My AMD Hackintosh (and Why)
I'm a Mac holdout; trapped in a technical purgatory since the end of 2015.
You know the type. We use Apple machines but lament the inadequate keyboards, vanishing Esc keys, the... touchbar,
U.S. Devs are Sleeping on Flutter
Do you know what Flutter is? If the developers in Denver i've spoken with are any indication, probably not. Out here, talking to developers about Flutter is sort of like talking to
Misaligned Requirements
I was taking out my laptop at a bar when i noticed the impeachment trial was playing on a nearby tv. A congressperson was on the senate floor giving an impassioned speech
Badge of Honor
10 years ago i was interviewing for a development position with a large technology company. During my 5th interview a project manager asked me a question i've not forgotten.
"What would do
Startup Culture Doesn't Come From the Top
One of the common mistakes among startup leadership is the belief that culture comes from the top. This is incorrect. The culture of a small company is an organic, evolving thing. It
Common Mistakes When Hiring Software Engineers
What are some traits shared by the best programmers you know? I'd wager things like introversion, thoughtfulness and detail orientation show up on your list. While none of these are requirements for
2018 MacBook Air: A Recalcitrant's Review
My relationship with Apple product releases has soured over the years. I've moved from a shill to a sort of technological curmudgeon. Every keynote i find myself sad. Hopeful for the return
Lessons of a Startup CTO
For the last 4 years i have been the head of technology for MeetMindful (TS W16). I moved on a couple of weeks ago. It was time.
Being away from the hustle
Choosing Lifestyle Companies
There are at least two ways to prioritize a company's money and efforts: you can prioritize for growth or you can prioritize reducing operations. The second option is one too few companies
The Dark Side of Startups
The startup scene is, in many ways, a plethora of good. The number of jobs, wealth, tools and services created by startups in the last few decades is difficult to even quantify.
Wizards of Our Age
I used to work with an engineer named Tim. Tim, for all i could tell, was a wizard. He employed advanced and arcane magics such a sed and awk to achieve bizarre
Goal Setting for Engineers
One of the first things new team members learn about me is my outspoken detest for the word "manager". I am not a manager. My job is not to manage
"I would describe my codebase as _____ and _____."
If you had to pick a pair of everyday words to describe the nature of your codebase, what would they be? Take a moment and fill in the following blanks.
"I
Lessons from MicroConf Day 3
The third and final day of MicroConf 2017 was focused on a few themes: revenue, time and value.
Any conference Patrick McKenzie (patio11) speaks at will surely have a simple message: double
Lessons from MicroConf Day 2
"Leverage your failures."
if i were to summarize day 2 into a single statement, that would be it. In a conference focused on bootstrapping products, a lot of the information
Lessons from MicroConf Day 1
I bet you've considered building a product and earning enough income to quit your job. I'd even bet you already have one; partially built, sitting in digital mothballs.
You are not alone.
The One Thing to Avoid While Coding
At a recent talk, one of the attendees asked me, "What is the one thing to avoid when coding?"
My answer lacked the foresight a question like that deserves. In
How to Communicate as an Engineer
There is a running joke at my company that i communicate with analogies. I take it as a compliment. Reason being that i have found no better way to explain abstract technical
Scaling to Millions of Users
Companies are like boats. The small ones are quick and agile. They move fast and pivot on a dime. But that agility comes at a cost: they are notoriously unstable. The rough
Quotes That Changed How I Approach Software
When you say enough words, the law of averages ensures that some of them will be profound. One of the neat things about blogging is that you have a record of when
Whiteboard Coding Measures Penmanship While Nervous
Every time i go through the interview process i am reminded just how terrible tech interviews are. We ask questions that tell us if a candidate has read an algorithms book lately
A/B Testing Features by Segmenting Users
"A/B test everything."
Those of us in the startup world hear it routinely. But it is a useless statement. Ask "how" and you will be met with
The Internet is Fundamentally Flawed
Why has the internet been so transformative in the last 20 years? I would argue any complete answer to that question would need to speak to 4 major points:
- Anonymity
- Interconnectivity
- Information
There Can be No Ego in Products
Software engineers are an opinionated bunch. We hold unreasonably strong opinions on how code should look, read, be styled and where it should go. Hell, we can't even talk about tabs and
Choosing a Stack for Your Side Project
Selecting a stack is the first technology decision in a side project. Unfortunately, it is also one of the biggest factors in determining whether or not your project launches.
This is not