Blog

Weekend mornings were made for reflection. I have a strong cup freshly ground coffee in my hand, and a head full of ideas. Shall we begin? This blog has been stale for too long, I know.

Knowledge is the most important tool that any developer can possess. With the explosion of platforms like CodeSchool, PluralSight, and many others, the cost of education is plummeting.

What is your first thoughts in reaction to the term “mechanical keyboard”? Nostalgia? The obnoxious “clicky” sound you hoped to leave behind? If you’re relatively young, you may have no recollection of this product at all.

Growing up, adults would consistently regale me with stories from their past. A recurring theme was how time passed faster, increasing in speed with each year. Looking back as I near thirty, and several years into the largest venture I’ve undertaken thus far, I understand.

Settle in, dear reader. I’m here to share a story of frustration, unbelievably offensive customer service, and ultimately, a brand gone astray. It was mid-2012. I was preparing to launch The Machine, a broadcasting network for listeners interested in artisan goods, intellectual conversations, and spirited debate.

A few weeks ago, I gave a talk at the Chicago Node.js meetup about our technology stack for The Machine. I’ve only been working with Node.js for a couple of months, but in that time, I’ve learned many difficult lessons.

One of the major challenges I’ve had to overcome with Node.js is a task that’s relatively simple in Ruby. You wouldn’t think this would be difficult, but serializing JSON can be frustrating, even though you’re working entirely in JavaScript.

In a previous life, I was a professional web developer. I’ve used JavaScript extensively throughout my career, but I always saw it as the necessary evil: a weird little language that existed solely to provide interactive features in your web browser.

Launched in 2004, Feedburner was a once popular tool that re-formatted often messy RSS feeds, prepping them for mass consumption. Over the years, it became a trusted platform for bloggers, podcasters, and anyone else with something to say.

If we’ve met — online or in person — I’ve probably spoken to you about radio, and my endless love for the medium. This American Life, Radiolab, and Freakonomics Radio are staples in my weekly soundtrack.