Working Code

In this episode, Adam and Tim talk about margin for error in various aspects of software development, business and our personal lives.

With audio editing and engineering by ZCross Media.

Full show notes and transcript here.

Oxford Dictionary included "doomscrolling" in their "word of the year" report for 2020; we're all feeling pandemic fatigue; many people still believe in wide-spread election fraud; the Georgia senate race was a nail-biter; and - oh yeah - we recorded this show the day after the storming of the United States capitol building.

It's all been more-than-a-bit surreal.

But, in the face of such physically and emotionally trying times, we look forward to a new year of possibility. Whether it's taking control of our finances, finding ways to be more active, building up our personal brand, or becoming the blacksmiths that we always knew we could be, the crew shares their personal and professional / technical goals for this burgeoning new year. As the Phoenix rose from the ashes, so too - we hope - 2021 will rise from the smoldering dumpster fire of 2020.

We'd also like to give a huge shout-out and thank you to Monte Chan for being our first Patreon supporter! You are a beautiful, beautiful person; and we hope to make you proud!

Triumphs & Fails

• Adam's Triumph - With 2020 just behind us, the Georgia Senate run-off keeping us on the edge of our seats, the insurrection, and plenty of "doomscrolling", he managed to kick off 2021 with a somewhat productive week. He's reminded of a quote from Cory Doctorow's latest book: "I'm not OK, but I'm going to be OK. I'm coping, but I have a lot to cope with."
• Ben's Triumph - Coming off the two-week "deployment freeze" at work, he managed to rebase, merge, and deploy the 20-something small git branches that he had amassed over the holiday. It took a few days, but everything went swimmingly!
• Carol's Triumph - She accidentally discovered her son (16yo) and his best friend listening to our podcast; and, they loved it! Woot woot! We are totes connecting with the youths!
• Tim's Triumph - In the aftermath of the insurrection and storming of the US capitol building, he managed to not curl up in a ball and rock back-and-forth in the corner. Given the context, this was a pretty momentous effort.

Notes & Links

• Cory Doctorow - science fiction author, activist and journalist.
• You Need a Budget - award-winning software that teaches you how to manage your money.
• Mark Drew - a rather amazing chap from the CFML and web programming world.
• Devil Forge - full-service metal melting and blacksmithing tools supply company.
• Max Cunningham - YouTube channel, blacksmith and forge enthusiasm.
• Forged in Fire - reality show featuring world-class bladesmiths re-creating historical edged weapons in a cutthroat competition.
• Alec Steele - blacksmith and YouTube star.
• Primitive Technology: Forge Blower - awesome YouTube video in which a guy "invents" the force blower using primitive tooling.
• AlumnIQ - world-class software for alumni and donor engagement.
• Brad Frost: Atomic Design - book about building design systems.
• Material Design - design system and general design platform by Google.
• Angular.js - modern application framework for building Single Page Applications (SPA) from Google.
• Storybook - an open source tool for developing UI components in isolation for React, Vue, Angular, and more.
• Helios - design system used at InVision.
• async / await - modern JavaScript technique for making asynchronous code read like synchronous code...

After a stressful year, we happily ease into another round of "No Effort December" in which the conversations flow without concern or constraint. Carol is excited to go ice skating for the first time in her life. Tim is trying to teach his kids about financial literacy. Ben shares his limited ability to fantasize. And Adam wonders why his computer gets so sticky.

Follow the show and be sure to join the discussion on Discord! Our website is workingcode.dev and we're @WorkingCodePod on Twitter and Instagram. New episodes drop weekly on Wednesday.

And, if you're feeling the love, support us on Patreon.

With audio editing and engineering by ZCross Media.

Full show notes and transcript here.

Words aren't just the tools that we use to describe the world around us - they are rich layers of abstraction that carry our cultural histories, our education, and our social norms on their shoulders. When we have a shared understanding of a what a word or turn-of-phrase means, our ability to communicate with each other is robust and unparalleled. But, when our differences our great, we end up talking past each other and going around in circles. Words aren't just effective, they're magical. Take, for example, a simple analogy: "It's the movie JAWS, but with cats!" — this will immediately conjure up entire worlds within the mind of the listener. So, do words matter? You bet your donkey they do!

Follow the show and be sure to join the discussion on Discord! Our website is workingcode.dev and we're @WorkingCodePod on Twitter and Instagram. New episodes drop weekly on Wednesday.

And, if you're feeling the love, support us on Patreon.

With audio editing and engineering by ZCross Media.

In a world where many programmers instinctively reach for an existing solution in "user land", Ben poses the question: is there value in building out and maintaining your own standard library? This would be the collection of commonly-used functions and classes that you enjoy using; and, which are tailored to your use-cases and programming paradigms. Doing so would be a vibrant mixture of pragmatism, vanity, ego, efficiency, and compensation. But, would it ultimately be a net befit?

Follow the show and be sure to join the discussion on Discord! Our website is workingcode.dev and we're @WorkingCodePod on Twitter and Instagram. New episodes drop weekly on Wednesday.

And, if you're feeling the love, support us on Patreon.

With audio editing and engineering by ZCross Media.

Full show notes and transcript here.