Last RailsConf, Gameboy Nostalgia, And Platform Risk Build And Learn podcast

44:45

In this episode, we reconnect for season 3, after a short hiatus to chat about life in Developer Relations (DevRel) at bigger companies, the avalanche of meetings that come with onboarding, the rollercoaster of prepping for big events like GDC, and the ongoing quest to create top-tier documentation and SDKs. We swap tips for maximizing AI tools, reflect on building the DevRel muscle from scratch, and share some fun side stories about local AI models, the surprising details that delight developers, and the importance of building reusable content for conferences. Topics Covered DevRel at a Big Company Balancing one-on-ones, onboarding tasks, and project management meetings. Strategies for politely pruning your calendar so actual work gets done. Why dev advocates end up as “tummelers,” making sure every voice is heard in a bustling org. GDC & Conference Prep The crunch leading up to a big event—workshops, talks, documentation updates, and unexpected scope creep. Juggling multiple presentations and deciding what content should be reusable or recorded. First steps planning DevRel activities for major company conferences. Flavor Variations of Dev Advocacy Comparing DevRel at a self-serve startup (like Stripe) vs. an enterprise environment where devs aren’t always the decision-makers. How to navigate new responsibilities, from establishing YouTube channels to championing better docs platforms. SDK Generation & Documentation Challenges The pros and cons of self-built vs. third-party, auto-generated SDKs. Maintaining a polished, dev-friendly experience across multiple languages. Cleaning up an OpenAPI spec, ensuring thorough examples and descriptions. Balancing “thin vs. full-featured” SDK approaches (retries, pagination, error handling, oh my!). Insights on Tools & AI How many AI services are too many AI services? (ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, Descript, ElevenLabs, local LLaMa, etc.) Encouraging new coders (like Logan!) to lean on AI-driven dev tools and embrace prompt engineering. Will auto-generated SDKs eventually make handcrafted clients obsolete? Maybe…but not quite yet. Write the Docs Excitement around giving a talk at the Write the Docs conference on open-source documentation. Lessons learned from letting the community contribute PRs, and how it all ties back to building dev relationships. Fun Developer Delights Appreciating the “little things” in product design—from underscore-only API keys that copy easily, to IKEA coffee mugs that drain flawlessly in dishwashers. Why it’s worth fighting for extra developer-experience polish (and how that shapes product love). Resources Mentioned Write the Docs https://www.writethedocs.org OpenAPI Initiative https://www.openapis.org ReadMe (API Documentation Platform) https://readme.com Fern (SDK Generation) https://www.fernapi.com Speakeasy (SDK Generation) https://www.speakeasyapi.dev Stainless (SDK Generation) https://stainlessapi.com Orbit (Community Tools) https://orbit.love Stripe https://stripe.com Descript https://www.descript.com ElevenLabs https://elevenlabs.io Anthropic https://www.anthropic.com Vercel’s v0 (AI App Builder) https://v0.de v…

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Travel Tech/Gear and Learning Game Dev 46:19

20 weeks ago46:19

46:19

This week we talk about travel from a tech/gear lens and learning game development. CJ is back from Italy apple pay, currency conversion, splitwise, train, google maps, translation apps, tour headsets Colin's food tip: Topjaw on youtube Airalo for esim Train travel in europe is amazing! One-bag travel, having an extra smaller bag Pack Hacker Colin learning Unity Flappy bird tutorial CJ is winding down from Craftwork, what's next! Interviews and AI Advent of Code 2024!…

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Wordpress Drama and Discord Activities 45:16

25 weeks ago45:16

45:16

In this episode, we discuss the WordPress vs. WP Engine drama. We also chat about Discord Activities, the new way to embed games and experiences directly in Discord. Resources https://replicate.com/ https://mikecann.co.uk/posts/battletabs-global-launch-on-discord-activities https://a16z.com/discord-activities-social-gaming/ Tech Crunch Wordpress Drama Explained https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/07/wordpress-vs-wp-engine-drama-explained/…

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To AI Assist or not to AI Assist? 43:28

27 weeks ago43:28

43:28

CJ and Colin chat about AI tools and coding environments. Pros and cons, daily workflows, and challenges of various AI-driven coding tools like VS Code, Cursor, and Copilot. We also talk about the broader implications of AI in content generation, particularly on platforms like LinkedIn, and emphasize maintaining a human touch in communication to avoid hollow, AI-generated content. - Avante nvim plugin - Cursor - Github Copilot…

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Personal Knowledge Management (Second Brain) 40:02

29 weeks ago40:02

40:02

In this episode, you'll learn about the PARA Method for organizing your notes and tasks, emphasizing the importance of balancing craftsmanship with delivering real customer value. Discover insights from Pieter Levels' success with straightforward tech stacks and recurring revenue from multiple startups. The discussion covers the power of building in public, optimizing productivity with personal CRMs and AI tools, and managing digital notes using Obsidian and Logseq. Tune in to explore practical challenges and solutions for enhancing your workflow and staying connected. 00:00 Introduction and Catching Up 00:20 Lex Friedman and Pieter Levels Interview Discussion 01:09 Frameworks and Developer Influencers 03:08 Peter's Success and Indie Hacking 05:23 Building and Shipping Products 05:43 Marketing and Influencer Impact 13:23 Personal Knowledge Management 22:25 Exploring Obsidian and PARA 23:02 Organizing Projects and Areas 23:43 Daily Logs and Workflows 26:42 Handling Digital Scraps and Notes 30:31 Plugins and Syncing Issues 34:34 AI Tools for Meetings and Transcriptions 38:07 AI Code Editors and Future Discussions 39:37 Conclusion and Next Week's Teaser…

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Our Daily Drivers: Hardware and Software Edition 36:42

31 weeks ago36:42

36:42

In this episode, Colin and CJ discuss their audio and video setups, ideal microphones, cameras, and software for content creation. They dive into the specifics of the equipment they use and recommend budget-friendly options for those just getting started. Additionally, they touch upon some useful applications and tools that streamline their workflows, and discuss their experience with various developer-related projects. Our Daily Drivers 1. Shure SM7B 2. Shure SM58 3. Cloudlifter 4. Triton Fethead 5. Scarlett Solo 6. Eleven Labs 7. YouTube Studio 8. Google Experimental Music Effects 9. Descript 10. Apple Studio Display 11. Sony A6100 12. Elgato Camlink 13. Elgato Key Lights 14. Elgato Streamdeck 15. OBS 16. Audio-Technica ATR2500 17. Shure MV7 18. Handmirror app 19. Cleanshot 20. Skitch 21. Warp 22. Neovim 23. iTerm2 24. OhMyZsh 25. Alacritty 26. VS Code 27. ngrok 28. zoxide 29. eza 30. fzf 31. Raycast 32. Fantastical 33. Textmate 34. CJ's /uses page Find more audio gear at Podcast Method…

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Rails 20th Anniversary, Writing Culture 42:27

34 weeks ago42:27

42:27

In this episode, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Ruby on Rails, reflecting on its impact and vibrant community. We share Rails origin stories from the late 2000s and early 2010s. You'll hear about different companies' reading and writing cultures, including practices like decision documents, meeting notes, and internal newsletters. You'll hear updates on current projects, with Colin discussing a major documentation initiative and the challenges of balancing meta-work with actual work. CJ provides an update on a large-scale refactoring project, detailing the process of converting enums to models across various parts of the codebase. You'll also get book recommendations, including "The PARA Method" about note-taking and personal knowledge management, and "Unreasonable Hospitality" which explores creating exceptional customer experiences. Finally, we discuss the concept of "unreasonable hospitality" and how to delight customers through thoughtful, personalized interactions. Resources Unreasonable Hospitality - https://www.amazon.com/Unreasonable-Hospitality-Remarkable-Giving-People/dp/0593418573 PARA method - https://fortelabs.com/blog/para/ Amazon's working backwards - https://www.productplan.com/glossary/working-backward-amazon-method/…

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DevRelCon, Red Eyes, and Enums 44:01

36 weeks ago44:01

44:01

We discuss visiting NYC, DevRelCon, red-eye flights, and why enums are terrible. Some of the bits and bobs mentioned in this episode: - DevRelCon - Chef's Table ( S2E1 Grant Achatz ) / Alinea - Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon - CJ enumerating lessons about enums

Build and Learn

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Two Years of Build & Learn 43:36

38 weeks ago43:36

43:36

We're celebrating our 50th episode and two years of podcasting. In this milestone episode, we reflect on what has kept us consistent, our laid-back approach to podcasting, and give a shoutout to you! We also explore how social media affects consumer behavior and share tips for managing digital consumption and mental health. You'll also hear about our latest projects, including optimizing Redis for better performance in our Rails app and our current work at Discord and Craftwork. Plus, we dive into the world of AI tools for content creation, using them to create engaging short-form videos. Thanks for joining us on this journey! Resources * Money with Katie - https://moneywithkatie.com/ * Mostly Technical - https://mostlytechnical.com/ * Bootstrapped Web - https://bootstrappedweb.com/ * Syntax - https://syntax.fm/ * APIs You Wont Hate - https://apisyouwonthate.com/ * The Bike Shed - https://bikeshed.thoughtbot.com/…

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Enum Types, Coworking Software, and more Atomic Habits 41:34

40 weeks ago41:34

41:34

Producer's note: This episode should have gone out as episode 48 ahead of Webhooks! This is our missing episode. Join us next episode for episode 50! Colin has a fitness update: working on the lungs, breathing and stress in general. CJ is digging into enums and converting them to models at Craftwork. More to come on that topic soon. Colin continues to avoid building Coworking Software (to everyone's applause) and CJ is digging back into James Clear's Atomic Habits. Colin: Fitness update / massage / breathing CJ: Big refactor from an enum to a model - evolving pricing models CJ's sleek lidar mop vacuum Colin: Coworking Software Update: not building anything, trying out Joan Colin: Internal discussion on Webhooks CJ: rereading Atomic Habits Colin mentions some Obsidian (more on that to come in future episodes)…

Build and Learn

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Webhooks! 39:29

43 weeks ago39:29

39:29

In this episode, you'll learn about webhooks and how they enable event-driven integrations. We cover webhooks, how they work, and best practices for providers and consumers. Topics : - The evolution of webhooks and how they compare to traditional API polling methods - Implementing webhooks securely, including verification techniques - Strategies for handling and processing webhook data - Challenges you might face with versioning and payload changes - Useful tools and resources for working with webhooks We share our experiences implementing webhooks across various platforms, mentioning Stripe, Twilio, and Slack as examples of good webhook implementations. We also discuss how tools like Zapier can help with webhook integrations and automation. You'll hear about CJ's recent experiences with React Native and Expo Go, as well as updates on our side project "Buckets", a Mint-like finance app. Resources : https://webhooks.fyi/ Webhooks google group Railsconf webhooks workshop…

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Summer Fit Check, Cron Schedulers, and Sample Apps 44:52

45 weeks ago44:52

44:52

CJ and Colin with the summer updates and fitness check-in. We dive into cron jobs, scheduling those jobs with various tools and services and best practices for when/how to cron. - Summer updates - CJ's live peloton class in the studio - Peloton hotel finder - Colin gives a RTO recap - Craftwork update, one year of the Rails codebase - Realtime project view tracking with action cable (who’s looking at the same doc as me) - Command Palette using Ninja Keys - CJ on Enums in Rails and other best practices - CJ using sidekiq-cron, alternative to whenever. - team already asking for event-based things - BullMQ mentioned! - Colin working on some sample Discord bots and apps…

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Monoliths, GraphQL, Next.js, and DevRel Insights 38:47

47 weeks ago38:47

38:47

Colin and CJ explore the ongoing debate between monolithic architectures versus API-driven frontends, touching on the pros and cons of GraphQL and REST. The conversation also covers the intricacies of integrating Next.js with Rails applications. On the personal front, CJ shares his solar pool heater project and Colin prepares for his upcoming relay race, Reno Tahoe Open (RTO). Both hosts reflect on their work anniversaries and discuss the challenges and strategies for effective Developer Relations (DevRel). Monoliths vs. API-driven Frontends: The pros and cons of each approach, including the challenges of maintaining large JSON payloads and ensuring API stability. GraphQL: A critical look at the limitations and complexities of GraphQL, including rate limiting and authorization issues. Next.js and Rails Integration: Strategies for connecting a modern frontend framework with a traditional Rails backend. Personal Projects: CJ's DIY solar pool heater project and the considerations involved in making it efficient and safe. Relay Race Preparation: Colin's training for the Reno Tahoe Odyssey and strategies for managing challenging race conditions. DevRel Strategies: The multifaceted role of Developer Relations and how to balance content creation, community engagement, and internal advocacy. Resources Why I’m Over GraphQL Stack Recommendations for Connecting a Next.js App Taylor Otwell’s Tweet on Next.js and Laravel Rails Developer Survey 2024 Unity Learn Pathways Chris Trag’s LinkedIn Post Remotion: Create Videos Programmatically Thanks for listening!…

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Last RailsConf, Gameboy Nostalgia, and Platform Risk 47:19

49 weeks ago47:19

47:19

This week, CJ and Colin talk about content clickbait, Gameboy nostalgia, and the in-vogue topic of AI/LLMs. CJ dives into some cautionary tales around more API integrations and his steps to avoid platform risk while trying to build software at a growing company. Finally, we bid farewell to RailsConf and discuss the market for Ruby/Rails conferences in 2024 and beyond. Colin's Gameboy nostalgia a dose of retro gaming wifi gameboy cartridge right to repair Retro Future YouTube Acquired FM: The Complete History & Strategy of Nintendo Analogue Pocket Gen Alpha == Generation AI Wizards of the Coast/D&D and AI Platform Risk when building on APIs More integrations API stability Degrated integrations and delivery The RailsConf 2024 FOMO 2024 will be the penultimate conference 2025 will be the last RailsConf Focus on rubyconf and rubygems Focus on regional conferences Announcement: A New Era for Ruby Central Events…

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Slow Productivity, Write The Docs 40:23

51 weeks ago40:23

40:23

In this episode, you'll hear about the Write the Docs conference in Portland, a must-attend for anyone in the tech writing community. CJ and Colin chatted about the unique, community-focused vibe of the event, which was akin to RailsConf or RubyConf, and shared some standout talks. One highlight is Calvin Fung's "Beyond Words: Strategies for Leveling Up Your Tech Writing Career," where he details practical tips for documenting your work and aligning it with your job description to advance your career. They also discuss creative ways to enhance documentation using interactive elements, and offers tips on how to get involved and meet people at conferences. You'll also hear about "Slow Productivity," Cal Newport's book that has us rethinking how they manage their workloads. We'll discuss the book’s core principles: (1) doing fewer things, (2) working at a natural pace, and (3) obsessing over quality. This leads to a deep dive into managing distractions, the anxiety around being constantly responsive, and the value of deep, focused work. Plus, they share updates on fun projects at Craftwork, like organizing painting crews with a drag-and-drop interface and rebuilding a pricing engine. Finally, they touch on their DIY approach to calendar management and Colin’s adventures in learning Unity for game development. This episode is packed with insights and practical advice for balancing productivity and creativity in the tech world. Resources Afford Anything podcast https://affordanything.com/495-cal-newport-the-shocking-secret-of-productivity/ Write The Docs https://www.writethedocs.org/conf/portland/2024/speakers/ Slow Productivity https://amzn.to/3UNP0qT…

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APIs, Acquisitions, and Event Emitters 40:57

1 year ago40:57

40:57

This week, we discuss building companies on top of API integrations and recent acquisitions that we've been following closely and dig into some tech we're both using in our daily work. If you feel like you have a lot going on in your world right now, we also tease our upcoming episode on Cal Newport's newest book, Slow Productivity. - Postman acquires Orbit ! Congrats to the team! - Discussing building companies that are heavy on integrations - Autocode shut down - Cloudflare acquires Partykit - Using Turbo at Craft - Calendaring and staffing in Craft - Neverending conference room app - Slow Productivity by Cal Newport - Podcast Interview with Cal Newport - Cal Newport's website - Events and Event Emitting - Building and learning on Game Engines…

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GDC, Buckets, and more calendars 42:08

1 year ago42:08

42:08

In this episode, Colin shares insights from the Game Developers Conference (GDC) on cutting-edge technologies like motion capture and AI-powered game creation. We'll chat candidly about the challenges of achieving work-life balance, recognizing burnout signs, and staying productive amid demanding software projects. Additionally, we'll explore personal finance topics, such as budgeting, emergency funds, and leveraging AI and APIs to optimize spending and financial planning. Resources frvr.ai https://www.frvr.ai/ Robin desk booking software https://robinpowered.com/ Tailwind UI Calendars https://tailwindui.com/components/application-ui/data-display/calendars Tailwind Catalyst https://tailwindcss.com/blog/introducing-catalyst Fullcalendar https://fullcalendar.io/ GDScream https://twitter.com/search?q=%23GDC2024&src=typeahead_click…

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Digital homesteading, Discord SDKs and more house stuff 50:36

1 year ago50:36

50:36

In this episode, we talk about that subscription fatigue that is coming for us all. CJ has been working on some homesteading projects, including maple syrup harvesting and an AI birdspotting camera. Colin finally reveals what he's been working on at work: a new SDK! What we're building - CJ is homesteading: maple syrup - Raspberry PI + camera + AI to detect birds in the yard - Colin finally shares what he's been working on at work: documenting a new Discord SDK! What we're learning - Our lessons learned when buying (or not buying) a house…

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Campfire Code Read 36:39

1 year ago36:39

36:39

In this episode, we'll dive into the codebase of Campfire, a product released by the 37signals (now Basecamp) team. Sharing our initial impressions of the codebase hitting some of these topics: - The use of helpers and views in this Rails app - The gems and dependencies - The decision to use SQLite - The integration of Hotwire, Stimulus, and front-end tech - The inclusion of Go code for the Thruster proxy accelerator - The CSS files and design choices Resources https://twitter.com/dhh/status/1748378865725329495 https://world.hey.com/dhh/finished-software-8ee43637…

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Creating vs Consuming, Consistency & Fitness 46:43

1 year ago46:43

46:43

This week, Colin and CJ discuss how differently we can feel when we get caught in the mindless doomscrolling traps of consuming content rather than creating things, interacting with other IRL humans, and more! - Accountability/fitness update - Quick update on Buckets ! - Consumption vs Creation - Learning styles - Badass Course Creators podcast: Raising the bar for online learning with Greg Rog Next episode, we're digging into the Campfire codebase from 37Signals / Once . glhf!…

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Performance review season, OpenAPI, Twilio, and calendar app 38:13

1 year ago38:13

38:13

In this episode of Build and Learn you'll hear CJ and Colin discuss the following: CJ's weekend project of installing new kitchen cabinets. They share the DIY process of customizing and installing inexpensive cabinets from Lowe's. Running and training tips, including focusing on "zone two" aerobic base training. Colin shares his goals to rebuild his running foundation and get faster this year. How performance reviews work at their companies, the process of self-reviews and peer feedback, and how 5:15s "five fifteens" help document accomplishments. CJ is building API documentation using OpenAPI spec and integrating Twilio APIs into his product. He realized he needed both Twilio's legacy and modern APIs. Colin is working on a Google Calendar integration for Discord, allowing users to schedule meetings in Discord voice channels. He discusses the challenges with Discord's permanent voice channel URLs. Interviewing and pair programming with candidates using Tuple. They wish for ephemeral URLs to avoid overlaps. Strategies for ramping up on and understanding a new codebase, like tracing the flow of a request. An LLM tool for summarizing codebases could be useful. Encouragement to get outdoors, avoid burnout, and "touch grass"!…

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Our Daily Drivers: The Tools We Use 43:24

1 year ago43:24

43:24

2024! This week, we're sharing the various tools we use day-to-day in our work and side projects. Let us know if you have any favorites on Twitter @buildandlearn_ Building CJ: working on a side project, https://buckets.cjav.dev Colin: working on some fun docs projects at work Learning: Sharing Our Tools in 2024 Tools by Category Terminal Editor API tools/clients Content Creation/Editing Mac Helper Apps Notes Calendar Email CJ's Toolkit Warp terminal ohmyzsh with my own theme which is based on Sarah Drasner’s night owl Raycast neovim fzf and telescope tpope: vim-rails , vim-commentary , vim-fugitive vim-test ale - linting AI: copilot + butterfish Skitch for screenshot annotations Postman (Used to use Insomnia a lot, but many companies have Postman collections so that’s easy to drop in) Descript for screen recordings Tuple for pairing Colin's Toolkit iTerm2 as my main terminal ohmyzsh with Dracula Theme VSCode as a daily driver for code and markdown (also Dracula themed) RapidAPI client (formerly Paw) Descript for audio-editing Screenflow for screencast video editing Mac Workflow Apps Cleanshot for screenshotting, annotations, and recording screen gifs Raycast for moving around apps quickly Magnet for window management HandMirror for monitoring video HiddenMe for hiding icons on desktop Note Apps (too many lol) Notion for work and podcast notes Obsidian for 2nd brain, brainstorming Textmate for scratchpads while working on a project Apple Notes for personal on-the-go and collaborative notes for home Fantastical for desktop calendars Apple Mail on phone for personal inboxes, Gmail app for work emails Build and Learn around the web Twitter: @buildandlearn_ Colin: @colinloretz CJ: @cjav_dev…

Build and Learn

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Co-Founders, Layoffs, Ruby Memory, Docs Product 39:06

1 year ago39:06

39:06

In this episode, we'll touch on office setup and soundproofing, with a focus on effective techniques and materials. We talk about the challenges and strategies in finding non-technical co-founders for startups, emphasizing the importance of shared values and complementary skills. The episode also delves into the impact of AI on the tech industry, particularly concerning recent layoffs. Additionally, we discuss technical topics like API documentation, memory management in Ruby and Rails, and the art of content creation and screencasting. Resources : Google Music FX - Text to Music https://aitestkitchen.withgoogle.com/tools/music-fx Hammerstone Dev Podcast - https://hammerstone.dev/podcast Tweets mentioned: https://twitter.com/cjav_dev/status/1742909106795528581 Job Boards We like: https://railsdevs.com/ https://remoteok.com/ https://weworkremotely.com/ Stripe OpenAPI https://github.com/stripe/openapi ScoutAPM - https://scoutapm.com/ Screen casting course - https://screencasting.com/ KeyCastr - https://github.com/keycastr/keycastr Keyboarding Videos https://youtube.com/shorts/-Ibq3zbvvSY https://youtube.com/shorts/xMWugPr2u-U https://youtube.com/shorts/f0rFJn1gI24 https://youtube.com/shorts/8FWJqqTzUak…

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Replacing Mint, Finishing Things & Vim 40:23

1 year ago40:23

40:23

Chris and Colin wrap up 2023 chatting about personal finance, website annotations, vim and a growing need to "finish" something over starting yet another thing. Replacing Mint Colin is using Copilot money CJ was using YNAB earlier this year Tagging + podcast expenses: notion, zencastr, transistor, descript Use our referral code 7X6AQD to get 2 months free https://copilot.money/link/9p7G8LwLqNWGkfrL6 Building Colin: Website Annotations Annotate the web Rap Genius CJ: Lots of little API integrations: PostHog, Segment, Deputy, Twilio Learning Colin: Actually finishing projects before starting new ones Startup weekend vs Finish weekend Resolutions and goals CJ: Couple new vim things - The missing semester of CS from MIT `:g` global command which lets you run ex aka command line commands on multiple lines at once it has two arguments, a pattern to match to find which lines to run on and the command to run. I’m excited to use this instead of macros for some common editing cases. Tried out using Descript’s built in video recorder / editor for a video this week and it worked out pretty well except I couldn’t figure out the camera preview thing Now Colin wants to learn vim Happy 2024!…

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Advent of Code, Economic Development 37:38

1 year ago37:38

37:38

In this episode, Colin and CJ discuss their experience with Advent of Code challenges. They use it as a virtual meetup for their local developer group and the value of solving problems in new languages. They also talk about live streaming using Twitch's built-in Stream Together feature and alternatives like Meld Studio for multi-person streaming setups. Other topics include potentially writing code with voice in the future, resources for learning Ruby like Avdi Grimm's Graceful Dev, and managing home maintenance through preventative care rather than reactively. Advent of Code - The coding challenges we discussed Jonathan Paulson's YouTube - Videos solving Advent of Code challenges Bash Bunny on Twitch - Learning Zig with Advent of Code Stream Together on Twitch - Built-in multi-person streaming Meld Studio - Alternative to OBS for Mac streaming Screencasting Course - The course about recording screencasts Whale Quench Talk - Emily's talk about coding with voice Graceful Dev - Avdi Grimm's site with Ruby resources City Authentic: How the Attention Economy Builds Urban America by David Banks How to Outsmart Your Brain Replit mobile…

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Coworking: Grit or Quit & Polish Week at Craftwork 48:47

1 year ago48:47

48:47

This week we're digging into when to hold on and when to call it quits when it comes to a business. The team at Craftwork is paying down tech debt with Polish week. We also chat about USB hubs, llamas, and how to get started on YouTube. BUILDING CJ : Polish week at Craftwork - cleaning up code formatting, todos, tests, UI polish and clean up, DX clean up, etc. Colin : Coworking space deep dive Running numbers on business models Using chatGPT to run forecasts Sustainability Book: Quit by Annie Duke Grit vs Quit Sunk Cost & Identity LEARNING CJ : Started doing these mob pairing sessions this week. Mike showed some React Native, Drew showed some UX/UI stuff, Nik showed how to fine tune. Got access to the llama2 models and trying to use ankane’s informers gem to run onnx models locally with Ruby. Colin : Curious if you have any tips on getting started with youtube How to egghead Aaron Francis - Screencasting.com TubeBuddy Sean Cannell - ThinkMedia Ali Abdul Skillshare Course…

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AI launches, Docs, Calendars 40:57

1 year ago40:57

40:57

In this episode, we catch up on recent tech events, discussing in detail the AI launches at both OpenAI and GitHub. We chat about the Hu.ma.ne AI pin, and touch on GitHub Universe. We also talk about Docs implementations and the challenges of managing and maintaining code snippets in documentation. Show notes : Docs Astro Starlight - https://starlight.astro.build/ Tailwind UI protocol - https://tailwindui.com/templates/protocol Angular - angular.dev Markdoc - https://markdoc.dev/ Calendars cal.com infrastructure https://cal.com/infrastructure Calendly - https://calendly.com/ Nylas - https://info.nylas.com/ Full Calendar - https://fullcalendar.io/ StoryFuel.app Humane AI pin https://hu.ma.ne/ Github monaspace https://monaspace.githubnext.com/ Crochet talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FtbmlZOk44 Jupyter notebook episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTmcdixuqcY…

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Mint Shutting Down, Project Catchup 44:24

2 years ago44:24

44:24

Episode 31 Intuit is apparently shutting down Mint , pushing folks to Credit Karma Colin's school bus update Building CJ is continuing to build out a comms center for managing customer comms in a scalable way for Craftwork. SAML` Colin is working on the conference room booking app, Likely use jumpstart for all stuff you need when you build something new CJ talks more about his new side project, Story Fuel Learning Colin is also learning a lot about sending/receiving audio over socket connections The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok Or how, exactly, platforms die." from Cory Doctorow The Imminent Enshittification of the Internet from Gary Marcus…

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Building Tools and Staying Accountable 33:12

2 years ago33:12

33:12

In this episode, we'll share updates and talk about what we're learning and working on. First up, is the exciting prospect of buying a short school bus and converting it into a fun project. We'll touch on UI frameworks like PhlexUI, as well as share updates about our experiences with different diet and fitness regimens. We'll chat about some more AI tools. Lastly, we'll share updates on the conference room booking app and the Reno Colective co-working space's accountability group. Resources PhlexUI - https://www.phlexui.com/ RailsUI - https://railsui.com/ ShadCN - https://ui.shadcn.com/ v0.dev - https://v0.dev/ Macrofactor - https://macrofactorapp.com/ Chronometer - https://cronometer.com/ LangChain.rb - https://github.com/andreibondarev/langchainrb/ D etangle - https://detangle.ai/…

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Shiny New Tech: LLMs, iPhones and Ray Bans 47:29

2 years ago47:29

47:29

No cut off date + multi-modal ChatGPT Generating AI voices with ElevenLabs Looking cool with New Ray Ban + Meta Smart Glasses ? Making an epic screencast set up with Screencasting.com from Aaron Francis Who’s upgrading to the new iPhone 15 with USB C Traveling with international / regional esim cards from Airalo Betting against SaaS? Once from 37Signals Calculating customer lifetime value Not having to deal with churn Hashicorp and the Business Software License OpenTofu - open terraform initiative CJ is working on calendaring with FullCalendar and tinkering with Rails generators. Colin is exploring prose linter options for docs and keeping docs quality high without relying purely on human. Working on some open-source project maintenance. Btw, Craftwerk is hiring!…

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On Learning 32:48

2 years ago32:48

32:48

This time around Colin and CJ talk about learning styles and how to learn to learn. We highlight a documentation framework called "Diataxis," which provides a structured approach to content categorization, differentiating between tutorials, how-to guides, explanations, and references. The significance of recognizing and adapting to varied learning styles, such as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. We share our personal experiences and emphasize the importance of diverse teaching methods and creating content even when the subject might have been covered elsewhere. Mentioned were unique projects like an offline Wikipedia on a tablet and a hacked Casio watch that serves as a two-factor authentication generator. The session ends with considerations on video creation and the challenges of live streaming. Resources: Hackers Inc Fitness Episode - https://hackersincorporated.com/episodes/losing-70-lbs-getting-in-shape-and-15-minute-workouts By Mody Tutor - https://www.mybodytutor.com/ My Fitness Pal - https://www.myfitnesspal.com/ Sendgrid - https://sendgrid.com/ Resend - https://resend.com/ Rails Conf Webhook Workshop - https://github.com/colinloretz/railsconf-webhooks diataxis - https://diataxis.fr/ Cloudflare Docs - https://developers.cloudflare.com/ Crunchy Data Postgres Sandbox - https://www.crunchydata.com/blog/learn-postgres-at-the-playground Pragmatic Thinking and Learning - https://www.amazon.com/Pragmatic-Thinking-Learning-Refactor-Programmers/dp/1934356050 The Dreyfus Model - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyfus_model_of_skill_acquisition…

Build and Learn

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Everything Old Is New Again & Niching Down 32:27

2 years ago32:27

32:27

It's the One Year Anniversary of Build & Learn! In this episode we chat about refreshing OAuth tokens and building CRM features with SMS/voice APIs. CJ and Colin also talk about the tradeoffs of building "calm", bootstrapped companies versus venture-backed startups. It seems like everything that is old is new again! What startups from the 2009-2012 vintages do you think could do with some disruption today? Some resources mentioned: GoRails Twilio Flex Follow along off-pod! @colinloretz on Twitter @cjav_dev on Twitter…

Build and Learn

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Calendar Discord Bot and Turbo Stream Gotchas 40:52

2 years ago40:52

40:52

In this episode you'll hear about Colin's adventure of building a Google Calendar Discord bot using CloudFlare, mastering Google Calendar APIs, and navigating serverless Postgres with neon.tech. We'll also share our insights on the benefits of being part of Y Combinator, and the unexpected hiccups we faced with Rails' Turbo Streams. Dive in and learn from our experiences! Resources: * https://neon.tech/ * Jason's tweet: https://twitter.com/jmcharnes/status/1687286039356829698 * Cloudflare Worker docs: https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/ * Jumpstart Pro starter kit for Ruby on Rails: https://jumpstartrails.com/ * Turbo Streams documentation: https://turbo.hotwired.dev/handbook/streams * YCombinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/ * Google Calendar API docs: https://developers.google.com/calendar/api/guides/overview * Microsoft Startup program for credits: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/startups…

Build and Learn

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Role Reversal & Summer Catchup 41:42

2 years ago41:42

41:42

Welcome back after the summer break! CJ and Colin get caught up after a summer of adventure and... new job announcements! CJ update Tahoe Time / Family Time E-Bike with Dad Boat / Plane flight simulator Colin update Spending time on the coworking space Summer camping Role reversals and announcement We have new jobs! Context switching Colin : product & engineering → developer relations CJ : developer relations → product & engineering Fewer guard rails, much less narrow focus, wearing more hats, more autonomy, freedom and responsibility CJ is now at Craftwerk NextJS T3 stack MySQL with Planetscale Drizzle ORM Zod schema validation Back office/Admin CRUD app in Rails Colin is now at Discord Currently onboarding and learning Building a Google Calendar app to get fully up to speed on all the areas of the developer experience Other happenings: RailsWorld is happening later this year in Amsterdam Tickets sold out in 45 minutes Speakers announced this week Must download calendar app for MacOS folks: Fantastical…

Build and Learn

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Dave Paola: Agency of Learning 49:09

2 years ago49:09

49:09

In this episode, we chat with Dave Paola, the founder of the Agency of Learning, an organization aimed at getting early-career developers job-ready, especially developer boot camp graduates. We delve into the history of boot camps, identify key gaps in current education methods, and explore how the Agency of Learning addresses these gaps by simulating a real-team environment and emphasizing technical and non-technical skills. Resources and Links Visit the Agency of Learning to learn more about Dave's innovative approach to junior engineer hiring and management. For a more in-depth understanding of teaching for mastery, check out Sal Khan's illuminating TED Talk . Get involved with open-source contributions and support social good with Ruby for Good . Discover Casa , a case management open-source app that supports volunteer work for children in foster care. Dive deeper into the tech industry's professional growth and career progression with Engineering Ladders . Check out " Engineering Management for the Rest of Us " by Sarah Drasner for relatable and pragmatic advice on engineering management. Read David Marquet's transformative leadership book, "Turn the Ship Around" for a novel perspective on leadership and management. Connect with our guest on Twitter @dpaola2 for more enriching content and discussions.…

Build and Learn

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Chris Oliver: Building a Life (and Businesses) on Rails 49:30

2 years ago49:30

49:30

In this episode, we talk with Chris Oliver about his deliberate approach to building GoRails and his other businesses on Rails. In a tech world that only seems to be moving faster and faster, we discuss the slow and steady path he has followed to create a fulfilling life for himself and his team while shipping awesome Rails things for his customers. Some links to things we discussed: Build Your Saas Episode: Nobody in SaaS wants to talk about this Build Your SaaS Episode: Super Fun SaaS Sales Tax (Part Deux) Die With Zero book Some of the things Chris and his team work on: GoRails Jumpstart Rails Hatchbox Hosting The Remote Ruby Podcast and many other things you can find at https://excid3.com/…

Build and Learn

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Streamlining global ingress with ngrok 40:19

2 years ago40:19

40:19

In this episode, we're joined by Alan Shreve, the founder and CEO of ngrok, to discuss the future of software development and the emergence of innovative tools that simplify complex tasks -- like ingress. We talk about ngrok's solid approach to error handling, which enhances troubleshooting and user experience by assigning unique codes to each error. The conversation also delves into the evolution of ngrok, an "ingress as a service" platform designed to streamline the setup of web application infrastructure by abstracting complexities of networking, thereby reducing your workload. We address the challenges in distributed systems and the importance of automating processes, focusing on the role of tools like Heroku, Vercel, and CloudFlare in managing infrastructure and security. We explore the concept of edge computing and globally distributed applications, envisioning two potential futures - one with advanced storage layers handling global distribution and another where applications can split between the origin and the global edge. The discussion also highlights the shift in the industry away from tasks like memory management and assembly language and the rise of cloud-based tools, which lowers the barrier to entry for new developers. Despite the potential pitfalls of abstraction, like the reduced need for developers to tinker and learn, we see this as a positive development. We wrap by emphasizing the end goal of software development - delivering a product that serves the customer's needs, facilitated by tools that simplify and standardize the development process. Resources : ngrok: ingress as a service - https://ngrok.com Introducing ngrok-go - https://ngrok.com/blog-post/ngrok-go ngrok-go library - https://github.com/ngrok/ngrok-go Introducing ngrok-rs - https://ngrok.com/blog-post/ngrok-rs Vim plugin for GitHub CoPilot - https://github.com/github/copilot.vim Stripe's Embeddable Payment Components - https://stripe.com/docs/payments/payment-element…

Build and Learn

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Forest Bathing, RailsConf, and Developer Communities 32:48

2 years ago32:48

32:48

CJ and Colin are back to chat about getting outside, recap the recent RailsConf and discuss building and participating in developer communities in 2023. Getting Outside The Nature Fix book Outside 365 RailsCamp in Hawaii RailsConf 2023 and Webhooks Workshop Webhooks Workshop Github Repo Marp Markdown Presentation Tool Ruby Central YouTube Channel RubyConf San Diego Some other cool events/conferences that we've attended Blue Ridge Ruby Conf Rails SaaS RailsConf RubyConf RailsWorld LaraCon WordCamp GDC Apple’s WWDC Google I/O Startup Weekends NASA Space Apps Follow us on Twitter @buildandlearn_ @cjav_dev @colinloretz…

Build and Learn

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ChatGPT, LLMs, OpenAI, doom or boon? 36:34

2 years ago36:34

36:34

In this episode, Colin and CJ discuss using the new GPT tools for work and play. Open AI Large language models Generative AI How do we use it, and is it going to be doom & gloom? How We Use It Brainstorming & riffing on ideas I was building something in React and hadn’t touched React in a few years. I had all this iteration going on in my components to generate dynamic content. Still, I wanted the topmost component to be able to have references to all these components to download them all as images in a zip file. Assistance with math-based things like animation or rendering graphics Example: I had to display a bunch of circles in a 2nd plane in a random pattern Computers are pretty good at that Learning how to do something new faster Explain this to me like I’m 5 Summarizing We use Descript for editing this podcast Shifting the tone of writing, building a writing style Writing video scripts Finding obscure information Story arcs Brushes to write tailwind classes Jokes DnD character sheets Bing to find esoteric star wars character that’s buried on Wookiepedia Doom and gloom or boon? What does this mean for the future? Privacy & security concerns Voice clones and scams (create a safe word!) Productivity + time Are we just going to be expected to be more productive with more output because cApItaLIsM Constitutional AI (Anthropic) give it principles to train on vs having human input https://www.anthropic.com/index/core-views-on-ai-safety ChatGPT coauthored a PR to a major open-source project via Ruby Weekly: How long is it until ChatGPT makes a pull request to Rails? Oh, it (sort of) just happened . Ultimately it's still under the name of Rails core team member Guillermo Iguaran, however. Everything in this pull request, including the code, tests, changelog, commit message, pull request title and description has been created by ChatGPT with some guidance. If you believe ChatGPT is infringing your copyright please let me know. People to follow (Written by Notion AI) Here are 5 social media influencers to follow to stay up to date about AI: Rachel Woods (@the.rachel.woods on TikTok, @rachel_l_woods on Twitter) Logan.GPT (dev advocate for OpenAI) Swyx (shares a lot of thoughts on AI) Lex Fridman (MIT researcher and AI podcaster) Siraj Raval (AI educator and YouTuber) Tools Github Copilot Copilot X for VS Code & VS Extension Copilot Docs Copilot CLI Copilot Voice Copilot for PRs Resources Wolfram Alpha - How ChatGPT works Siraj Raval - Automated AI YouTube channel the.rachel.woods on safe words Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men Anthropic - AI Safety RubyWeekly - ChatGPT Co-authored PR…

Build and Learn

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Digging into the HackerRank Survey 2023 34:58

2 years ago34:58

34:58

In this episode we dig into the HackerRank annual survey that was released a few months ago for 2023 including the top in demand skills from employers in this uncertain tech and economic environment. Note from Colin & CJ: This episode was recorded in November 2022. It is amazing how much changes in a few months. Languages By Volume of HackerRanks Java Python SQL C++ Javascript Bash C# Go Typescript R PHP C Swift Ruby Methodology for languages To estimate employer demand for specific programming languages, we looked at HackerRank Work tests where a specific programming language was required, or where specific library questions were asked. Skill demand was estimated by the number of HackerRank Work tests using specific library questions. On the preference – or supply–side, we tracked submitted languages by candidates when they have multiple options available, as well as their proficiency in those languages. We also included HankerRank Community practice data to get a full spectrum of skill preferences. Notable these results are not survey results like the Stack Overflow survey Demand for most languages growing, but not equally Is there potential bias in the types of companies that use HackerRank? Companies that are more likely to use Java for example Top 5 Skills in demand Problem Solving Machine Learning REST APIs React HTML/CSS/JS REST API shows sustained drama-free demand growth 😂 Keep an eye on Go and TypeScript Outlook Tech hiring (and everything else) hit headwinds in 2022 Overall, the tech industry continues to growing Other Links Mentioned Art of Product Episode Episode 218 Build Your SaaS Founder's Quest Podcast Build and Learn around the web Twitter: @buildandlearn_ Colin: @colinloretz CJ: @cjav_dev…

Build and Learn

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Keith Casey: Webhooks & webhooks.fyi 42:56

2 years ago42:56

42:56

In this episode about webhooks.fyi, we're joined by Keith Casey from ngrok. You'll hear about webhooks.fyi an information-rich resource for learning how to build and consume webhooks. webhooks.fyi is an open source knowledge base and directory listing and analyzing different webhook providers. We discuss webhook security, signature verification, forward compatibility, and more. Other Links from the Show https://webhooks.fyi ngrok.com Webhooks to Revolution the Web from @progrium What are Webhooks The Self Provisioning Runtime CaseySoftware Build and Learn around the web - Twitter: @buildandlearn_ - Colin: @colinloretz - CJ: @cjav_dev…

Build and Learn

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Chelsea Otakan: Design and build systems, not just features 49:09

2 years ago49:09

49:09

This week we are joined by Chelsea Otakan, infamously also known as @chexee on most of the internet. Chelsea is a product designer and front-end developer, currently working at Lattice . In this episode, we learn more about Chelsea's design origin story, her philosophies on product design, and why you should "build a skateboard, not a wheel". Chelsea's design philosophies - Ship quickly, ship for the user - Design is continuous - Design and build systems, not just features - Don't be afraid to dig deep - Critique early, often, and with everyone Other Links from the Show - Shopify article on creating a "quality elevator" from Kyle Peatt: The system always kicks back - Chelsea's portfolio and work at Chexee.me Build and Learn around the web - Twitter: @buildandlearn_ - Colin: @colinloretz - CJ: @cjav_dev…

Build and Learn

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Custom codegen for SDKs 41:31

2 years ago41:31

41:31

In this episode of Build and Learn, we discuss code generation (codegen) and how Stripe uses it to generate SDKs for its APIs automatically. We talk about how a declarative shape of an API (such as Open API spec or GraphQL schema) can be fed into a tool to generate an SDK in a specific programming language. This process helps ensure that the SDKs are always in sync with the API and that any changes to the API are automatically reflected in the SDKs. Most SDKs today are still hand-written, but automatic generation is becoming more popular. We'll touch on the tradeoff between readable code and automatically generated code, which can be quite long and complex. You'll also hear how the Ruby clients for Orbit were likely written by hand and may not be up-to-date. Resources: Richard Marmorstein's Strangeloop talk about codegen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgRreyw-Nlg CJ's RubyConf 2022 talk about codegen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm0fgIqfsO8 Stainless API company: https://stainlessapi.com/ Open API Spec: https://swagger.io/specification/ Stripe API Spec: https://github.com/stripe/openapi Swagger codegen: https://swagger.io/tools/swagger-codegen/ Orbit Ruby Activities gem: https://github.com/orbit-love/ruby-orbit-activities…

Build and Learn

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Building Developer Relations Teams with Trag 37:14

2 years ago37:14

37:14

In this podcast episode, we are diving into the world of developer advocacy and developer relations with Chris Traganos, aka "Trag." While Chris and CJ originally met working together in developer advocacy at Stripe, Trag talks to us about his new role leading the Developer & Appstore Evangelism program at Amazon . How DevRel strategies change depending on the type and size of company Tradeoffs that come with "where" a DevRel team is situated on in an organization Sales & Marketing Engineering The ever-evolving role of DevRel within a company DevRel as "on-screen talent" As a DevRel manager, how to advocate for advocates How to help dev advocates reach their personal goals Choosing tracks in your career Dev Advocacy & Engineering paths Individual Contributor & Manager paths Resources: - @chris_trag on Twitter - @AmazonAppDev on Twitter…

Build and Learn

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Building things that excite you with Charlie Gerard 46:09

2 years ago46:09