154: Touching Grass: A Privilege Refactored podcast

1:04:51

Refactored #165: “Counting Is Hard” Notes coming soon… Don’t be shy! Reach out at feedback@refactored.work . Visit https://refactored.work/ for the full archive, show notes, and more. Hosted by Chris Tonkinson and Frank Koehl . Direct link to RSS feed

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164: Vibe Check: Messrs. Dunning and Kruger Would Like a Word 1:03:52

16 weeks ago1:03:52

1:03:52

Refactored #164: “Vibe Check: Messrs. Dunning and Kruger Would Like a Word” Notes coming soon… Don’t be shy! Reach out at feedback@refactored.work . Visit https://refactored.work/ for the full archive, show notes, and more. Hosted by Chris Tonkinson and Frank Koehl . Direct link to RSS feed

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163: It's Always Permissions (Or DNS) 1:07:55

17 weeks ago1:07:55

1:07:55

Refactored #163: “It’s Always Permissions (or DNS)” Notes coming soon… Don’t be shy! Reach out at feedback@refactored.work . Visit https://refactored.work/ for the full archive, show notes, and more. Hosted by Chris Tonkinson and Frank Koehl . Direct link to RSS feed

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161: Web3: Basically Just DocuSign? 59:13

18 weeks ago59:13

59:13

Refactored #161: “Web3: Basically just DocuSign?” Notes coming soon… Don’t be shy! Reach out at feedback@refactored.work . Visit https://refactored.work/ for the full archive, show notes, and more. Hosted by Chris Tonkinson and Frank Koehl . Direct link to RSS feed

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160: The Great DeepSeek Bake-Off 1:03:07

19 weeks ago1:03:07

1:03:07

Refactored #160: “The Great DeepSeek Bake-Off” Notes coming soon… Don’t be shy! Reach out at feedback@refactored.work . Visit https://refactored.work/ for the full archive, show notes, and more. Hosted by Chris Tonkinson and Frank Koehl . Direct link to RSS feed

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159: Duck, Duck, Debug! 52:53

24 weeks ago52:53

52:53

Refactored #159: “Duck, Duck, Debug!” On this episode of Refactored… Chris bought a 3D Printer! They’re really fun hammers just begging for nails. The guys unpack letting the team learn, vs stepping in and getting business done quickly. … and much more! Don’t be shy! Reach out at feedback@refactored.work . Visit https://refactored.work/ for the full archive, show notes, and more. Hosted by Chris Tonkinson and Frank Koehl . Direct link to RSS feed…

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158: It IS Called 'Work' 53:56

25 weeks ago53:56

53:56

Refactored #158: “It IS Called ‘Work’” On this episode of Refactored… The guys agree: buying a round (or meal) from time to time can pay dividends. The guys grapple with the reality of maintaining regulatory software (read: software only required for compliance reasons (read: soul crushing work)). Comment Block How to proceed with a dissolved team? How do you plan complex features before you start implementing them? … and much more! Don’t be shy! Reach out at feedback@refactored.work . Visit https://refactored.work/ for the full archive, show notes, and more. Hosted by Chris Tonkinson and Frank Koehl . Direct link to RSS feed…

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157: No Longer Rupted 1:05:51

26 weeks ago1:05:51

1:05:51

Refactored #157: “No Longer Rupted” On this episode of Refactored… Chris is tired of being disrupted. The guys talk about RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) and how it can be used to improve the experience with LLMs. Prompt engineering - Frank has a hot take on what’s to come. Comment Block My manager wants me to pair up with the worst guy on the team for the next six months. How do I get out of this? Please help me talk to my manager about this. This guy is really incompetent. I thought he would be on a PIP, but I guess they are keeping him around. He’s senior too, which is higher than me, but can’t figure out the most basic compliation errors or problems with Git. He keeps making the same mistakes over and over. I wrote documentation for him and he forgets the same things. I keep responding with links to the doc to unblock him. He can’t pattern match. If I ask him to fix a certain type of issue one time in a code review and explain why, he’ll have the same problem again later in another section. I don’t care what happens to him, I just want to avoid him as much as possible; I’m gouing to lose my mind if I have to work closely with him for the next six months. How can I ask my manager to get assigned to a different feature? … and much more! Don’t be shy! Reach out at feedback@refactored.work . Visit https://refactored.work/ for the full archive, show notes, and more. Hosted by Chris Tonkinson and Frank Koehl . Direct link to RSS feed…

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156: WP Press Word Engine 1:07:52

27 weeks ago1:07:52

1:07:52

Refactored #156: “WP Press Word Engine” On this episode of Refactored… What’s the deal with airline peanuts WordPress vs WP Engine? Agile vs Sprints vs Scrum vs sanity. The guys debate at length. The guys fight (lightly) about PHP. Comment block Yo… why do you guys fight all the time? … and much more! Don’t be shy! Reach out at feedback@refactored.work . Visit https://refactored.work/ for the full archive, show notes, and more. Hosted by Chris Tonkinson and Frank Koehl . Direct link to RSS feed…

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155: Architectural Outages 1:03:51

28 weeks ago1:03:51

1:03:51

Refactored #155: “Six Figure Flat Tires” On this episode of Refactored… Hill Rejection Assist: Chris complains about Honda The guys decrypt the firewall to open a socket to the kernel. Comment Block How do you not beat yourself up over causing an outage? Recently caused a SEV-1 outage that impacted a few hundred users. It was able to be corrected in a few hours but the app was not usable during the event. My manager was cool about it and is focused on the process; putting guardrails in place so that it doesn’t happen again. I find myself ruminating on it quite a bit and feeling embarassed about it, as over my 13 years as a dev this has only happened one other time. I am also somewhat newish to this company so I’m hoping this doesn’t ruin my reptuation. Why do we even need architects? Question/observation: maybe it’s just me, but in my 19-year career as a software developer, I’ve worked on many different systems. In the projects where we had architects on the team the solutions have tended to be over-engineered with large complex tech stacks making them difficult maintain and challenging to find engineers familiar with the technologies. Over time I’ve started losing respect and appreciation for architects. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve also worked with some great architects, but most of them have been underwhelming. What has your experience been? … and much more! Don’t be shy! Reach out at feedback@refactored.work . Visit https://refactored.work/ for the full archive, show notes, and more. Hosted by Chris Tonkinson and Frank Koehl . Direct link to RSS feed…

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154: Touching Grass: A Privilege 58:01

29 weeks ago58:01

58:01

Refactored #154: “Touching Grass: A Privilege” On this episode of Refactored… The guys discuss DOGE: Memelordship ascendent or super cereal? I beg your finest pardon: remote work is a “COVID-era privilege?” The duo explore the iron of high performers being the first to pack their bags when RTO mandates come down. Comment Block I work in a remote company now (just a team member, not a manager). And the culture obviously feels very different. Before I could “chat at the watercooler” and/or go out to lunch or dinner. My team and I, we all talk on calls of course, but it’s always more formal - everyone has those mental meeting barriers up. How can I build strong interpersonal relationships when in-person options aren’t available? We’re launching an MVP but the team is divided between speed and quality. Is there a practical way to get something to market fast but still have it be “right” and not full of bugs? … and much more! Don’t be shy! Reach out at feedback@refactored.work . Visit https://refactored.work/ for the full archive, show notes, and more. Hosted by Chris Tonkinson and Frank Koehl . Direct link to RSS feed…

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153: Clicking Up the Wrong Tree 1:02:31

30 weeks ago1:02:31

1:02:31

Refactored #153: “Clicking Up the Wrong Tree” On this episode of Refactored… Chris is in love with ClickUp on TikTok . Straight unhinged. But he’s not in love with ClickUp itself. The guys debate. All-in-one vs specialized tools? The classic debate. Chris tells a story about the wrong people being put in charge of the wrong “hard” things. Frank sees opportunity for SQLite in prod. Chris is skeptical af bruh. … and much more! Don’t be shy! Reach out at feedback@refactored.work . Visit https://refactored.work/ for the full archive, show notes, and more. Hosted by Chris Tonkinson and Frank Koehl . Direct link to RSS feed…

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152: A Framework of Fear 58:02

31 weeks ago58:02

58:02

Refactored #152: “A Framework of Fear” On this episode of Refactored… Comment Block “With the explosion of AI tools I’m becoming more paranoid than ususal. How can I trust that any of these AI powered platforms are secure when I know how often we skip actual security reviews, and should I be worred that we’re prioritizing cool features over actual security?” The guys try to figure out what ‘security’ actually means here. LLMs: Not So Smart (PDF warning) after all. Shocking, I know. React Server Components : What’s old is new again. Can’t make this crap up. … and much more! Don’t be shy! Reach out at feedback@refactored.work . Visit https://refactored.work/ for the full archive, show notes, and more. Hosted by Chris Tonkinson and Frank Koehl . Direct link to RSS feed…

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151: Horse Massacre 59:40

40 weeks ago59:40

59:40

Refactored #151: “Horse Massacre” On this episode of Refactored… The guys debate risk and business context of “tech debt” and whether that term is even valid. Good luck getting management to care! Frank says microservices are just trendy, while Chris just complains about the operational complexity. Either way, maybe we can just… not?… for a while? Can you speak “business?” Sadly it’s a gate to efficacy, and not just for the ladder climbers. Quantifying risk, time-efficiency, and top-line numbers are all part of the game. The pick of the week is Donut — no it’s not a SoLoMo app changing the world for busy cops, but it can help engender a stronger sense of community through Slack. … and much more! Don’t be shy! Reach out at feedback@refactored.work . Visit https://refactored.work/ for the full archive, show notes, and more. Hosted by Chris Tonkinson and Frank Koehl . Direct link to RSS feed…

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150: Octo-Kimono 1:00:52

41 weeks ago1:00:52