Generate the Data. Worry Later.
A suggestion about data: generate it now, and figure out curation later. ...
Custom Ipsum for Real-World Testing
Pastures which are subject to overflow should be avoided. All lambs born in April or May should be drenched about August or September following, to be certain of ridding them of worms that may later cause their death. This is output from a tool I built called Veterinary Ipsum. It’s something I’ve created a few times: a Lorem Ipsum generator specific to my company’s business domain. ...
Banishing "Random" for Better Software Communication
“I’m still getting this random 404.” Want to sound pro? Banish “random” from your software engineering vocabulary. ...
Why I'm Writing to You
Eight years ago I wrote a post called You Should Blog. In it, I made an argument that I still believe in: public, professional writing is something every engineer should try. Today, I want to share why I write, and have for over a decade. ...
Four Things I've Changed My Mind About in Engineering
I think a mark of a great engineer is being willing to change one’s mind when presented with new information. Here are four technological things I’ve changed my mind about. ...
How I Approach Feature Requests
Receiving feature requests is part of running a software team. Here’s how I handle them. ...
Don't Guess
This is a response to “Don’t Guess” from the excellent “The Best Programmers I Know” by Matthias Endler. My goal is to crystallize my understanding of this trait. ...
Your Software Is Confusing
If something in your software is confusing to a customer, it is confusing. ...
Why I'm "All In" on TypeScript
I’ve added TypeScript to several projects I’ve worked on. In this post, I’d like to discuss why I think TypeScript is essential and document my expectations around it. ...
"Hit It Twice" Customer Service
I recently learned a practice for customer communication that I’d like to document. It’s called “Hit It Twice.” ...