

A college degree takes 4 years, a year or more to write a book, 10 years at the DMV. Facts...or are they? Life has no speed limits, so why treat them as laws?

DEC 16, 2021, 6 minute read — GUIDES

With a few small tweaks, take the default terminal and make it uniquely yours - then watch your dotfiles evolve as you find new tricks for your toolkit.

DEC 11, 2021, 3 minute read — GUIDES

Learn how to set-up the Pi-hole ad blocker on a headless Raspberry Pi Zero and connect your Android and Windows devices for maximum adblock protection!

DEC 10, 2021, 6 minute read — GUIDES

Configure Obsidian for seamless daily notes by adding the Periodic Notes, Templater, and Calendar community plugins.

DEC 3, 2021, 6 minute read — SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Most devs don't need a complicated setup for Python, they just need to get running. Leverage a single Docker command to run any version in isolation.

OCT 20, 2021, 8 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

My Year in Review for 25. Ups, downs, and sideways.

OCT 20, 2021, 2 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

A personal theme for my year of 26 to guide me to a fulfilling year.

APR 19, 2021, 1 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

"If more information was the answer, then we'd all be billionaires with perfect abs."

APR 5, 2021, 3 minute read — SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Do you want to be more than a code monkey? Learn to avoid blunders and become a superhero to your team.

FEB 14, 2021, 4 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Starting a project is easy. Consistently working on one after the initial energy has faded? Much more difficult.

JAN 10, 2021, 3 minute read — WRITING

DEC 20, 2020, 11 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

This is a snapshot in time of the productivity system I use: what it is, where it came from, and where it might go.

DEC 20, 2020, 8 minute read — DEVEX/UX

DEC 20, 2020, 10 minute read — DEVEX/UX

My experience learning the language by building a small package.

DEC 10, 2020, 7 minute read — SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

It's so easy as a developer to dismiss the idea of learning no-code tools. After all, you know how to code, why spend time learning tools designed for those who can't?

DEC 6, 2020, 6 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Our days are filled with little decisions, problems where it's just not worth searching for the optimal solution. Yet we waste time digging into the details, anyway.

NOV 26, 2020, 8 minute read — BOOTSTRAPPING

Let's break it down and see how you only need 99 people's support for your side hustle to make a drastic change to your life.

OCT 30, 2020, 4 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

I'm starting from zero with no audience, no businesses, no published projects or big ideas. Putting a line in the sand to look back on, no excuses.

SEP 27, 2020, 2 minute read — WRITING

Your piece may be bad. The topic may be over done. It may get ignored. But for the chance your words resonate with someone, write.

SEP 20, 2020, 3 minute read — DEVEX/UX

We've all done it. You're scrolling through your phone, long past the "just a second" that you told yourself, when it hits you. Time Limit.

SEP 1, 2020, 2 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Ask yourself, "What did I do today that pushed me towards my long term goals?"

JUL 30, 2020, 3 minute read — SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Don't lose your tether to the original goal

JUL 14, 2020, 2 minute read — PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

There are two versions of your life: the one you are living in & the one you dream about.

JUN 26, 2020, 4 minute read — PRODUCT IDEAS

MAY 21, 2020, 3 minute read — GUIDES

A quick list to know you are doing everything you can to endear yourself to your teammates on Slack.

FEB 16, 2018, 2 minute read — ARCHIVE

DEC 27, 2017, 1 minute read — ARCHIVE

SEP 20, 2017, 1 minute read — ARCHIVE

AUG 19, 2017, 1 minute read — ARCHIVE

I had nothing clever for 'hackathon', sue me

AUG 9, 2017, 1 minute read — ARCHIVE

AUG 4, 2017, 2 minute read — ARCHIVE

JUL 27, 2017, 1 minute read — ARCHIVE

JUL 8, 2017, 2 minute read — ARCHIVE

JUN 21, 2017, 1 minute read — ARCHIVE

JUN 5, 2017, 1 minute read — ARCHIVE

Don't hate the title hate the game

MAY 23, 2017, 1 minute read — ARCHIVE