In my last note I mentioned that I put my precious Bullet Journal on the shelf (which really does make me sad) and switched to Obsidian as my full time journal. I wrote about this process in The Imposter's Roadmap as well. I did this for these reasons: I like to review what I've done for a given month, and often need to find a specific reference. That's difficult with a paper-based book. I like saving code snippets. I like using tags so I can roll up my notes and entries based on who or what....
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
I love exploring and learning new things. While fun, sharing what I've learned is even more rewarding. I spent the majority of my free time over the last year finishing off The Imposter's Roadmap, which I just wrapped up final last weekend. Everything I'm about to share is detailed in the book, and if you're interested, I have a discount for you! 1: The GitHub Project I was talking with Burke Holland a few months ago about using GitHub to run a technical project (using GitHub projects) and he...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
You would think that after years of development, the act of shipping something would be nothing but joy and relief. In the moment, however, "pushing send" is terrifying and feels like running naked into traffic. That's what I'm feeling right now because today is the day! After two years of planning, research, writing, and editing - it’s ready to go: The Imposter’s Roadmap, essential practices, tools, and skills for self-taught programmers. If you click that link, I've thrown in a 20% discount...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Most people aren't aware of the power of constraints in a database. They're there to enforce data rules, and you're probably familiar with a few of them, including: The null constraint, which won't allow null values. The unique constraint, which ensures a record is always unique. The primary key constraint, which I don't need to explain. Assuming you've used these before, let me ask you a question: is this business logic? I think it's fair to say that some logic is being used here in the form...
4 months ago • 4 min read
The subject of this email is a quote from Steve Martin, one of my favorite people. I grew up in the 70s, listening to Wild and Crazy Guy religiously. I could quote just about every joke from that album, and I was only 12, which caused problems for my parents. One of my favorite jokes was about meeting a lady and falling for her cat... I won't repeat it here but I didn't stop laughing for hours. Here's a link, but volume down and be wary of little ears. Anyway, I just finished watching the...
5 months ago • 4 min read
In my last post I mentioned that I have been reading a lot of personal growth and business books, which I enjoy. Finance, emotional health, non-slimy marketing, etc. A few weeks ago I started listening to listening to Take Control of Your Life by Mel Robbins because my niece recommended it. To be honest: I didn't really want to listen to this. The title is too broad and, if I'm being extremely honest, I highly doubt a single book is going to enable me to feel like I've gained "control" of my...
6 months ago • 5 min read
Retirement is one thing, being where you want to be and doing what you want to do when your current job is finished in another thing entirely. What’s your exit strategy? It doesn’t matter if you work for yourself, at a startup, or in a massive enterprise environment: knowing what you’re going to do when it’s over is incredibly important to your career. I work at Microsoft currently and before I started there in 2018 I pondered my “end game” – where do I want to be when it’s over and what do I...
6 months ago • 5 min read
Reviewing someone else's code can be frustrating, but also a learning experience for everyone. Let's see how Stephen King might help us. I was talking with my friend Tess Ferrandez at NDC London just over a month ago and we started talking about code reviews. She was about to go on stage, and that was the subject of her talk (I can't find a link to the recording), which was ironic because it was also the chapter I was outlining for The Imposter's Playbook, which I'm getting near to finishing....
6 months ago • 6 min read
Personal growth books claim self-sabotage holds us back. Business hustle books frame it as a necessary thing. Which is it? I've been listening to books about business and personal growth over the last month and I noticed something interesting when it came to the idea of self-sabotage: the entrepreneur/hustle culture thrives on it while the more "emotionally intelligent" people regard it as a blocker to personal growth. Well then. Climbing a Mountain Let's start with the personal growth stuff,...
6 months ago • 8 min read