Keep It Simple — Issue #52 3 No-Code Tools That Don't Suck When I started programming in I remember my teacher said:"Coding will be mostly drag and drop in 10 years" I think his claim was fair, but it didn't go as deep as any of us thought it would. The"drag and drop" code platforms are useful for a handful of things, but the full no-code movement never really caught on. For the most part – people still code. However, I have come across some tools that change the way I approach solving...
over 2 years ago • 3 min read
Keep It Simple — Issue #41 The Truth About Motivation Coding is Hard. Anything worth it is hard. You might love the idea of doing hard things, but you should ask yourself why you want to do it. Do you find it fun?Do you want the money?Do you want your parents' approval? It might all seem the same, but motivations make all the difference in how your accomplishments feel. For most of my life, I chased opportunities for the wrong reasons. The common reasons people would expect you to pursue...
over 2 years ago • 4 min read
Keep It Simple — Issue #50 If I Had A Time Machine... Did you ever feel overwhelmed when trying to learn how to code? You're not alone. I struggled a ton in the beginning and took a lot of wrong steps – I was even fired from my first job. It took me 3 years to understand and write code that I was comfortable contributing to a product. If you want to learn how to code, you have to push through a lot of discomfortThere will be challenges, frustration, and mindset shifts that need to happen over...
over 2 years ago • 4 min read
First Principles — Issue #49 Embracing Simplicity Every smart person I know loves solving hard problems. They play with Rubik's cubes.They perk up when something goes wrong.They are eager to understand complex ideas. In general – They are attracted to complexity. Many people get uncomfortable burning their brain power to think hard.Smart people get more discomfort from the idea of never understanding So they persist. It's a compounding effect that sets people apart as time goes on.With the...
over 2 years ago • 4 min read
First Principles — Issue #48 Overcoming Rejection Sometimes the word "no" stings. A partner breaking up with you, a friend saying they won't support you, a job turning you down. Odds are you get rejected way more than you get accepted. Ironically having less fear rejection primes you for success. Its feels counter-intuitive, but people who find successful have failed more than anybody else. Conditioning yourself to rejection has tons of upside. Lean in to it, make rejection happen, and get...
over 2 years ago • 3 min read
First Principles — Issue #47 The Minimalist Engineer When I first started writing software I was writing Minecraft plugins. I was doing it for fun, which meant just hammering away at my keyboard for hours, often with no regard for design or performance. I just wanted to see the code work. My friend, who was also working on Minecraft plugins, showed me some code he was working on that allowed users to drive Minecraft "boats"on land on his server. For every player in a boat on the server – if...
over 2 years ago • 4 min read
Keep It Simple — Issue #46 "How Will It Scale?" This is the age-old question. At most larger companies it is a great question to ask. You have tons of customers it is important to make sure your services can deliver the best experience to them without hiccups or slow downs. However – the "big tech" mindset has become pervasive. Bleeding its way through the tech industry. Most engineers don't understand how much traffic a single server is capable of handling. Culture Shock Before I started at...
over 2 years ago • 4 min read
Keep It Simple — Issue #45 Get More Done – With Less Frustration 😌 Let's get one thing clear. Anxiety is normal. It does not mean there is something wrong with you. Some people feel it more than others, and it is a normal emotion that you cannot erase. It only becomes a problem when it affects your ability to do the things you want to do. Unable to start things Avoiding social settings Daily physical pain from anxiety At this point – I think it's worth addressing. Maybe in a future newsletter...
over 2 years ago • 4 min read
Keep It Simple — Issue #44 3 Critical Rules for Coding With AI What We All Wish Coding With AI Looked Like. This would go super hard. Odds are you tried AI by now.ChatGPT... Bard... Claude... Copilot... Cursor... Dalle3... Midjourney... 🥵 Three months ago it felt like the only thing anybody could talk about was artificial intelligence. Lucky for us we're in tech. This isn't our first rodeo when it comes to hype cycles. Graph of the average hype cycle Now that the dust is beginning to settle...
over 2 years ago • 3 min read