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Latest posts
- Vibe coding made less terrifying
It’s been a long time since I’ve felt I like I was hanging on every word of a book. I was so done reading about AI. Then I saw that IT Revolution was publishing a new book: Vibe Coding: Building Production-Grade Software With GenAI, Chat, Agents, and Beyond, by Gene Kim and Steve Yegge. The book isn’t out until October,… Read more: Vibe coding made less terrifying - Developer’s checklists
Posted just now about writer’s checklists – so let’s post about the developer’s checklists here too! As a developer, I maintained a checklist of troubleshooting tips. I would have conversations like this: Me: Any thoughts on what I could do next? Colleague: Have you tried [something they also recommended last time]? Me, embarrassed: Uh… no. I’ll try that. Writing that… Read more: Developer’s checklists - Writer’s checklists
Some of the best writing tips I learned were from a summer class I took as a teenager. I’m still adding to my writer’s checklists, decades later. However, I have mostly kept these checklists in my head. Whenever I realize that I have documentation stored in my head, I want to write it down. First of all, the information in… Read more: Writer’s checklists - Job seekers beware of scams
Beware of the scams targeting job seekers. I’d say “it’s a new low” for scammers to target people who are looking for work, but no, unfortunately… the scammers seem to reside at those depths. Scammers who aren’t who they claim to be Beware these tactics for scammers trying to mask their true identity. Scammers after a job seeker’s money Don’t… Read more: Job seekers beware of scams - Did I chat with an AI?
I try to avoid posting about AI, but today I found myself wondering: did I just chat with an AI? Trying to decide which of several products to purchase online, I used the company’s website chatbot, which transferred me to “Vanessa” for further assistance. Was Vanessa real? I found myself evaluating every line. The overly-enthusiastic and strangely polished parts? That’s… Read more: Did I chat with an AI?
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API ask asking blog book recommendations boredom checklist checklists cloud coding practices courage debugging desk does it help empathy errors estimating ETLS Forrest Brazeal getting stuff done helping others hostility kindness learning listening logic manual vs. ai mentoring mentors minimalism not knowing overwhelm prioritization procrastination productivity questions resistance self-awareness self-care setting limits time management vacation why writing you do you
2025 posts
- Vibe coding made less terrifyingIt’s been a long time since I’ve felt I like I was hanging on every word of a book. I… Read more: Vibe coding made less terrifying
- Developer’s checklistsPosted just now about writer’s checklists – so let’s post about the developer’s checklists here too! As a developer, I… Read more: Developer’s checklists
- Writer’s checklistsSome of the best writing tips I learned were from a summer class I took as a teenager. I’m still… Read more: Writer’s checklists
- Job seekers beware of scamsBeware of the scams targeting job seekers. I’d say “it’s a new low” for scammers to target people who are… Read more: Job seekers beware of scams
- Did I chat with an AI?I try to avoid posting about AI, but today I found myself wondering: did I just chat with an AI?… Read more: Did I chat with an AI?
- Three books about storytelling
I’ve been listening to books on storytelling recently, including three I recommend highly. Book 1: How to Tell a Story… Read more: Three books about storytelling - Not getting started guarantees failure
I feel like an engine that won’t “catch.” You know what guarantees that I will fail at something? Not starting it. - You know what doesn’t help overcome resistance?
“So, I put a lot of pressure on myself. All the time.” My husband stared at me. “Yes,” he said… Read more: You know what doesn’t help overcome resistance? - I attended networking events so you don’t have to
People say that networking is important. Does this mean you should attend networking events? I say no. Not that these… Read more: I attended networking events so you don’t have to - Do you have the power?
I was told once that I “should feel empowered” to influence strategy, something I had been blocked from doing in… Read more: Do you have the power? - House sparrows keep life from going by too fast
How do we keep each day from blending in with all the others? Why does it seem like time passes… Read more: House sparrows keep life from going by too fast - Hotdogs and scrum
In the midst of a recent LinkedIn discussion about whether scrum is a methodology or a framework, I considered a… Read more: Hotdogs and scrum - Finding myself in the online noise
I keep reading that there are two keys to connecting to your people online: consistency and content. Show up regularly,… Read more: Finding myself in the online noise - Interview with an AI
Another post about AI? I just made one earlier this afternooooon… But then Forrest Brazeal posted this, which got me… Read more: Interview with an AI - Exactly how much more productive?
I’ve seen a few posts on social media with questions like: Why are we still trying to figure out exactly… Read more: Exactly how much more productive? - Where to start
Many of my blog posts start as a response to something I see online. I start typing away in a… Read more: Where to start - How can I help?
My first full time job after college was as an administrative assistant at a health insurance company. I did a… Read more: How can I help? - Language learning
My Romanian coworkers were impressed when I started learning Romanian. I’d say “bună” (hello), complete with the ă, and they’d… Read more: Language learning - Blog post checklist
I have been importing blog posts from my previous blog at Medium, and I keep losing track of the steps.… Read more: Blog post checklist
2024 posts
Oops, I didn’t post in 2024!
2023 posts
These posts were originally on Medium.
- My first conference: lessons learned
My first conference in person was incredible. More later about the content — here’s what I learned from the experience… Read more: My first conference: lessons learned - Projects one at a time
The discussion about developer productivity (see: here) led me to following Paulo André, who recently posted: The secret to productivity… Read more: Projects one at a time - Feeling seen
In the summer of 2019, I was three months into a new job. My house had endured major construction that… Read more: Feeling seen - The dangers of “who” and “why”: post-incident reviews
Five valuable lessons, including one that really threw me for a loop when I read it. - Don’t do this: my career path
Folks who are new to software development sometimes ask me about my career path. The first time I fielded this question, I told my story in a straightforward way. Hearing myself talk, though, I realized… - Lessons from Uncle Sidney
Uncle Sidney was notorious. I think even he’d agree to that. He might indeed be someone’s uncle, but he isn’t… Read more: Lessons from Uncle Sidney - Have you been giving your employer money?
I suspect most people would not spontaneously and voluntarily give back part of their salary to their employer. I don’t… Read more: Have you been giving your employer money? - Why people do what they do
I’m a huge fan of the Enterprise Technology Leadership Summit. Disney’s Jason Cox is a fine speaker and storyteller, and my favorite Disney character. His presentation on Creating Digital Magic gave me a lot to think about. - Choosing a mentor (updated)
I’m happiest in a job when I’m learning from someone who knows more than I do. Last year [this post… Read more: Choosing a mentor (updated) - Three reasons not to bring hostility
I enjoy challenges to my “conventional wisdom” about how developers and dev teams work. We can improve. “The way we’ve… Read more: Three reasons not to bring hostility - Bug huntingI once had a colleague who (jokingly) left this comment on a code review, and not in reference to a specific line of code: “Missing semicolon.”
- Thinking Errors – Notes
Notes from a post by Sheril Mathews about common thinking errors and how to spot them. First, the ones I… Read more: Thinking Errors – Notes - Cloud Resume ChallengeDevOps Enterprise Summit 2022 closed with a great talk from Forrest Brazeal. As a cloud architect, musician, writer, and cartoonist,… Read more: Cloud Resume Challenge
2022 posts
These posts were originally on Medium.
- 33 Things You Don’t Need on Your Desk
Friends, writing on Medium (and getting photos from Unsplash) taught me that I’ve been doing it all wrong. Back in… Read more: 33 Things You Don’t Need on Your Desk - Why Everyone Else Knows More Than You Do, and What To Do About It
The developers you work with know stuff that you don’t, and you know stuff that they don’t. Obvious, right? So… Read more: Why Everyone Else Knows More Than You Do, and What To Do About It - Don’t tell me what API stands for
Let’s talk about what an API actually is. When I first learned about APIs, all I ever heard for a… Read more: Don’t tell me what API stands for - Naming things, in spades
Naming things is hard. One of the hardest things in computer science, as the saying goes. I once spent a… Read more: Naming things, in spades - Recognize your wall
I’m not saying it’s time to go stare at the wall. Well, maybe I am. Maybe you’ve been firefighting most… Read more: Recognize your wall - Something’s gotta give
You’ve already got a full schedule when the boss asks you to take on a special project. Or maybe an… Read more: Something’s gotta give - Boredom is an interesting thing
Okay, you’ve put off that dreaded task long enough. Finally, you get to work, but the time just drags on.… Read more: Boredom is an interesting thing
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Posts by tag
API ask asking blog book recommendations boredom checklist checklists cloud coding practices courage debugging desk does it help empathy errors estimating ETLS Forrest Brazeal getting stuff done helping others hostility kindness learning listening logic manual vs. ai mentoring mentors minimalism not knowing overwhelm prioritization procrastination productivity questions resistance self-awareness self-care setting limits time management vacation why writing you do you
How does Leaf cross-post these blog posts?
Glad you asked, Leaf! (Yeah, these instructions are for my reference, haha)
- I start by posting here on my site.
- I use Blog2Social to repost to BlueSky and Medium. Not 100% perfect, but it gets the job done. I clean up Medium, adding a link back to the original.
- Blog2Social doesn’t support Substack. You can import posts to Substack via RSS feed.
- I set the number of posts on my feed to however need to be imported. So, one, if I’m on the ball.
- On the Dashboard, I go to the Settings page for my Substack (lower left, not the account Settings upper right).
- I choose Import/Export, then Import Posts
- I enter: https://www.beyondwritingcode.com/feed
- I confirm that it’s importing the right number of posts, and I confirm that I own the posts.
- Then I clean up the posts. The import process adds the links back to the originals for me.
Whew! It’s a bit tedious, but it works. Kind of 🙂