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Making Brutalist Design Accessible: A Journey in WCAG AA Compliance
How I transformed my brutalist blog theme to meet WCAG AA accessibility standards while preserving its vibrant, random aesthetic. Talking about contrast ratios, color theory, and inclusive design.
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Building Horror Movie Season: A Journey in AI-Augmented Development
How I built a production web app primarily through 'vibe coding' with Claude, and what it taught me about the future of software development. A deep dive into AI-augmented development, the Horror Movie Season app, and reflections on the evolving role of engineers in the age of LLMs.
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Chaos Engineering: Building Resiliency in Ourselves and Our Systems
Chaos Engineering isn't just about breaking systems — it's about building resilient teams, processes, and cultures. Learn how deliberate practice strengthens both technical and human architecture, and discover "Eph's Law": If a single engineer can bring down production, the failure isn't theirs — it's the process.
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Using LLMs to Audit and Clean Up Your Codebase: A Real-World Example
How I used an LLM to systematically audit and remove 228 unused image files from my legacy dev blog repository, saving hours of manual work and demonstrating the practical value of AI-assisted development.
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Migrating from Ghost CMS to Astro: A Complete Journey
The complete 2-year journey of migrating from Ghost CMS to Astro—from initial script development in October 2023 to final completion in October 2025. Documents the blog's 11-year evolution, custom backup conversion script, image restoration process, and the intensive 4-day development sprint. Includes honest insights about how a few days of actual work got spread across two years due to life priorities.
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50 Stars - Puzzle Solver (of Little Renown)
From coding puzzle dropout to 50-star champion—discover how AI became the ultimate coding partner for completing Advent of Code 2023. A celebration of persistence, imposter syndrome, and the surprising ways generative AI can help you level up your problem-solving game.
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Don't Trust AI - An Advent of Code Tale
When AI gives you a 'helpful' code suggestion that breaks your Advent of Code solution—trust but verify. A cautionary tale about the perils of blindly accepting AI-generated code, complete with debugging war stories and lessons learned from the 2023 coding challenge.
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Condoning Another Pi Day
When pie for breakfast, lunch, and dinner isn't enough—discover why 11/24 is secretly another Pi Day hiding in the infinite digits of π. A mathematical adventure proving that every day can be a celebration of both dessert and irrational numbers.
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ANSI Terminal Colors
Stop googling terminal color codes every time you want to add some flair to your scripts. This comprehensive ANSI color reference has everything you need—from basic 16 colors to the full 256-color palette—with visual swatches and hex codes to make your terminal pop.
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WTF is Idiomatic
Ever been told your code isn't 'idiomatic' and wondered what that even means? This quick explainer breaks down idiomatic vs non-idiomatic code with real Elixir examples—because writing Python in Elixir syntax just doesn't cut it.
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From Early Return in OOP to Control Flow in Elixir - A Transition Guide
Missing the 'return' keyword in Elixir? Learn how to ditch early returns for pattern matching, guard clauses, and functional control flow. A practical guide for OOP developers transitioning to Elixir's elegant approach to handling different code paths.
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Ghost Blog backup to Astro markdown
Tired of paying for Ghost hosting? Learn how to migrate your blog to Astro with a custom Node.js script that converts Ghost backups to markdown. Complete with working code, Turndown integration, and the satisfaction of taking control of your content.
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The Twelve-Factor App - A Guideline for Building Modern Web Applications
From Heroku's playbook to modern cloud deployment—rediscover the Twelve-Factor App methodology that still shapes how we build scalable web applications today. A practical guide to the principles that make your apps portable, maintainable, and cloud-ready.
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Thinking S.R.P. in S.O.L.I.D.
How can a class do 'one thing' when it needs to coordinate multiple components? A deep dive into the Single Responsibility Principle with real examples, showing how to separate concerns without creating a mess of tiny classes that do nothing.
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Playdate Group 4 Represent!
From doodling sprites to compiling games—discover the joy of game development on the Playdate handheld. A first-hand account of diving into Panic's excellent SDK, complete with hardware impressions, charging quirks, and the surprisingly low barrier to entry for indie game creation.
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Initial Impression of Claude.ai
Claude.ai vs. ChatGPT—which AI assistant reigns supreme for Elixir development? A hands-on comparison of Anthropic's new AI tool, complete with real conversation examples and honest thoughts on its potential for building Phoenix applications.
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Iteration v. Recursion
For loops vs. function calls that call themselves—when should you choose iteration over recursion? A practical guide to understanding these fundamental programming concepts with real examples, performance considerations, and when each approach shines.
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The Power of Psychological Safety in High-Performing Teams
Why Google's best teams aren't made of the smartest people—they're made of people who feel safe to fail. Discover how psychological safety transforms teams from good to great, with actionable insights from Project Aristotle and real-world leadership strategies.
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alt-LGTM 👍
Turns out 'LGTM' doesn't just mean 'Looks Good To Me'—ChatGPT reveals 50+ hilarious alternative meanings from 'Let's Gather These Mushrooms' to 'Lions Grapple Their Meals.' Because sometimes code reviews need a little levity.
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A Year Later - Still Burnt Out
One year after stepping down from management to escape burnout—the recovery journey continues. An honest reflection on lingering symptoms, building a mindfulness toolbox, and why healing from professional burnout is anything but linear.
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2023-04-23 - project blog - elxrBB- Entry
When ChatGPT runs out of queries and you're stuck debugging Pow authentication—welcome to the reality of AI-assisted development. A frustrating follow-up to the elxrBB project, featuring username vs. email struggles, terrible AI-generated blog posts, and the decision to pivot away from perfectionism.
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2023-04-02 - project blog - elxrBB- Innaugural Entry
Building an Elixir forum with ChatGPT as your coding partner—what could go wrong? The inaugural entry of the elxrBB project chronicles the early days of AI-assisted development, complete with setup struggles, asdf discoveries, and the reality of working with GPT-4's limitations.
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A Swift Dive into the Gang of Four Design Patterns
The 23 design patterns that shaped modern software development—a comprehensive guide to the Gang of Four patterns. From Singleton to Visitor, learn when and how to apply these time-tested solutions to build more maintainable, flexible code.
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Types of Tests in Laravel
From unit tests to browser automation—master the Laravel testing ecosystem with this comprehensive guide. Learn when to use PHPUnit, Feature tests, Dusk, and E2E testing to build robust, reliable applications that won't break in production.
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The Value of Making Mistakes
When your database migration breaks the UI and you learn more than you ever wanted to know about polymorphic relationships—embrace the chaos. A developer's reflection on why mistakes are the best teachers and how to build resilience through planned failure.
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Me - Add An Admin, Ghost - Oh, Actually I'm Broken
When adding a Ghost admin user breaks your entire blog—a sysadmin's tale of configuration chaos. Follow the debugging journey from mysterious 'copyError is not a function' to nginx 502 errors, all because of a simple Mailgun transport setting.
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The Value of the Retrospective (by ChatGPT)
From AI prompt to 1,000-word blog post in minutes—explore the early days of ChatGPT as a writing partner. A fascinating experiment in AI-assisted content creation, complete with the full conversation and honest assessment of whether we're on the cusp of a new frontier.
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Psychological Safety (by ChatGPT)
When ChatGPT writes your blog post about psychological safety—discover the fascinating, flawed, and surprisingly human-like output of early AI writing. A raw look at AI-generated content on team dynamics, complete with the author's honest assessment of ChatGPT's capabilities and limitations.
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Understanding ACID Properties - The Pillars of Reliable Database Management
Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability—master the four pillars that keep your database transactions rock-solid. A comprehensive guide to ACID properties with real-world examples, from bank transfers to flight bookings, that every developer needs to understand.
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How to Create Bootable USB in Linix Terminal
Stop forgetting how to create bootable USB drives—here's the Linux terminal method that's actually easier than Rufus or Balena Etcher. A quick reference guide with the essential dd command and troubleshooting steps for when you need to boot from USB in a hurry.
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Building a New Routine
From Docker containers to 40-mile backpacking trips—discover how engineering principles apply to building life-changing routines. A goal-oriented approach to hiking, health, and personal development that treats life improvement like any other engineering challenge worth solving.
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Mental Health Crises Aren't Convenient
When burnout becomes a mental health crisis and FMLA is your only lifeline—a raw account of executive dysfunction, HR navigation, and the reality of taking leave when you can't function. An honest look at the system that's supposed to protect workers during their darkest moments.
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die Überarbeiteteers
When burnout hits like a German compound word—an honest account of executive dysfunction, decision paralysis, and the terrifying reality of professional exhaustion. A raw reflection on the cost of success, the Seattle Freeze, and the impossible choice between health and capitalism.
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Engineering Control
When overwhelm hits and you're drowning in urgent vs. important decisions—learn how to engineer control back into your work life. A practical framework for managing the chaos of modern engineering management, complete with the four-box prioritization model that actually works.
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Web Scraping 101
When you need to scrape emails from a webpage but don't want to copy-paste each one—learn the browser console magic that turns DOM manipulation into data extraction. A quick guide to web scraping with jQuery, complete with nvim cleanup commands for the final output.
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In Linux, Jobs are Useful!
Stop exiting from mysql and Ctrl+C'ing your tail -f commands—master Linux job control with jobs, bg, and fg. A CLI ninja's guide to multitasking in the terminal, complete with real-world debugging scenarios that will change how you work.
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On Falling in Love with Your Town
From years of planning to finally falling in love with Bremerton—discover the magic of finding your perfect place to call home. A love letter to Kitsap County, complete with mountain views, ferry adventures, feral cats, and the walkable lifestyle that makes every day feel like a small-town dream.
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Unnecessary Zoom Fatigue
When that meeting should have been an email—discover the four causes of Zoom fatigue and how to avoid unnecessary video calls that drain your energy. A Stanford-backed guide to reducing cognitive load, excessive eye contact, and the constant self-view that's making us all exhausted.
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Leadership - People & Process
It's about the people, stupid—learn how to coach the person, not the problem, and build processes that actually protect your team from constant interruptions. A leadership guide to managing external distractions, implementing service desks, and creating the structure your engineers desperately need.
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Recognizing the PNW Journey
From Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest—celebrate the 1,600-mile journey that led to finally achieving your dreams. A victory lap through remote work, team management, corporate acquisitions, and the sweet satisfaction of making it to the PNW after years of planning.
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Test Tangential Development - TTD
When TDD feels like it's getting in your way—discover Test Tangential Development, the pragmatic approach to testing that works when requirements are unclear and you're flying by the seat of your pants. A realistic take on when to let testing follow your development instead of driving it.
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On Being a Capable Impostor
From TRS-80 BASIC to Engineering Manager—embrace your journey as a 'capable impostor' in the tech world. An honest reflection on self-taught success, imposter syndrome, and why 'Light Blue Collar' work deserves the same respect as any skilled trade.
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How to - Cold Brew
Stop spending $5 a day on Starbucks cold brew—master the art of making liquid gold at home with this developer's guide to cold brewing. Complete with Costco bean recommendations, 24-hour brewing process, and the Clever Dripper setup that keeps you caffeinated without breaking the budget.
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How PHP 5.4's Closure - -bind Saved me From Reflection
When you need to access private properties but Reflection feels 'ooky'—discover how PHP 5.4's Closure::bind() provides a lightweight alternative. A practical solution for accessing private class members without the complexity of Reflection, complete with real-world Laravel examples.
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MAMP Pro 3 + PECL + Extensions = Working MEMCACHE
When MAMP Pro needs memcache extensions but the GitHub repos aren't keeping up—learn how to compile PECL extensions yourself. A complete guide to setting up MAMP's build environment, configuring PHP paths, and installing memcache without breaking your development workflow.
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Thingdom JavaScript Wrapper
From Arduino to WordPress—discover how Thingdom's JavaScript wrapper can mobile-enable any project in just four lines of code. A developer's guide to the IoT platform that connects everything from Raspberry Pi to web apps, complete with CodePen examples and real-world use cases.
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Array.prototype.diff(meaCulpa)
When extending JavaScript's core functionality goes wrong—learn from the Array.prototype.diff() mea culpa. A follow-up to the original diff method that adds proper type checking with instanceof, because sometimes you need to watch your data types more carefully.
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OMG CSS LEDs!!!
When you need indicators but want them to look amazing—create semi-skeumorphic CSS LEDs that actually glow. A CodePen showcase of beautiful LED-style indicators that prove CSS can be both functional and visually stunning without any JavaScript required.
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Array.prototype.diff()
When you need to highlight new feed items but don't want to Google the solution—build your own Array.prototype.diff() method. A fun problem-solving approach to comparing arrays, complete with real-world examples of long-polling feeds and the satisfaction of solving it yourself.
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Having Fun at Work
When your boss wants links to stand out—deliver exactly what they asked for with glorious CSS animations. A lighthearted reminder that having fun at work sometimes means creating the most ridiculous blinking, rainbow-striped links that will make everyone laugh.
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My Friend Alfred
If you're a Mac user and not using Alfred—you're missing out on the ultimate productivity tool. A love letter to the PowerPack that saves hundreds of keystrokes daily, complete with custom Monokai Glass theme, SVN workflows, and the keyboard shortcuts that make everything faster.
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(My) JavaScript Style
When JavaScript style guides are as wild as the Wild West—establish your own coding conventions that actually work. A developer's personal style guide covering brackets, comments, variable declarations, and the eternal debate over single vs. double quotes in the JavaScript wilderness.
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(How I) Use Multiple Cached Selectors with jQuery
Stop Googling how to use multiple cached jQuery selectors—here's the method that actually makes sense. A practical guide to combining cached selectors without the performance pitfalls of .add(), complete with real-world examples and the gotchas you need to watch out for.
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