Code with Jason

Freedom Dumlao, a key figure at Flexcar, discusses the company's exciting transition from Java to Ruby on Rails. He shares the challenges and triumphs faced during this shift, particularly in balancing coupling and decoupling within microservices. The conversation delves into the strategic parallels between programming and chess, emphasizing the need for deep understanding and anticipating failure in both fields. Doubling down on community, he also highlights his culinary adventures in Boston’s Chinatown, sharing tips and dining experiences.

On this episode, I talk with JP Camara, Principal Software Engineer at Wealthbox about nicknames, how having quality A/V equipment impacts how people perceive you, concurrency in programming, quantum computing, Galileo and the multiverse, blank slate-ism and whether people deserve credit or blame for their inborn traits and decisions, free will or determinism, whether or not we live in a simulation, and Jeremy Bearimy.The Fabric of Reality by David DeutschThe Beginning of Infinity by David DeutschThe Blank Slate by Stephen PinkerThe Language Instinct by Stephen PinkerJP Camara on LinkedInJP Camara on TwitterJP Camara.com

In this episode, I sit down with Artur Trzop, co-founder and COO at Knapsack Pro for a conversation that touches on the Polish language and learning foreign languages, Artur's journey to founding his own company, what the Knapsack Pro gem does, American programming work taking place in Poland, growing a company to the point of financial sustainability, facing competition from larger entities, and recent improvements to Knapsack Pro. Rails WorldKnapsack ProDocs.KnapsackPro.comArtur Trzop on LinkedInArtur Trzop on TwitterSin City Ruby

On this episode, I'm joined by Derrick Fonseca for a conversation that touches on Derrick's path to software development and the commonalities in problem solving between programming and mechanical engineering, finding the problem, my experience at Rails World 2024, the state of the Ruby community and the benefits of attending meetups, writing understandable tests and test driven design, and my upcoming conference Sin City Ruby 2025.The Beginning of Infinity by David DeutschThe Fabric of Reality by David DeutschRails WorldRailsConfBoston Ruby MeetupSan Francisco Ruby MeetupProfessional Rails Testing by Jason SwettDerrick Fonseca on LinkedInSin City Ruby

On this week's episode, Will Carey, CTO of Brand New Box and I get together for a chat that touches on RailsConf Detroit, Will's work at Brand New Box, the challenges of remote work, starting new development projects, the benefits and risks of deploying early, pets vs cattle when it comes to server maintenance, Kubernetes, state-full code vs stateless code, starting at the end and working backwards, the value of curiosity, the benefits of building long-term relationships, and my consulting work.RailsConfBrand New BoxWill Carey on LinkedInSin City Ruby

Adarsh Pandit, Executive Director of Ruby Central, is on a mission to strengthen the Ruby community through inclusive initiatives and vibrant meetups. He shares his journey from academia to tech consulting, offering insights on maintaining professional relationships and the differences between contracting and consulting. The conversation highlights the revival of Ruby meetups post-pandemic and the excitement surrounding upcoming conferences, including the Sin City Ruby conference, which promises engaging sessions and networking opportunities.

On this episode, Landon Gray and I get together for a conversation that touches on AI consulting, backfilling tests in a system that wasn't developed with TDD, generative AI assisting with testing in data science settings, using AI to develop your product vs using AI in your product, getting clients as an AI consultant, the benefits of remaining a solo contractor over starting an agency, work/life balance as a freelancer, whether charging an hourly rate is the best way to represent the value you provide as a consultant, having a north star to guide your decision making in your work life, what actually comprises risk, how marketing yourself is important regardless of whether you're an employee or a freelancer, how the modern hiring process is broken, value created vs compensation received, and Landon's trip to the AI Engineer World's Fair in San Francisco.The AI Engineer World's FairMadison RubyLandon Gray on LinkedInLandon Gray on Twitter

On today's episode, I sit down with Eric Normand to discuss how to select good customers, the importance of sales and marketing to a freelancer, the importance of imagination, industry, and optimism, the purpose of consulting, how I structure my consulting services, other ideas for consulting structures, domain modeling, tech debt vs dull knives as a metaphor, how product design influences domain modeling, how having a theory of your product impacts domain modeling, the abundance of bad advice for new consultants, and the pros and cons of masterminds.Eric Normand.meEric Normand's NewsletterEric Normand's Clojure GuidesEric Normand's Clojure Video CoursesThe Eric Normand PodcastMillion Dollar Consulting by Alan Weiss99 Bottles of OOP by Sandi MetzEric Normand on LinkedInEric Normand on Twitter

On this episode, I'm joined by Joel Hawksley, Staff Engineer at GitHub for a discussion of code ownership with regards to a 3-year WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) project at GitHub, benevolent dictatorship, collective ownability, terrible code vs acceptable code vs the viability of a project, writing good code vs solving problems, defining quality code, quality code resulting from clear conceptualization, the desirability (or not!) of perfect adherence to standards, reducing defect rate, and meaningful testing goals. Code Complete by Steve McConnellJoel Hawksley at GitHubJoel Hawksley at TwitterHawksley.orgEpisode 88 - ViewComponent with Joel HawksleyLive From Ruby Conf 2021, Joel Hawksley Tells Me About His DrinkEpisode 130 - ViewComponent with Joel Hawksley

On this week's episode, I talk with Allison McMillan to discuss working environments, the importance of getting a remote team together on a regular basis, the benefits of a well thought out offsite, not-so-great offsite types, elements of a worthwhile offsite, and more.Allison McMillan.comAllison McMillan on LinkedInAllison McMillan on Twitter