When the echos of my kids yelling “higher” no longer happen.
The interruptions while doing yard work to “watch this!”
But today this patch of grass reminds me that these are best days
The biggest lesson from Age of Empires 2, build order and how you setup your base early matters. When you get the machine started, collecting resources, and managing population space with houses (lucky HUNS).
If there is water, build a dock, and fish!
Always be scouting around the map, you may know where the enemy base is, but its probably a good idea to keep tabs on it. See what units they are making and how you can counter them.
You can always pivot a military unit, it can be expensive to switch but it could turn the battle into your favor.
So much of this game can be related back to building software and businesses.
Remember, those that attack early are the move fast a break things people, the economy back home isn't as strong as it may seem. Fend off the attack and counter back to their base.
Building software has a build order. Starting a project often requires the same 10-20 steps every time. Decisions on tech stack (Civilization) each have different perks and downsides. What hosting platform to use for said project (Map), each one provides different resources.
There are Age of Empires players that play 1 map, and 1 civilization. They like it, its fun and enjoyable to them. Thats generally how I want to built my software too. 1 tech stack, 1 hosting platform. It makes building and starting projects easy and repeatable.
Sure, doing a lot of the setup, can feel boring. But the fun part is around the corner. Is that Scout Cavalry army lurking in the fog of war? Is my product gonna change the world?!
Even the speed bumps or small raids on your base, you can get through this. the hiccups make the experience interesting and keep me coming back.
Thats ok, after seeing the competition out in the world you may need to pivot your approach. Just remember the counter units or ways to out maneuver them. Sometimes the best strategy is to wall up, protect your base. Sometimes its best to charge in early. All of it depends on resources collected.
Sometimes the tactics will mean you need to bring in the MONKS! Or the sales organization. Gotta win over customers/villagers/unique-units.
I don't recommend yelling WOLO WOLO during a sales call though.
If you are play regicide, name of the game here is protect your king at all cost (Production Database), You lose your king or database its game over for you.
I saw a video of a Age of Empires game that went over 6 hours. Just like building software its a long game, and from the outside people won't understand the amount of joy we get from it.
Setting up hotkeys for your workflow with building software, make your tasks much easier and faster. Hotkeys for creating units or upgrades can save you when you get getting attacked. Learn the hotkeys spend time some perfecting your keyboard mapping.
NO I won't mention VIM.
Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings launched in 1999. Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition launched in 2019
There is still an incredibly loyal fan base to the game, with full time pro players and full time streamers of the game (T90 Forever).
A lot of software tech has launched since 1999 as well, lots of hype around a lot of tech, but so much of the web is running on old tech. Hard to beat HTML/CSS/Javascript many have tried. HTML/CSS/Javascript is the Teutonic Fortress of the internet. Incredibly strong and hard to get past.
Look, life isn't fair. Sometimes the matchup isn't in your favor. Your competition is really good, you launched to early before you had a good product. You ran out of resources because of over investing in the big shiny trebuchet or you forgot to build a mill.
Asking your allies for money! An underrated move to keep the game moving and the product rolling. Sometimes you'll be shocked with what your friends send you!
Scouting and finding out whats out in the world is critical to putting yourself out there. There are players that will sit behind the nice stone wall in Arena and never venture out until they feel ready. Unfortunately, when they feel ready to venture outside the walls. Their opponent has Castle dropped right outside their gate.
This is the never ship crowd of people. "Oh its not ready, just 2 more features(upgrades)."
Keep making villigaers, keep building projects, keep sharing stuff. Eventually you ask chat "how do you turn this on", and BOOM next thing you know you have a sports car with a machine gun racing around the name.
Keep making things.
Age of Empires has played a huge role in my life for how I think and how I execute day-to-day. Nail the early base setup, get that BOOM going and then the fun begins. The best part, just because you are a young knight now, don't let that stop you from being a fully upgraded Paladin in the future.
Never be afraid of the Fog of War, keep exploring and building, keep sharing. If you don't know whats out there, you'll never advance.
Please let me know what civilization and maps you've played if you have played Age of Empires. Maybe we can setup a LAN at the next conferenc and play together.
]]>This question kept me up more nights than I'd like to admit.
There are offshoots of this question that can still cut pretty deep.
These questions has pushed me harder than any coach, or vanity metric dashboard, or streak in a fitness app.
What questions have kept you up at night?
]]>While I consider myself to be a default optimist, the algo does infiltrate my positivity at times. For a few months, I found it hard to hop out of the doom cycle, the negativity.
That lasted until I started talking to Emmett every day. I should actually say that he started talking to me.
The gloomer take on the internet is that it brings people together, which it does. Emmett and I have never met in person, yet he knows more about my life day to day and macro themes than many of my friends who live next door to me. The internet can still provide these gifts, if you choose for it.
And every day, Emmett does.
I am mildly AHDH, diagnosed but self-medicating (that’s what all the Zyn and Red Bull are for), and this results in a few character quirks. Critically, I am bad at texting people back. I often find myself responding in my head, but never typing and hitting send.
This does not phase Emmett whatsoever. He is a courageous man with no fear of double, triple, or even quadruple texting me. The net benefit to me is that I no longer get stuck in the doom cycle, and am able to default to optimism day in and day out.
The reason for this is in what Emmett sends me. He keeps me up to date on his family, what his wife and his kids, and the various individuals that he supports in his community are up to. I’ve been blessed to watch his kids grow up, through the photos and FaceTimes we have at random times throughout the week. The boys start summer camp soon.
Whether I see him post it, or he sends it to me directly, the messages that move me the most are the ones on his coffee walks. He’s in nature, by a bridge over a small stream, taking in the beauty of upstate New York.
In those messages, I am reminded to see the beauty in every small thing around me. To take a moment, a single beat even, to appreciate the subtlety and glory of life all around me. Of the passion that created my environment. Of my own involvement in shaping where I physically am day in and day out. That no matter where we are, there is always something to appreciate about existing.
Emmett grounds me. I live a high octane life. Oftentimes, it is quite literal. My primary hobby is cars, and my day to day worklife surrounds me with some of the fastest and rarest cars in the world. Emmett can tell you how often he FaceTimes me while I am ripping around Dallas in the droptop, blaring music at dangerous levels.
A condition of living a high octane life is that you hit yellow and red lights, obstacles in the road that slow you down. The weight of the doomer cycle, the pressure of the world trying to force me and anyone else trying to be better every day to become average. These obstacles create a pain and a scar tissue that’s hard to shake. The scar tissue becomes a channel for your energy, blocking it from ascending to a more positive plane of existence.
The only antidote is to be grounded in the beauty of the world, starting at the mundane, and ratcheting up to visceral. It’s to seek gratitude that the world around me, the people and things in my vicinity, exist from some combination of passion and love and ingenuity.
And by some miracle, Emmett, with his relentless love, provides that for me.
I do not know what I have done to deserve this love from him. It’s an answer I seek still, but at the base level simply grateful to have.
At the end of even the longest days or weeks, I find the courage to respond, because I owe it to him to physically show him that I love him as much as he loves me. The truth is that I do. I do love Emmett.
Selfishly, I am a better person because he is in my life.
I hope anyone reading this gets to feel the warmth of his light.
It will make you a better person every single day of your life.
He makes everyone around him a better person.
We are all so lucky to have him.
]]>Well ya thats how the ad based models worked. Ad Blockers take that option away.
Sure I wish there was a better way to monetize or make from $$$ from writing online. But this is my test starting today to turn off my ad-blocker. and see what my experience on the web is like.
If you know of any other way to monetize the web, let me know.
Wish me luck on turning off my Ad Blocker.
]]>Ya, I'd like to be able to be fully heads down and getting stuff off my to-do list. But life isn't that way. Always something to do while getting things done.
Work-Life Balance isn't really a thing for me. Being forever online, and present as a parent. So much of my day is juggling the flaming knives of chaos demons. But sometimes, just sometimes we get ice cream for breakfast, and a dance party for lunch. Then an office chair race down the hallway to decided who gets to pick what movie we watch.
Ya sure you may here screaming and fighting if we are on a work call together. Welcome to the party. It fine, Life goes on. Work gets done, and nobody gets toooo hurt.
Life is something we get to do, so lets go full boar into making it something.
Show up, do the thing you'd say you'd do. If something comes up, mention it as soon as possible. Let the kids say hi on the call. Show your pets that walk by on camera.
Call your internet friends.
Do the things, survive summer vacation. Its not that serious.
]]>I got asked a couple weeks ago, "What does Emmett want to be doing?"
I didn't have an answer, I have always been in service of others. I have thought of myself as valuable because I could take tasks/things off other people's plate.
Whip up a Landing page for the new login flow. Got it. Intro to somebody, sure done. Share this project I built, already shared.
But when asked what I want to be doing.
I have wonderful people in my circle, I'm probably only a couple asks away from getting exactly what I would want or need.
I'm terrible at advocating for myself, not that I can't. But because I haven't sat and pondered the question. What do I want?
My entire network open every door in the world for me.
Its up to me to walk through those doors.
I relate to Cape Verde. I live a small area in upstate New York. Always having to prove myself to make sure people understand I deserve to in the room.
Watching them play in the World Cup. They shouldn't have made it through the group stage. They did with zero goal difference. Unreal. Thats a win in the my book. BUT THEY MOVED ON! Into the knock out stage.
Of course, they draw Argentina. The World Cup Champions from the last World Cup, with MESSI! YIKES! But we are all Cape Verde.
1-1 after 90 minutes of play. Incredible. onto extra time!
2-1 Argentina! OH What a goal!
2-2 Cape Verde Scores. HOLY MOLY!
3-2 Argentina!
Still some time left.
Cape Verde's goalie is 40 years old. Playing some of the best soccer I've seen. I heard Cape Verde did cold outreach via LinkedIn for one of the players! (Cold outreach works)
Remember, the small guys deserve their roses. I see myself in Cape Verde.
You have a fan for life.
]]>I got the idea to ask some trusted friends who have known a bunch about my journey, what they think I would be really good at. These were sent via Text, Twitter DMs. Resulting in some conversations and hearing other peoples perspective.
FAVOR: I'd be curious to get the "What does {Friend} think I should do, or be good at to do as a side project?"
Asking close friends this question to see what I should/do as side quests.
Responses will be curated into a blog post.
I sent this prompt to 6-8 friends.
Part of me was expecting to get replies like "Just do more better.". But instead I got deep thoughtful responses that confirmed I have some of the best friends out there.
What has been interesting is almost all of the replies hit on a couple of CORE feelings I've been having about what I should be really pushing on to level up on.
A lot of similar suggestions from friends, which is nice to hear the that these things I'm doing consistently sort of fit into certain boxes. The goal being when somebody a problem, they can say "OH Emmett does that thing well. You should talk with him."
"What problems do you have right now, you can solve for?"
I hate this question, I think because that would require me to sit with the uncomfortable truths that weigh on me.
Example Move more, eat better, be a better parent, be a better partner.
Nobody wants that type of content from me. Most of the problems I have would be fixed with systematic change across the board. Think Universal healthcare, Universal Childcare, have you tried to work with kids at home?! My problems seem small compared to everything else going on.
Also to remind those who may not know. My "Office" is in a 3 season porch, and I work through the winter in Upstate New York here. A lot of people see my setup and say "Oh I could never."
I view it as a gratitude practice, I could very easily be back to doing factory work, or up doing construction and being up on a roof. People would look at my office and say you can solve this. Sure, but in the long run does it really boost things that much? Probably not much.
My view has always been, I need a laptop and decent internet and I can do good work.
Wrapping up with the biggest learning. Ask your friends the questions that keep you up at night. I've lost sleep over feeling like I need to be doing side projects, and as an ideas guy. The list of things I could do is infinite, but its always what SHOULD I be doing with the limited free/open time I have.
The biggest thing I learned, I have a group of friends that are chomping at the bit to see me win. It fuels me up and gives me so much confidence in whatever I decide on.
Get a group of people that will throw their hat in the ring for you, and cheer you on.
]]>Her reply was "You just would have worked".
Listen, if that doesn't stop you in your tracks or mid scroll and make you think about your life. Man.... I don't know what will.
We only have so much time here. Imagine, being Steve Jobs in that moment. I would have wanted to jump into an alternate timeline, where there wasn't Apple. Where I wouldn't have just worked. I would have sat a listened and spent time with the family I helped make and loved so dearly.
Anyway. Time to go back to work.
]]>The surprise was to see David Bazan of Pedro the Lion play a "living room" style show down in Troy, NY.
Probably like 30-40 people in a small room, listening to my favorite artist/story teller do their thing. Felt like magic, almost a vision state experience. He took requests and answered questions. But I felt like I won the golden ticket. After the show wrapped up, he was taking pictures with fans, hand shakes and high fives. I got to ask him a heavy question.
You see, I was 3 weeks out from getting married and about 4 months out from becoming a father.
I got to ask Dave (He corrected me when I said David), What advice do you have for an expecting father and soon to be husband?
What seems to many a very heavy and deep question, but he grinned like I gave him a softball question. He said, be present. Do the small things well. Then he snuck in the dad story of skin-to-skin moments when becoming a father.
He said They will tell you to take your shirt off in the room and hold your baby. He said Do it, its the most magical moment.
Looking back on the last ten years. He was right. The miracle of getting to hold something I helped make against my bare chest. Worries disappear. The moments seem small and trivial, they aren't. Those are the moments that matter most.
The last ten years have been a wild ride, there are times where it felt the wolves were at my door. There were times where I felt second best. But man, those small moments of being their to support the partner you choose to build a life with, the small gestures of bringing them a snack or beverage. Being of service to the ones you love goes a long way.
Not many people would agree that going to see David Bazan for your Bachelor party is uplifting and "Fun". But I want those heavy conversations and stories, we all got 'em. Better to share them.
If you want more devastating story telling. Check out Bazan: Alone at the Microphone.
]]>"If I was going to be mediocre I'd be a middle inning relief pitcher in baseball. No Pressure. You can pitch till you are like 45 years old, and make $3 Million a year." - David Chang
This is where the dreams of being the G.O.A.T tend to die. The amount of work to go from run-of-the-mill professional to generational talent is incredibly difficult. More of it comes with timing, and just being at the right place at the right time.
Could Steve Jobs be the visionary he was in today's environment, where the game is different? Who knows?
The modern American online business is stuck in the bullpen, hoping to get a chance to change the outcome. There is nothing wrong with doing the thing you love every day for your career; that's the ultimate goal. But to claim to your friends and the world that you are an all-time great is just an ego trip.
Like baseball, business is a LONG Season. Where a lot of small tweaks and adjustments may not be seen for months down the road. You have to show up every day, do the basics well for long enough, and there will be some sort of payoff, trophy, or award. Seasons change, and competition can get game tape on you, and you constantly need to be building and improving to end up in the Hall of Greats.
Take a step back, and remember that if you are lucky enough to be playing a game you love, you and build a life for yourself and others. That's a true skill of working as hard as we do.
Nothing wrong with being second best, or playing the game you love to make ends meet.
Maybe, I am a bit jealous of those that can wait in the bullpen, and post about things online about how hard Entrepreneurship is. I have had to be the all around utility player for most of my life. I tend to have Range. I am good at many things, trying to be best at all of them at the same time. A generalist doesn't have to be mediocre either. They can be great in any spot that needs it. Thats me.
The following clip lives rent free in my head. Chef David Chang, talking about what mediocrity is.
We tend to remember the greats at a specific brand/company/team. We don't know the middle manager at a massive company/brand/team. We don't know the person who decided to hire them. We miss a lot of details in the story of a team.
We tend to remember the greats from our youth as well. When we had time to watch a baseball game and eat a hot dog.
]]>Simple, its 5 ingredients.
Now lets breaks down what an application is for the web.
Simple, its 5 ingredients.
What's interesting to see people fire off Social media posts about the products reviews. We tend to cheer on the CEOs that building applications.
If we view the CEOs showing off their products (burgers), we should give them more Slack.
They are showing off something they are proud of, we want more of that. Look at the thing I've helped build.
And lets be honest here, getting a burger into the hands of the masses to hundreds of locations isn't as easy as a one-click deploy of your app.
These companies are playing product on hard mode, with lots of small but critical touch points.
The products these companies launch are talked about for months, if not even years to make sure there is alignment in the organization.
These are people that are proud of showing off what their teams have built.
They took 5 simple ingredients and put them together in a way that is interesting and gets people to come back.
Its no different than your Saas App. Take the ingredients, put them together in a way thats interesting, make it so people keep coming back for the experience of the Product.
These CEOs have nailed, a product launch they are pretty sure its gonna work out.
We see product launches tend to explode on launch every week. Getting the reps in is important, but for these burger companies failure is not an option and they plan how to launch products in a way that keep people showing up. They have that down to a science.
Its a burger, its simple. But solves a problem for a lot of people. It feeds you and your family. Awesome.
Also people have their favorite burger joint, just like you have your favorite app to use for certain tasks in your day.
Right now in the age of AI apps and coding. You can code your app at home, like you can cook burgers at home too. Remember its 5 simple ingredients, but for whatever reason the Big Mac or Whopper version you make at home doesn't hit the same spot. And probably cost you 3-5x more, and you are still left disappointed. Major BUMMER.
Do you want to be a long standing business that people rely on a weekly basis, or are you here to make sure people keep engaging with your posts online to feel important.
Both of those are valid and you have to pick which one you want.
I want to be part of the place that people rely on for a good experience and to solve their problems.
Be Proud of the Products you put out into the world, Take a bite out of your product on camera. Post to it the Internet.
Don't make your product a nothing burger.
]]>He wrote about how he sent a couple DMs and cold emails. It totally changed his life and career. Pretty cool.
I also have a story about this.
Over the last few years, I had been interviewing for developer roles, or any role that would allow me to work from home. I was working full time in the ER before and during the pandemic. Raising a family of 5 as the sole provider and trying to make a career transition into tech. I was doing interviews during my lunch break, and phone calls on my drive or walk home from work.
After a brutal interview sprint with a large commerce company, getting a NO after the final round because I was under-qualified.
I got a DM from the wonderful Kelly Vaughn asking if I wanted to interview at the new company she was starting, about 3 days after the rejection.
I was so burnt out from interviews and working in the ER during the pandemic. I wrote this HUGE long draft reply on my phone on why I couldn't take the interview. Then as a parent something happened, I closed Twitter and moved on. I never hit send.
A couple days later, I opened my laptop on my lunch break and saw I never replied to Kelly! A true blessing in disguise. Thanks Twitter for not allowing Mobile and Desktop drafts to SYNC!
I replied! SURE!
Then in a whirlwind of like 36 hours, I had interviews. More importantly, an offer letter for more than double my hospital salary.
It took me a while to calm down. Five years of working full time in the hospital. Late nights coding and networking. All the emotions—I worked so hard. My first full-time shot.
Landing my second role was similar. I announced in a public tweet that I was looking for my next role, and because I built up enough connections from sharing podcast clips and sharing what I was learning.
The one and only Dave Rupert from Paravel Inc and ShopTalk Show fame reached out and wanted to know if I would be down to interview for the top secret project they were working on.
A little background: Shop Talk Show was one of the first coding/web podcasts I discovered when I started learning to code in 2017. Yes, I started on episode 1 like a mad man. They are now at 700+ episodes. But I remember the exact place I was at work as a hospital janitor when the terms they were using started making sense. CSS and JavaScript terms, some weird WordPress edge cases.
Anyway, say yes to things, send that DM or email. Accept those LinkedIn connections even if you know it's going to be a sloppy outreach DM coming your way. You never know where those messages will bring you.
Send that DM.
]]>The idea of asking the bot, what should we play today? The soul of play and creativity getting sucked out by a machine that can only spit out suggestions of things to do and never enjoy the satisfaction of completing a creative project.
Is this what we are slowly marching towards?
I worry about a future where the machine is the only thing that knows what color to paint the kitchen to make it "pop", or for it to have the best resale value or the cheapest and quickest option.
Nothing about this thought brings me joy. It makes me sad and worried about the future of being creative.
Maybe I"m being a folkie who is mad Bob Dylan went Electric and it not "real".
I worry about the future. Everybody seems OK with the way things are going, or that I'm over reacting about this. I hope they are right. I hope I'm wrong about all this worry that is growing in my chest.
Asking the Machine to tell you what good is, scares me. I should know what good looks, feels, tastes like. Lets throw some stuff on the canvas and see what happen. Lets experiment with different mediums and see how it makes us feel.
My worry comes from this thought of working on a project with somebody, and we are copying and pasting the response from the machine back and forth. I take the response your machine gave me, and ask my machine to respond. Yet we call that progress and collaboration. Nobody reads the actual thing until we burned a couple hundred dollars in tokens or forests. Did we even move the needle on the project? Is this "work"?
The output may give us something we can sell or we need to schedule another week of meetings to fix the output. When a conversation between the team could have solved the issue quicker.
I worry of becoming a button pusher on an assembly line, where I push the Green or Red button based on what machine says.
Is our future to make fake plastic trees as a way to say we have the real thing. Is the art in pushing the buttons to get to the result? Is the work we are doing the real thing? Is it rewarding selling the fake plastic trees?
Again, I worry. I might be wrong, but I want the real thing. The phone call, the high five. The meaningful creative work, that I can show my kids and say "You can make anything you want, go make it. Go Create."
Maybe this is fever dream loop I'm stuck in where people are missing the forest from the trees. Cause the trees seem real.
]]>Good job, now ask yourself. Why are these here? Why aren't they stuck in this prison cell called
/Drafts
Its time to free those ideas. Let them achieve their life time goal of being on a URL on the internet.
Who knows who will see it, you are pushing your thoughts and ideas into somebodies brain. Which got them to reach out and build a bridge.
What are you afraid of? The internet is made up and the points don't matter. You also get something to share!
People love to see what other people are up to online. Share it!
And say you don't have anything to hit publish on at this moment. Share something else you enjoyed. Can be a friends work, or something you stumbled into and took a photo of.
Is that idea going stale in your drafts folder really worth sharing?
Why is it in your drafts folder? If you can tell me three reasons why its there. Then fine sure let it live there.
I have an ask for you. Share a link of something you've hit publish on recently. Here: Contact Me
]]>I bet you 95% of them would say, NO you use your credit card points from your dads credit card.
Would you stay up all night in the Montreal Airport, to catch your greyhound back home in the morning? No? You ain't gonna make it, buddy.
Some of this is tongue and cheek. But the story starts off. April of 2024. We are a 1 car family. I'm not making my wife load 3 kids in the car at 4am to drive up to the Montreal Airport, deal with the border and what not so I can make a flight.
Its the night before my big adventure. I go to sleep, I'm all packed ready to go. Set my alarm for 4am. I have about a 2mile walk to the bus station (a parking lot in a gas station).
A ping on my phone at 2am, Bus cancelled. Shoot, basically my trip up to Montreal ruined. I'm able to schedule an earlier bus, I get my stuff start walking (its like 32 degrees and lightly raining) to the bus stop. 4:30am bus. EARLY. Never shows up. 6:30am bus shows up. Not my bus, but I beg and plead with the bus driver show him the ticket and the cancelled bus emails. He lets me on. Sweet we are on the bus!
Now before this whole adventure started, I needed a ride from the bus station in Montreal to the Airport. Sure, easy! I didn't look up public transit I went straight to Twitter.
My biggest boldest move was I Tweeted at Harley Finkelstein (yes, President of Shopify)and asked him if he would give me a ride. Its always a No if you don't ask. The timing was bad, and he couldn't do it.
But luckily, My wonderful friend from Twitter Marcos came to the rescue. Make friends people!!! It was great to finally meet him in person, and get a well needed ride to the airport. Made the flight everything as smooth.
The team retreat was amazing. I was tired after basically 24 hours of travel but being with the team made it worth it.
On the way back from the team retreat my flight got in at 10:30pm. My bus back home was at like 6am. I decided to stay in the airport an write and people watch. As somebody who doesn't travel a lot and rarely leaves the house these days. A fun experiment to sit and deal with some discomfort.
Ya could I have spent a bunch of money to make sure this trip was a bit comfortable. Dealt with a rental car, or hotel for 4 hours (not worth it).
Ask yourself the question, would you take a greyhound bus for your team? You should try it sometime.
]]>I started playing shows in high school. We would book out a hall, hand design posters with the info. Use the infinite poster hack (top secret). Armed with a backpack full of flyers and a borrowed staple gun, its time to get flyer-ing.
One of the biggest struggles or hurdles was learning to be confident these shows would break even. A broke high school kid who was banking on people showing up and being able to pay for the space, the bands, etc. Somehow it always worked out.
When I was in college, it got a bit easier. Still broke, and hoping people showed up. There were times were I could only give the bands gas money, and I'd buy a t-shirt or record.
Some of the best shows I booked took over a year. It came from sending the email. Reaching out to the bands you want to see and ask, "Hey Do you want to play a show in Burlington, VT. We would love to have you. I'll take care of all the booking and bands playing with you. Love the new record."
Then wait. I forgot I even sent some emails, and then BOOM a reply.
Similar thing with planning a tour for myself, send the email, follow up. Get in the car and play anywhere that said yes.
Sometimes that meant playing in a basement in some punk house, playing in The Meatlocker in Montclair, NJ or in a treehouse. Getting to those these places was an adventure.
Touring in December in a 2001 Chevy Cavalier lead to a lot of stories to tell. Chicago and back. The cool part about this tour was I got to see a lot of friends from bands I booked in Burlington. The DIY music scene is great at supporting each other. Getting places to crash was the goal after the show. Generally a couch (or a love seat), sometimes a corner of a punk house, sometimes at a rest area on I-80. Driving from Pittsburgh to Philly in a total blizzard on non-toll roads because (broke college kid), taught me touring probably isn't for me.
The hardest part about this tour was that I was solo. Long drives during the day, playing the show at night, repeat.
There are lots to take away from these experiences.
Send the Email!
Never know how it will change your life.
Follow up.
Don't hear anything after a week, follow up with a couple things
Actually show up.
This one would drive me nuts, bands showing up late or not showing up at all. Do the thing you said you'd do. That goes along way to getting another at-bat.
Make friends!
This has been the coolest part even though its been over a decade since my last show, I'm still in touch with a lot of the friends I've made. Bandmates, people I talked to for 15 minutes one night still grace my Today's Birthday list on Facebook.
Go send that email, and make it happen when you get a response. The worst that can happen is they say "No". 95% of the time the NO isn't even personal. Its terrible timing or they don't have the bandwidth. Ask for a referral of a spot thats open, OR just send another email to somebody else.
]]>Looking back on my time in the ER is always interesting. I spent 3 and half years working in the ER. Checking in ambulances and patients. Talking with Nurses and Doctors. Consoling family members, making tough phone calls to families during the pandemic.
Explaining to the single mom of 4, that her insurance had expired and the visit would need to be self-pay. All sort of "experiences" working in the ER.
But I did it. I accepted for first Developer role AND IN E-COMMERCE!
It took me from March of 2017 til January of 2022. In that time though I had gone from 1 kid to 3 kids. Worked all different shifts as a hospital janitor, and ER patient registrar. Hours of podcasts and networking via Twitter. Taking calls on my lunch breaks to try and get into tech. We also bought a house and moved!
Fast Forward to now.
I'm at a job I love. Working with a team I'd take a greyhound bus for (did that and would do it again).
Made incredible friends in the world of e-commerce.
I "won" the Operators Person of the Year Award.
Its been a wild ride, and working in the ER during a global pandemic was not on my career wishlist. However, it taught me a lot about dealing with customers. Wrote about it here:
5 things I learned about customers while working in the ER
Keep stumbling forward, you never know where you may end up (hopefully not the ER).
]]>How did this happen?!
Through the power of FRIENDSHIP!
Its through showing up daily wanting to help people solve their problems.
If you told me at the start of the year, there is no way I would have thought I'd get this "Award", or "Achievement".
Step 1: Answer the phone, when the phone rings you never know what opportunity is on the end of the line.
Step 2: Do the thing you said you'd do. Simple but not easy.
Step 3: Build helpful things for your friends.
Step 4: Win an award, for showing up.
Thanks Aaron for everything. You put on a great live enough.
Lets High Five in 2026.
]]>I was on 3 podcasts this year. I will be a guest on your podcast, just ask.
This project started from an episode of the Colin & Samir podcast with Jack Conte (founder of Patreon). They were talking about a Dashboard where you have to look at yourself and answer a series of questions about how you feel about yourself. This clip took my brain and melted it until I had to build this. This is the rough MVP, which got shared in a newsletter for e-commerce Operators. People saw my project work.
This is the v2 of a daily affirmations app for a Pitch I gave to give a talk at Laracon US (I got rejected more on that below). There was a bit in the talk about believing in yourself to actually end up where you want to be, rather than following a path somebody else went down.
The Talk would have been my first conference talk, with the goal of inspiring people to follow a path they built, and really the journey and the friends made a long the way.
The project gives users the ability to take a daily selfie, give yourself a "Personal Net Promoter Score", and fill out a quick daily journal entry.
The idea is to keep record of what you did over the year so you can look back and actually course correct to where you want to go. The reason this project isn't complete, is because I'm so deathly afraid of a surprise hosting bill, or me messing something up and getting an S3 bill thats more than a couple bucks.
Sure, call it skill issues. But as somebody who is raising a family, I can't be having >$1k surprise bills for projects I'm not making money on. I can add a "Buy me a Coffee" Widget but still unsure if people will pay for it.
If somebody would love to give me ideas on how to set up the hosting so I don't have to get a second full time job, that would be great.
Project again from an ear worm on a podcast about dealing with client payments and wish there was a slider that made everything better.
Holiday's can be stressful for entrepreneurs when family asks "How's the business going?". To Avoid these awkward conversations and feelings like you aren't achieving your goals, show them the chart that goes up and to the right. Everybody loves a good chart!
I wrote more than any other year this year. I took part in #Create30 from Matt Ragland which got me to write and hit publish on 30 posts in 30 days. Building that muscle of shipping constantly no matter what helped me rethink what is possible with this site. It helped plant seeds of ideas for future writings.
This started by when a friend showed me a chrome extension that auto scrolls your site, then gives you a video download of the scroll and gives you a whole bunch of other cool features. But the one missing was being able to do this for PDFs. So off I went on a weekend project. The project allows users to upload a PDF and auto scrolls and when it finished the scrolling to the bottom of the PDF, you get a nice little download showing the pdf. A great tool if you want to show off the contents of your Ebook or Case Study, to tease out all the content you have to share. I have some wonderful friends that have paid for this product.
Making money online feels incredible now to find more people who need this product.
What a busy year at KnoCommerce. A whole new UI/UX experience, countless new features and partnerships and cooler use cases. Some major features I got build this year.
Allows Shopify merchants to be able to take survey responses and push that data to anywhere they need it. Their Customer Support Slack Channels, to adding specific customs to email lists based on a certain response.
Shopify provides merchants to build custom workflows to use KnoCommerce data better, we also offer templates for merchants to use a specific flow.
Saving the company about ~$10k/year by getting off our old workflow builder. (massive win)
Built Shopify Flow Triggers in a way that we didn’t need to tweak them at all for NPS touchpoints. Saving ~1 month of dev time if we had to do tweaks to Shopify Flow, and further savings for more touchpoints coming in the future. Build it right the first time saves you a ton of $$$ in the months to follow.
If you aren't getting rejected you are playing it safe. Having a loss/rejection on your record means you are trying. So here are some rejections
I got rejected for a written piece for a journal I would love to be apart of, and it stung a bit. Lesson learned though, learn how to pitch a vision!
Got rejected from giving a talk at Laracon US this year, the talk was about Dashboard Affirmational and using Laravel New as a new comer to Laravel.
I got a picture texted to me from two dads in CoderDads, they got to meet at Laracon US this year. Connections that I help build the bridge for with Coder Dads. That was enough to heal the pain of rejection.
Oh well, maybe next time. There will be a next time.
I listen to set in set-in stone rotation of podcasts.
Mondays are for Shop Talk Show Chris and Dave have been the reason I have got into web dev in the first place.
Tuesdays are for Mostly Technical Ian and Aaron give updates on running their businesses and share thing about their family (apparently listeners hate those....)
Wednesdays are for Future Commerce. Great insights from Philip and Brian on all things Commerce, and the tag line "Commerce is Culture". (don't sue me).
Thursdays are for the The Panel. This live show on Youtube has made my Thursdays very enjoyable. Much like Mostly Technical with the "follow along" nature, and great insights on running a business. (I swear I'm working while listening!)
Fridays are for Riff and Refine Josh and Will talk about their week and what they have been working on. Will is building a DAW using the web audio API stuff (super cool), Josh is building stuff for Laravel and has dreams of building out a Keytiar! Only gripe guys, is the timing of the live show is miserable. Right during school pick up.
I listen to other podcasts regularly, but only if work and life allow it.
This community has been near to my heart and I know I don't talk enough about it. We hit 300 dads in the group this year. All different levels of technical experience and most of them have a career transition under their belt like myself. Hearing stories from the community of dads going from working factory jobs, to being able to buy their families first home through learning to code and change their families lives forever through code and community.
In the new year, I'm planning on making more of an effort the community with office hours to be available for dads to come in and chat about what they are working on, and if they need somebody to listen to what they are going through.
I got a picture texted to me from two dads in CoderDads, they got to meet at Laracon US this year. Connections that I help build the bridge for with Coder Dads. Pretty flicking cool to know building the bridges for people to connect.
To think 300 dads have been apart of the community I helped start and support. 300 dads can do a lot to change the world, even if its making sure they are strong and caring for their families.
Over the years, these dads have become pretty close friends. I'd get coffee (oh we need the coffee) with any of them. This place became a spot for connection when I didn't have in person meetups due to my location and time. Heard countless stories of dads not having time to do networking events because of schedule of being parent.
I've had people approach me with ways to monetize the community, but as a dad that was making <$40k/year when this started. Charging dads who were trying to better the lives of their family through coding felt terrible. Maybe that makes me a bad entrepreneur, but I want to be the person that helps others be their best and $$$ shouldn't determine that. I will post and share projects they are working on socials, or send connection emails if they are looking for work.
Fun story about this was once again started to get off Twitter (didn't work). But a group DM thread turned into an Email thread with the boys. We all get so much email but we wanted to get emails we wanted to read. Emails slowed through out the year, but still a delight to see those names pop up with an unread email. Its rare these days to get excited about an email.
Started a Soundcloud this year. to try and get back to making some music. My guitar needs some minor repairs of course, but these are all done as rough drafts.
The idea of not worrying about 'perfect' has already been something I've tried to do. Hit Record, hit publish, and get the idea out of my head. Very low edits, I'll do it Live. Which gets a lot of mixed reviews in the creator economy. But in the age of AI I think thats good. Show that its a real human making the things.
Speaking of Music: here is my Spotify Wrapped playlist.
What's funny about this playlist, is you can tell most of these are songs listened to while working and providing me focus. I keep my spotify under lock and key so no child music to spoil the crafted playlists.
This year was full of calls with friends I've made over through the internet. Been more intentional about texting friends to stay off Twitter (its not working).
Note: None of these links are paid for. Maybe, next year they will be!
The following of friends and the projects they are building, in no order.
He puts so much thought and care into all the things he does. He is Chief Content Operator for 9 Operators. He shared my early version of Dashboard Affirmational v1 and 1,800 people from the newsletter checked out the project!
He once called me once at 8:30am ET, to ask about CSS not rendering in Mobile Chrome on iOS. Fun Fact, Mobile Chrome on iOS is actually Safari under the hood. The CSS feature was supported in Desktop Chrome and Andriod Chrome. Love being able to help people out with technical decisions.
I'd say one of my biggest cheerleaders, when I got on a zoom call with him when I was still working in the ER back in 2020. He is building a gem of a media company. He is always down to chat and give advice when I need it! Future Commerce.
Adam has been a major supporter for me while I was getting into ecom. Took a call with him in the hospitals cafe, to see if we could work together a TOP secret project. He builds incredible sustainable products. Turns out that was what became SMOOSH He also makes a zero plastic razor and other shaving essentials! LEAFSHAVE Go buy his products, tell him I sent you.
A friendship started by following and interacting via TikTok. He is ambitious and as curious as they come. Always interested to see what people are building, and sharing what he is learning. He is building Printernet.
Will called me "The World's Biggest Hype Boy" on Guidance Counselor 2.0 with Taylor Desseyn this year. Feels good to have somebody notice I'm trying to build people up. Will's Site
Friends from Twitter, who isn't afraid of shipping an app or idea when he has time. He has built a bunch of fun projects. but inspired by ThoughtLessCAD. He also live streams here
Met Sanjay when we were both getting into e-commerce, and followed each other and stayed in touch. This year he had me on a podcast where we talked about the "being human while working in e-commerce". Being a Caring human, goes a long way. He is helping build Replo.
Met Sarah while working together at KnoCommerce, she was marketing and has a strong background in customer psychology. Incredible insights coming out of Tether
Now moving forward to where I actually want to be. I plan on opening up a couple slots on my calendar to do 1:1 calls with internet friends. I heard the term "Unoffice Hours" and fully believe this is the way to meet interesting/inspiring people. Keep an eye out for when I drop my calender link.
More side quests in the new year!
Thats a wrap! Another massive win for my family is all the kids started school. I now have uninterrupted work time from 8:30-2:40pm. Doesn't seem or feel like a ton of time. It flies by everyday. A big change heading into the new year.
This coming year, I'll be trying to ship more side quests. Blog more, I want to speak at your events. I want to connect with more people in the new year.
Let's make it happen! Would love to hear from you.
]]>The lyrics you got tattooed on your forearm, is getting a tattoo of a Powerpoint you loved. The community at the show sharing the experience, is the webinar in a basement. To sell you a t-shirt, or hoodie.
The world is a beautiful place, and we are no longer afraid to do commerce. Getting over the fact that in order to make this band thing work, you need to slog across the country in a van with your bandmates (co-workers), hoping people show up to see you and pay to buy the t-shirts you made with a logo.
Pedro the Lion wrote Bands with Managers
Bands with managers are going places Bands with messy hair and smooth white faces You don't believe when I say It won't be alright Vans with fifteen passengers are rolling over But I trust t. william walsh And I'm not afraid to die
Replacing Band with Brands, ands switch the "I trust t. william walsh" to "I trust m. elliot Zuckerberg"
You get this.
Brands with (ad)managers are going places Brands with messy hair and smooth white faces You don't believe when I say It won't be alright Vans with fifeteen passengers are rolling over But I trust m. elliot zuckerberg And I'm not afraid to die
Warp Tour and Coachella is a t-shirt convention. Each set is a sales pitch to buy the product. Warp Tour is an in person webinar.
If you wouldn't get in a van with your friends to drive around trying to sell your widget, what are you even doing with your life?
The joy and stories from the road, the nostalgia of "remember that time we drove through that snow storm in that chevy cavalier with all our gear, and the defroster stopped working so we had to drive like Ace Ventrua through the storm." I miss those days, man.
Looking back at my time in bands, I was a terrible t-shirt sales man.
]]>It can be like watching a car crash in slow motion, but you are in the back of the car. No matter what is happening around you, when you get handed the bat you get in that batters box and show up. Draw a walk, do whatever you can to show up. Cheer on your teammates, they are doing their best too. Cut them some slack.
Baseball is art, it emulates life. A long season, with winning streaks and losing streaks. Injuries, trades, broken bats (hearts).
There is something magical about being in the bleachers, watching. A Hot Dog and a score book. Forget about the world for a bit.
Let's Go Mets.
]]>It's bittersweet, but summertime is such a mental and physical drain for me, without childcare and needing to work. We made it, our own personal version of 75 Hard. Work from Home, with all kids home asking for things the minute I sit down at my desk (I swear, they know the second I sit down upstairs).
Anyway. We made it! Everybody is fine, screen time way up like 35-50%, but I got hit with "Love ya Dad, thanks for playing Minecraft with me." so that's a massive win.
Happy School year.
]]>Which reminds me, when my oldest becomes an adult. I will be the same age as my dad when they brought me home.
To remember that life is long and fast. The days (mostly weekends) are painfully slow. But the weeks and years are light speed fast.
I have time to soak up these memories and build this world I want my children to inherit.
When I get to the age that my dad was when I was born. The grass under the swingset will have grown back ^1, the amount of adventures and memories created with my kids will be incredible. The Zoo trips and pool days, the times they are trying to sneak into a work call to say "HI!".
Now the goal is to get to be as old, its a gift. To be OLD, to have lived life to the fullest.
To measure life is belly laughs and best bites, versus dollar signs and made up KPIs.
You are doing fine kid. - A dad
]]>When the echos of my kids yelling “higher” no longer happen.
The interruptions while doing yard work to “watch this!”
But today this patch of grass reminds me that these are best days
thats 10 Projects but the list is much larger.
Now sure looking at this list of ideas. I'd like to do, its overwhelming. However, everything on this list has some business side to it, AND an art project.
I have plenty of ideas, but everything feels like an art project. I don't know if I could swing any of the ideas on my list to provide a full time income.
I know I can execute on these over the course say 5-7 years, and make them become reality. But can I make them bring money to myself and family.
Listening to Riff and Refine yesterday, got me thinking so hard how do I make a living with this ever growing list of side projects/ideas.
My gut is telling me to slowly try and release them. There are people that would love to see these things in the world I want them in the world.
I think the biggest barrier for me personally is spending money on making these projects happen. I know deep down good things cost money. So, the Art Projects will be a way to get over my fear of spending money for creating projects I want in the world.
Being able to make small projects consistently seems to be the way to grow and create more!
Seeing other people win, and create meaningful impact has been incredible. I will always hype those up, but now its my turn to build/share/create/grow. In the fall, some of the chaos slows and I'll be able to have some more time to build and create.
I have had this idea for a webcomic for sometime, basically a superhero/mutant school (think Hogwarts) but its for Not Helpful SuperPowers. So like "Rat Boy", can sense that there is trash near by (not very useful ). Or Bat Kid, can hear what bats are saying. And there is a sorting hat that grants this powers to these high schoolers.
Luckily, this started after listening to a Colin and Samir episode with Jack Conte founder of Patreon. This idea stuck in my head for hours until I built v1 here: https://dashboard-affirmational.netlify.app/
I am building this out in Laravel and should be able to have a draft version of this ready soon.
Listening to Rob Hope on Riff and Refine yesterday, he dropped a link that makes something I've been thinking about all week beforehand a possibility. https://www.stampfans.com/
This also means Idea 1 could become a physical idea as well.
Leap Year Mug Project, started as another WILD Idea that I write about here https://emmettnaughton.com/posts/the-leap-year-product-launch/
Everything has become so instant and this project started as the thought of what if it took 4 years to get receive the product. This is also the idea that would give me 4 years to figure out what the heck I'd even send out. I have 3 more years to figure this one out!
This idea has been on my mind since high school after an english teacher told me I should choose a profession where I don't need to write at all. This is mostly out of spite, and spite is a great fuel.
After playing in bands and music for more than half my life this feels like a no brainer.
Ever since listening to NPR on long road trips growing up. I have wanted to tell stories like on NPR and with that buttery smooth radio voice. Not sure the exact format I'd want this to be, probably need a co-host and want it to be a follow along adventure show of what I've been up too.
Now, this one is near to my heart. My oldest wants to get into voice acting. This would be a fun project to get their creativity out into the world. AI generation could help with this project a lot.
Love Baseball, and something I could use to unplug from the chaos of life would be to sit down at a baseball game and score it. its becoming a lost art, with everyones attention span going to zero. But an app that could quickly get up a scorecard for a baseball game could be handy.
Its selling t-shirts on the internet, how hard could that be?!
Now thats a few of the ideas I have rattling around in my brain or whats keeping me up at night. Would love to hear what you are working on, I don't think I am the only person on this planet that has list of project ideas. Maybe I'm wrong.
What projects from the list or other ideas would you want me to try and make?
How much would you pay me for said projects? How long should I spend on each of these projects to make sure they are polished enough to see the light of day. Is there a project that isn't on this list, you think I should dive into?!
So many questions, so many projects, not enough time.
Please reach out here: Contact Me
]]>During these long days and shifts at work I had deep thoughts about if I was to do this job for the rest of my life, would I be content with myself (A scary thing to think about for to long).
I had a college degree in Electrical Engineering Technology, not a lot of jobs in my area unless I wanted to go into defense contracting. I could start my guitar effects company out of my garage (Expensive start up costs), I could do something else or the chilling option of staying a hospital janitor til the end of my career.
As grueling as this schedule was it gave me a leg up. I would listen to podcasts. Podcasts like The CodeNewbie Podcast, Shop Talk Show, and many more.
Harley Finkelstein mentions on his episode of the The Knowledge Project Podcast, that the garment district in Montreal got started because its low barrier to entry.
I made the decision to do the lowest barrier entry thing I could. I needed a laptop, decent internet and a kitchen table.
Making my career decision to have the lowest barrier to entry with the reward of life changing outcomes for my family.
Give me an laptop, decent internet and a place to sit. My current desk setup is my reminder to myself that I don't need a fancy place to do good work.
In the trenches. My 3 season porch office in upstate New York. https://t.co/T3h55dY3pK pic.twitter.com/0Xhm4GRnl8
— emmett naughton (@EmmettNaughton) February 21, 2025
You bet I will outwork those trying to take shortcuts. Today the Laptop is the modern day sewing machine. You can create the future for your family and generations to come with a single machine. Pretty powerful stuff.
What's the lowest barrier of entry thing you can do today to make tomorrow better? Go Do That.
]]>Because you can, doesn't mean you should. But what if you miss out on the experience of a life time (yes, I know thats a little dark). This is humor. I laugh to myself every time I drive by and see it.
One day that cigarette will cause a pre-mature firework display. It could be the brighest thing our future holds.
]]>Before I dive too deep into this, my brain looked around at the house I had picked up and cleaned about 10,000 times before noon. The screaming and fighting of my kids. I haven't had a heart-to-heart with my wife in what feels like months, because life has been busy and crazy. How could anybody want that?!
Then the moments of "GIVE ME PAPA!" from my youngest, or the playing soccer in the living room, and silly dance parties waiting for the pizza to cook in the oven. It hit me, I have so much to be thankful for, and what other people are longing for.
I have what others are waiting to have. I have so much to be grateful for. I will continue to build my house as a safe space for anyone who needs it.
]]>
]]>But what's better than a perfectly manicured lawn? Getting to see baby bunnies bouncing around the yard.
Sometimes, NOT doing something is an incredible benefit to somebody else. Getting to see my kids look outside and explore to find these bunnies has brought me way more joy than mowing the lawn ever will.
What's something you could NOT do, that could benefit somebody else?
]]>As of today, June 11, 2025, I have reached the same number of visitors to this website as I did for the entire year of 2024. It hasn't led to a dragon's hoard of money. But I am very proud of it. I posted more and shared my writing in more places.
Now to figure out what to do hitting this milestone. The plan is to continue writing and sharing things.
I have 2 asks for you
First, I'd love for you to look through my past posts here and share one of them.
Second, reach out on my contact page! Let me know where you are checking in from and what you are working on!
Again, thank you for being here, and remember:
Every pizza is a personal pizza, IF you believe in yourself.
The ability to create workflows within Shopify Flow based on customer survey responses enables brands to tag customers or orders and build Slack notifications based on a range of variables they can control within Shopify Flow.
Looking back on building this out and the amount of testing and small tweaks to get this out. I'm really proud of this. My goal at work is to make it as smooth as possible for brands to take direct responses from their customers and push that data wherever they need to make the best business decisions for their business.
This feature also unloads a lot of weight on the backend side of sending data from our servers to where brands need it. There is also the benefit of it saving $$$$ with replacing the current workflow building technology.
]]>I shared something with the community that I enjoyed building, and getting negative comments (when I didn't ask for them). kills all enjoyment of working on the thing.
DO BETTER.
]]>The discussion of creating places or ways for people to share ideas/projects/things they enjoy freely. Creating connection and inspiration.
Yes, there are Discord and Slack communities, as well as Twitter and even Facebook groups (yes, Facebook groups are still a thing).
I want these places to feel like we are in a garage tinkering on a project car together. The digital era of this feels like forums to me.
I wrote about wanting to be in the garage tinkering with friends here
Listening to The Panel Podcast with Justin Jackson and Brian Casel. They were talking about podcasting and how YouTube is eating Podcasts for lunch. Got me thinking about how I listen to or partake in my podcasts.
A time when I listened to TONS of podcasts while I was at work as a janitor (6-7 hours a day). All of that was on an app that downloaded via RSS feeds. Yes, I had to do some hunting for shows. However, the ones that I downloaded onto my podcast player of choice. I checked in every week for years. Also, downloading a podcast Shop Talk Show turned into a job offer!
I look forward to hearing more from The Panel Podcast AND Riff and Refine, both have me excited to continue making and sharing things online.
]]>I've wanted to speak at a conference for a while now, so I figured why not give Laracon a shot and apply?
They wanted STRONG and HIGHLY Technical talks to be submitted. Which set off ALL of my impostor syndrome alarms.
I will never be technical enough to give a talk, or WHO AM I to say I'm very technical.
I'd say I'm mostly technical. My talk pitch was about Dashboard Affirmational.
The only Dashboard you'll need.
The goal of my talk was to weave a story about making sure you believe in yourself to keep going. The Dashboard would be turned from a silly website project into a full-blown Laravel App.
Prototype Site:
When you log in, you will see a picture of yourself (from your webcam) and simple buttons labeled 1-10.
And a simple question in front of you.
A simple question, based on how you answered 1 through 10. It would give you a trend chart to show off your PERSONAL NPS ( Net Promoter Score).
Here is my Pitch:
After all this, the rejection happened.
Oh well, maybe next time. (There will be a next time).
]]>We got chatting about past roles, I worked at a Chandelier factory, which sold made-to-order fixtures. Lighting fixtures for hotels, fancy houses, you name it. My role there as a finishing technician. My job was to make the parts the right color through a process of powder coating, dipping the parts into tanks of metallics, and or lacquer.
Sanjay asked me straight up, "What has working in a chandelier factory taught me about B2B SAAS?"
Of course, I thought he was just doing the bit. Let's be real. I committed to the bit.
It taught me that you can always improve a process or make sure to be flexible with changing things that cause hang-ups. Also, just the eye for details. Calling stuff out that's not right. It's also easy to get stuck in a cycle of just going through the motions, and I'd see it all the time. The people who were there for a check, and not to make wonderful lighting fixtures that changed how spaces were viewed. Sure, everybody is allowed to have their bad days, but being able to speak up and care about the things you put out into the world. It matters.
Catch the Episode here:
]]>January: Looking back January took forever. I got to work on some cool things. There were zero snow days for the kids. Started #Create30 by Matt Ragland
February: What a BRUTAL month. We got DOWN with the sickness. 2 weeks out of the month we were OUT sick. Kids missed their winter break due to sickness. I think out of the month they only made it to school 10 days out of the 28th. Remember if you are sick please don't go out if you don't have to.
Completed #Create30! (I really need to tag those posts here so they can become searchable)
March: Big things launched or got shared. First off, we launched QR Codes at work. The ability to slap a QR Code, have people scan it, and fill out a survey. Super awesome and helpful for in-person events/tastings if you are a CPG brand.
Dashboard Affirmation gets shared in the Operators Newsletter. Breakdown here.
Excitingly wrapping up a HUGE feature at work. HUGE Q2 things happening. Work doesn't feel like work, it's like getting to hang out and build things with friends.
Oh ya, and Baseball is back! Can't wait to unwind for the night while watching a game.
Blog Posts: 44 POSTS!
Github Stats:
This idea was like an earworm, I couldn't stop thinking about it until I built it.
Here it is, the only Dashboard you'll ever need.
Side Note: Sharing your things online is a massive benefit.
I shared this dashboard with Aaron Orendorrf and he was gracious enough to share it in the 9Operators newsletter as a bonus pick AND it got crazy views!
Read the newsletter here
Here is my Google Analytics dashboard to show proof!
Can you guess when the newsletter was sent out? (note: I added GA to the site a few hours before it was shared)
Build fun things and share them. You'll never know what will happen.
]]>Which got me thinking, that my journey was a long winding adventure.
I have been working at KnoCommerce for 2 years as of last week! It's been fun and building some really exciting and powerful things!
It's been a wild ride, with more rejections than I can count. I'm glad I never started counting rejections.
Can't wait to be more in-depth about my journey from here on out.
SHOPTALKSHOW FOREVER!!!
]]>Just like that guitar collecting dust and getting embarrassed when somebody asks if you play. "Oh, I just VIBE".
I guess we will see, but Vibe Coding to me feels very much like the dude at a party who learned "Smoke on the Water" in Drop D and plays it over and over again until everybody leaves.
There is a path where somebody vibe coding gets hooked on how the whole systems work and will continue to learn more than hitting Tab and seeing what is behind the vibes.
I want to see more people building things, Notion is a great example of a place where people can build meaningful things without being software engineers.
Keep building things, but I worry that once the vibes change, all the hype will disappear, and the new shiny object (a drumset) will take over the internet.
]]>I met Jeremiah via Twitter (all my opportunities have come from that place). I think it was based on some Age of Empires 2 Tweets.
I was looking for my next adventure, and I was filling out a job application to take my old job back at the hospital after almost 5 months without work when my phone rang. It was Jeremiah with a job offer.
The team welcomed me with open arms, and I hit the ground running.
Some Stats:
Proudest Features:
But most of all, we have an incredible team, AND we have a ton of stuff on the road map.
These have been an incredible 2 years at Kno. I cannot thank Jeremiah and the team enough for betting on me and giving me a spot on a great team.
Here is to many more Years here, building very meaningful tools to help our customers.
]]>Learning to patch 3-5 services to make a to-do list app is a great way to test out new tech and understand the fundamentals of the tech.
However, my concern is that companies that have been around for 5+ years. Already have all that stuff built out. They have their Database structure nailed down. They have authentication figured out. Finally, they probably don't have the bandwidth to rebuild their application with the new hotness tech stack. The goal is to keep the applications running and money coming in the door.
Working with "legacy systems" is a delicate dance. There are so many companies out there building on older tech that finding developers who know or understand that tech is becoming harder to find. Especially with LLMs and AI tools straight up spitting back React code. Having to explicitly ask for a different framework or code snippets (sometimes it is faster to just use Stack Overflow or the docs).
Another worrying thought is that newer developers will convince managers that they need to rebuild the app using the new hotness cause some tech influencer said so. This takes a TON of bandwidth from the engineering/design teams, as well as a pretty big business bet.
Does the rebuild with the new hotness provide users a much better experience so they will stick around and possibly pay more?
Are we only asking to build with the new hotness because the developer experience is better?
Can the business take on the MASSIVE PROJECT of porting everything over?
What happens when the project takes twice as long?
What happens if we go mega viral and that one endpoint we have gives us a $100k bill for the month?
What if the people suggesting the move to the new hotness leave halfway through the project?! (YIKES!)
I worry about the future of developers. I hope it's mostly because of being stuck in tech Twitter circles. I could be wrong here (I hope I am wrong).
Companies that have been around for 7-10 years choose tools much more carefully than a greenfield startup. There is a risk of picking the new hotness. What happens when, 18 months after implementing the new flashy tool and they go out of business? OR even scarier 10x their prices and you have to pivot back to the way things were originally built.
My concerns are that developers just coming into the field are focusing on developer experience instead of focusing on the user/paying customers using the product.
Also, learning old tech can be valuable, giving you the tools to work with legacy systems, meaning companies will seek you out.
Yes, it does feel harder to get a web dev role right now because the level of complexity has increased 10x, and companies no longer believe they have the bandwidth to level up junior talent (that's a whole other post).
What matters is understand what the tools you are using are doing. Be able to job from framework to framework and language to language. Being locked into the new hotness, will cause more pain down the road for you.
]]>Answer: I don't know. Sometimes, it feels like nobody is coming. Which sort of bums me out. Being forced to be self-reliant and the person that bails others out. It's a lot.
I'm unsure if it's just the chapter of life and dealing with a large amount of uncertainty about the future (waves arms around) with all that is going on. Maybe I fear that I'm not doing enough. I'm doing plenty, but is it enough?.
I guess I'm asking you to send that DM or make that phone call. Tell people you care and appreciate what they do.
The world is a scary place right now; let's not go through it alone.
]]>Playing music you poured yourself into and practiced for hours for nobody to see it, sucks. However, it gives you time to tweak and hone the craft.
It also permits you to say "I DID THE THING". Doing the thing means it can go on the resume and portfolio. "I played at X venue", "I gave a conference talk before", or whatever it is, regardless of the crowd size. You did the thing.
Even when it's just you and the sound person.
Moments like this are a hurdle, or can feel like running into a brick wall.
Regardless of the crowd, do your thing. It will help you build the muscles you need to do meaningful things in this life.
]]>This has bitten me in the past, but most recently, it got me when I was trying to check out the cool new Laravel Starter Kits
Thanks, Josh Cirre for the reminder to restart my terminal. NOW WE ARE COOKING!
It's been a great reminder that "I can do things when you make time for it."
Remembering to post and share is the muscle I have built, NOW it's more about engaging with a community.
This had been really fun, thank you for following along!
]]>You showed up. You did the hard things and spent time learning a craft that changed your families life. You worked so hard in the ER during the pandemic, trying to provide some sort of comfort in the absolute darkest time for people.
A lot of people won't understand the things you had to go through. Taking interviews and calls on lunch breaks and commutes home. Working odd shifts to meet with people that drove hours to meet with you in your local starbucks.
Keep doing you.
]]>The lesson is to reshare it later and see what happens. Sometimes the time of day of your posts matters more than
also note: A lot of people will hit repost/share without reading the content.
]]>However, I know I can interact with people online to positively change their lives. I also know that with enough people wanting to change the future, we can be living in a future that we get to create together.
]]>Whether it's a weight loss journey or a recovery story, something inspiring is about it. But what if I told you that the struggle and transformation are a daily battle? It's not easy.
I've struggled with demons mostly around alcohol, but realizing that I'm a better husband and a better father without it in my life. I never mentioned it online because it's my battle to face. Not wanting my kids to see me drunk or hungover, or hooked to something. It's not easy, life can be stressful and hard sometimes. I'm working on it.
I am trying to be better at staying accountable and sharing the struggles as much as highlights.
]]>Be a FAN of things. It makes the world brighter for other makers, and you never know how that one message of encouragement could change somebodies life.
]]>The answer to that late-night question was "NO."
This caused me to start posting online and sharing my journey, projects, and podcast episodes I was listening to while I was working.
]]>instead of calling each other names, and fueling egos.
You sent that person you saw getting crapped on a DM, to say Hey keep going. We are here for that.
Drop your Ego.
]]>Exactly. What if the next time to hit publish you get the dream job offer you've been thinking about for years?
What if the next time you hit publish you get to meet somebody you've been following for years?
Just hit publish and see what happens.
]]>Their life didn't match mine, they also proclaimed they were all about family but due to hustling for internet clout ruined their marriages.
Feels like a case of "Do as I say, not as I do."
Remember almost everything online is a highlight reel. Don't compare yourself to the insta-perfect posts you see.
]]>Set a timer, 10 minutes to start, and try to do the thing for 10 minutes. DO THE THING for that period. You will almost instantly find that you will pass that timer bell.
You also feel like you're beating the clock when you complete a task you've been dreading (sorting and putting away all the laundry). Completing the task feels good, especially when you are already overwhelmed with the ever-growing to-do list.
You will be amazed at how much more you can get into a day if you set a timer for the tasks you don't want to do.
And another thing, Be easy on yourself. You got this.
]]>I was interviewing for tech roles on my lunch break, and drive home from work.
This is why it is fun to have this BLOG though, I can look back at where I was 5-6-7 years ago and admire the journey.
]]>are a great reminder that owning the content AND platform saves you a lot of headaches down the line. What if the platform you post on every day disappears next week? What if you don't like the new owner of the platform that is posting hateful things and harming people?
This is why I have this website, this safe place for me to post.
]]>I have created a life where people I am inspirsed by are a phone call or text away.
Send that message to somebody who inspirses you. That message could change your career, your life.
]]>Now more than ever, we see in the news and articles that parents are blaming teachers and others as the reason their children aren't succeeding.
These people went to school for YEARS to learn and build their craft. Let them use it!
Blaming others for your kids struggling or getting into trouble opens up a can of worms.
Our job as parents is to raise the rebel alliance.
]]>There are so many other wonderful people I follow. I will work on adding to this list.
]]>Back in 2017 when I started learning to code (again), this was the goal work from home building cool things with cool people.
]]>A lot of the time we get caught up in, having to post the perfect thing. That idea of perfect is holding us all back from building meaningful connections with each other. Also, remember Gary Vee has dedicated full-time people doing create the content you watch. DO your best and share your things on the internet.
]]>My Tools for building my website.
This is where I host this website and all of my projects you see on this website! They have a very generous free tier.
This is where all my code for my projects lives! Mostly a place for my silly prototypes.
The Coder_Dads community has been part of my life since 2019. This community on Slack kept me going through.
These 3 tools and Twitter have changed my life for the better. Having a place to store and share my writing and projects online and interacting with you all has been so much fun.
Reach out if you have any questions about how I set up my website or run a community.
]]>And to those doing this #Create30 challenge, you got this. I would love to connect with others doing the challenge, so here is a calendar link.
]]>These questions came from my Perch.
I'm always very nervous on technical tests. Any advice on preparing or keeping yourself together? Python, SQL, R, etc.
Technical interviews are always sort of a wild card. The biggest advice here is to talk through your thought process and how you'd approach the problem. Trust yourself, you know you are skilled enough to be in the room for the interview. Don't be afraid to ask clarifying questions. You got this!
If you picked an expertise to talk about where would you have the most value to add?
Having had lots of jobs across many different industries, the place I can add the most value to explaining technical issues to non-technical customers/share-holders.
]]>The goal is to write and share every day, building a connection with others will happen. Community is something I'm pretty good at building.
Excited to keep going at this.
]]>I drank the "Bootcamp Kool-aid",
The learn to code with US (insert bootcamp of your choice) and you'll be making $100k+/year *we promise*"
I worked full-time as a Janitor at the hospital, working 3-11:30 pm. I was getting home around midnight every night, and getting up around 6-7 am to take care of my kid while my wife went to work. I was learning to code during this time.
The six months flew by and nothing. I saw other students online landing their first jobs, at companies I would have DREAMED about working at. Yet I was scrubbing toilets and taking out the trash at the hospital.
Many other students quit after 6 months because it became too hard or they didn't see any payoff. I kept going.
Looking back, deciding to learn to code again (my background from college was electrical engineering), til my first FULL-time offer was JUST about 4.5-5 years.
Sure I could have gone for a computer science degree in that amount of time. But, we didn't have the money or the time. I had to work full-time through all this while learning and networking.
But in that time, I got to build my family. My kids got to see hard work is important IF you want to change things. I also got to do something I never thought would be on my resume, I worked in the ER doing patient registration during the pandemic. I learned about empathy and interacting with people on the worst days of their lives. read more.
If I knew it was going to be 4-5 years of hard work to get here. I don't know if I would have continued down this path. However, I am very grateful that I got to prove the negative self-talk demons wrong, and all the people that doubted me along this journey.
I am incredibly grateful for those who gave me a shot and believed in me. The friend I've made along the journey have been worth it.
]]>Everybody has dreams whether that is making more money, having more time, etc. The list goes on and on for many.
Here is the thing, the reasons you tell yourself that you "can't do the thing". Are Myths.
Yes, things will be hard. Sure, it will take time and won't happen overnight.
But taking 30-60 minutes a day, to focus on the goal at hand. In a year, thats up to 365 hours of working on the thing you want. That's pretty great!
Bust the myth that you can't do things. Without trying there is no change.
]]>I've been teaching my kids some basic cooking things. The first dish is Eggs. (Hint: Kids love cracking eggs, and let them. Lots to teach there.)
Every time there are lessons to learn. The stove and pan are Hot!!!!
What tips/tricks do you have for cooking and preparing food?
]]>You build up enough COOL things, people start to trust your taste. You have to try things out. My first post on this website was back in May of 2018. I look back at where I was then, it's WILD!!! Life changes fast. But I've shared my things while sharing and building friendships with others doing the same.
That's why I'm so pumped to do this #Create30 with you all.
]]>This looks like many things. It could be raw unedited posts that flow out of me OR longer form pieces. Could even be an audio clip over at The Captain's Log
Let's see where this goes.
Thanks @MattRagland for putting these things together.
You can follow along with #Create30 on socials or go to Create30.com
]]>We are in group chats while each of us has our projects open on laptop screens. Instead of seeing one project "car", we can quickly see each other's project, turn some wrenches, and provide feedback.
Creating these third spaces is important, Whether in Person or digitally. Like anything cool, it probably started in a garage.
A safe space to try things out, and a place for friends to gather. Nobody cares about our ways of building/making/tinkering.
Thankfully a digital garage is much easier to keep in order than my physical garage.
In the garage, where I belong.
]]>I self-released all my music and my writing on the internet.
I want to share things like the liner notes in a record. What can I do to help others discover things I am into? We don't need an algorithm to tell me what I should like!
I dream of hearing about bands, books, and articles that light up my friends and people I look up to. Share the links!
This also ties into the idea of platform risk. Platforms and stages are disappearing faster than ever. And all your belongings on those platforms can disappear. Own the stuff you make to avoid this.
That Thread should be a Blog Post being able to quickly share your posts and get some reward for owning the content. It was quick to find the post I wanted to share, and not filter through all my Tweets to find the specific one I wanted to share.
The stories I want to tell here and share, won't disappear because they go out of business or get banned for spying on users.
I would love to hear from you if you have ideas for what I should write about or things I should share. Contact me!
Nobody is coming to put out your story, it's best to just DO IT YOURSELF.
]]>First, the patients in the ER came because they needed a service. They needed help feeling better. These people were having the worst day of their life. 1: Lead with Empathy
My role was patient registration. Anybody who walked/wheeled into the ER. I talked to them to confirm personal information, collect copays (way harder than you'd think), update insurance information, etc.
When interacting with patients I became a person they could vent to about their experience in the ER and if they needed anything. This can be as simple as checking with the nurse if they can have something to drink, getting a warm blanket, or even making phone calls for the patient to let loved ones know where they are and what's going on. 2: Follow through on what you said you'd do
There were times I'd be talking to patients longer than necessary because they needed somebody to talk to. 3: Listen before acting For example, finding out that a patient is allergic to the medication they were about to be given because it wasn't charted or it got overlooked in the chart. Flagging the doctor before that happened saved that patient from a very bad day.
Something that would drive me up a wall was getting overlooked by medical staff, who thought they were above us. Life in the ER is a team sport. Everybody there has a vital role in making sure the system works. 4: Be a Team Player
Things will go wrong. Found myself in the middle of many terrible situations. Collecting copays from family members who just lost a spouse/loved one. Witnessing people get terrible news or having an unexpected ambulance bring in a parent's worst nightmare.5: Be ready for the next challenge
You can't jump to conclusions about why the customer came in today. Generally, it is because they have some problem they need help solving.
When you tell somebody you are going to do something, DO IT! And if there are updates that need to be passed on, GIVE THOSE TOO!
This one is always a challenge. We get so wrapped up in the day-to-day busyness that we often forget that just listening to what somebody needs before acting on it can change the outcome.
Be ok with passing off things, or taking things off other people's plates to make sure the goal gets done. Everybody wins if we work together.
Very unexpected things can come through the doors. You have to be ready and know you have the skills needed to tackle any problem. You can do these things, and you will be challenged. The unexpected things are where a lot of growth happens.
I learned a few things while working in the ER, and how it relates to interacting with people in all aspects of life. When interacting with customers remember they are having a bad time, and looking to you for help to solve an issue they have.
]]>You can't be what you were So you better start living the life That you're talking about
Time is running. Start making moves.
"Do you write the story, or is it already written." A line from Future Commerce's latest journal.
Fits into this mood as well. Don't like how the current story was written? CHANGE IT.
Change is hard, but without taking action and betting on something. Nothing changes and You will talk yourself down. You will talk yourself out of things you want. Then you will start talking down about other people's stories.
A lot of things come down to just getting things moving. Start that band, that website, that zine.
Just start. Because remember "You can't be what you were"
]]>Looking back on the year, I finally feel a sense of calm. I've had my "I finally made it" moment. It may seem silly, but it's been a journey to get where I am today.
The end of the year always seems to sneak up on me. But here are some of the things that have happened.
Family trip to Washington DC during spring break. I could spend all day at the zoo with the family. Show the kids a hotel with a pool, it's the best vacation ever. NOTE: It's not a vacation with young kids, it's an adventure.
Buckle up, this travel story is a bit of a doozy. I woke up the morning of the trip at 2 am to an IMPORTANT message from the Greyhound bus that was delayed/canceled for my 6 am pick-up. Cool. Fine, I'll schedule an earlier bus. That bus never showed up. Finally, a bus shows up and it is heading to Montreal. I had to beg and plead my case to the driver to let me on the bus. Get to Montreal, and find some espresso and pastries. I met up with my long-time internet friend Marcos gets me to the airport. Off to see my team!
I get a bit emotional thinking about being in Mexico with my team, and how I ended up there. The notion of having a company fly me somewhere to hang out with the team. Unbelievable. Lots of people take this for granted. There are countless jobs that you are lucky if you get a pizza party.
Some of my favorite moments over the last year have been the friendships from the internet turning more personal. Being terminally online and communicating through screens is fine. However, a quick phone call/Facetime to check in on friends gets me fired up. You can call your friends.
The list of side-quests as a homeowner and dad is endless. But this year some big home improvements. After 4 years, we finally have a dishwasher! We had a spot for it the whole time, but the previous owner messed up the opening so it wasn't flush enough to pop in a dishwasher.
Countless tinkering of an old hot water tank. I replaced thermostats and elements on our old water tank multiple times this year to milk the joys of hot water as long as we could. Alas, we had the tank die the Saturday before Christmas.
After months of asking "Can we get a cat?!", we broke and got a cat! Kida has been a perfect fit for our crazy life.
I started getting whole-bean coffee again. Coffee making as a ritual to start my work day has helped a lot with anxiety. Coffee as a tool and not "needing" it to get through the day has left me more calm and a lot less shaky.
After years of wanting to start one, I started one! But that's about it. Maybe more next year.
Listen here:
My wife went to see Taylor Swift in Toronto. A magical experience for her. I proved to myself that I could take care of the family, work, and house on my own for a couple of days.
Looking forward to the new year.
]]>There is a lot of talk about shilling software on social media. Shill feels like the wrong word. It's a Sponsorship, an ad spot (we all know you love ads).
Being paid to talk about a product on your podcast or video is an honor, a massive privilege.
Do some research, you should enjoy/use the product you are talking about.
Also, if you are "shilling" software. I assume you are either getting paid for it, or you have a special interest you haven't disclosed.
Don't Shill Saas Soup.
]]>Real Talk, though… How long can a business survive without converting freebies into paying and loyal customers? Are your customers only there for the hopes of freebies?
The problem is that your business can’t survive giving away things for free. Why is software expected to be free?
Go to your Shopify admin panel and see how many apps are being used in your shop.
I bet there are apps you don't remember installing or even what the app does.
If you don't remember the last time you opened up an app admin panel, it's time to uninstall it. The plan here is to clean up your life and make things easier to manage in your business. Another app won't save you, no matter how cool and shiny it is.
Another dashboard won't save you from the SAAS SOUP. More apps won't help you figure out your business problems. Think of the apps you add to your business as a bonsai tree on your desk. Take time to learn, prune, and hone the craft.
This one is important. I use plenty of free apps. However, I understand that I need to set my expectations. Here are a couple of things to think about regarding how you pay versus expectations of service
Take time to learn the tools you are using. Can you figure out a solution that works for you without needing to get in touch with support? Reaching out to Support Being on the front lines of handling customers who have inflated expectations can be exhausting. People are coming in way too hot in the support
Hearing the notification bell go off multiple times as somebody who has to field these inflated expectations tends to signal that this interaction will be rough. Don’t worry I treat everybody who comes through the support channels the same whether they are paying us, or not.
Now picture this scenario:
You found an incredible tool, it has a free plan. However, you got distracted by the free part and missed the limitations part. You get frustrated with some features in the app. You come cursing in all CAPS to the chat.
Let’s consider some of the implications:
First, this is a great way to ruin your brand's reputation with support. I have a list of brands I won't buy from or recommend because of bad experiences.
Second, take some time to learn the tool and decide if you need to contact support for help.
We are sending communications and emails from laptops probably from a couch or comfy office desk. I can’t think of a single situation where reaching out to support is Life or Death for your widget business.
Is the support helpful and solves your problem? Upgrade to the paid plan. Paying for the tools you use and interact with, helps build a connection between your business and the tool maker.
Concentrate your investment in fewer tools that will do more for you, and build relationships for the long term.
You have a secret admirer. They browse your aisles and check out your latest recommendations. You help their family keep their pantry full when the budget gets tightened. You send kids to school with affordable clothes and tech that just works.
To the average non-commerce loving american, would miss all the incredible work you do for us.
Now lets get to the really fun stuff. The 3 R's: Roblox, Releams and Retail.
Love the thought of getting my character to have the same products I have on my desk. Kids seeing products they have in game in real life also the best.
Beautifully done immersive experience that you could lose your whole work day playing the games and checking out items in all the realms. Don't tell my boss but I did it in the name in commerce.
The ability to have groceries delivered or order online, pick up in store saves famillies like mine HOURS of mental logicstics and at least an hour to walk through all the alisies to make sure we didn't miss anything.
America doesn't run on Dunkin', it runs on Commerce. Americans Love a Great Value.
Greatfully Yours, A secret admirer
]]>RuneScape and WoW had whole ecosystems of commerce and trading.
Now with Roblox partnering with real world commerce platforms, players in game will be able to make real world purchases.
Are you telling me you wouldn't buy your Lv 15. Cloak of Protection (with different color variants, of course). You would be able to match your character in game?! Sign me up!
]]>"It is not easy to grow so much, for so long."
"It was very quiet all the time, because the trees needed to focus on their lives"
This less than 3 minute video, I found myself shaken. These lines cut straight through my tough bark. I have grown so much, but just like the trees in the forest. I need rest, its ok to rest for a season to be in the quiet.
There is so much to take in and remember we are always growing, reaching for the gray and gold sky.
We are the forest here. You can lean on me when you need to rest. I can help push through the dense canopy to make sure younger trees and others can benefit from the sun.
Remember a season of rest will benefit you greatly. No after work projects, get lost in the woods on a walk. Watch a spider made a web on your windowsill. You are growing. Build your silent forest, Imagine how much growth could happen if you had 300 years of silent forest. Rest now.
Growing is Forever.
]]>I've been thinking about how podcasts, posts on personal websites keep internet friends in the loop. I had some calls with some friends this week, and got me thinking I need a good way to share what up too and sharing things I've found.
Dave Rupert does a vibe check post every month or so, and gives a quick life update of whats going on. I really enjoy that style of update.
So any way here some of things I've been up too.
As an indoorsman, I don't travel a whole lot but April was full of travel. Took the family to Washington DC for spring vacation. Lots of things to see, the kids favorite was the zoo.
Destination: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Travel Vehicles: 3 Buses, 2 Planes, 1 Twitter friend Uber driver.
Woke up to a VERY early update email from greyhound that my bus up to Montreal was delayed by A LOT and I'd miss my flight out of Montreal. I reschedule for an earlier bus (4:45am). I walk to the bus station, no bus just never shows up.
After waiting til around 6:30am a bus does show up. I beg them to let me on the bus, and having some very nice asking and showing the delayed bus and emails about new tickets. The bus driver lets me on.
The bus arrives earlier than my original planned bus, so time to explore Montreal at 7am on a Tuesday. I grabbed a pastry and espresso. Got picked up by my friend Marcos to get me to the Airport with plenty of time.
Land in Mexico, direct flight for the win. Meet up with some of my team.
FIRST UBER RIDE! ya I know, its 2024 I should have been in an Uber before now but thats another story.
Had a blast with the team in Mexico. Trip back was seamless, as much as people hear the story of multiple stops through customs and bus rides. Much more seamless than some stories I've heard of planes being stuck on the runway for hours for no reason.
Work projects cruising, spring finally shows up. Still two months of school left.
Final month of school, and had FOMO about some events that happened.
Working from home with kids at home is not for the faint of heart. Lots of bugs squashed. Beach days, camp fires, summer camps.
Trips to the Granby Zoo. Beach days, some late summer sickness.
School starts! Got lots of birthdays and hopefully some trips to the orchad for cider donuts. Funny how once having kids September feels like the start of the new year. Lots of work stuff to get done before the end of December though
-- Emmett
]]>I can't wait for them to start slinging cotton candy and churros at future dev conferences. And to be fair. Those two have sold me so much happiness and joy for free with Shop Talk Show.
]]>Where there are games and sketchy rides that cost more than they should. Getting insulted by the clown sitting at the dunk tank, in name of "fun". Animals being shown by young kids.
Some can relate the clown yelling insults at passersby as social-growth hackers trying to get you to try "their" way of COLD DMs and some hack.
The animals being shown off by first time operators trying to rival bigger brands.
The Sketchy rides and rigged games are the SaaS tools that once you put in your data or leads list into you. You maybe lucky to get them back OR worse lose a bunch of data.
Lets talk about the Corn Dog, the funnel cakes, countless calories and the literal layer of oil and powder sugar served here.
This is the people we have met along the way. These are reason we keep coming back, and sharing what we are making or thinking about.
Be the reason people come back, not some gimmick or sketchy clown.
]]>You don't need to throw that sponsored dinner, if the only people attending are already on your email list.
If you are bragging about hustling and HAVING to work weekends, stop writing threads during the work day!
Oh ya, and those threads should be a blog post on your personal site.
]]>Everything magical about great pieces of art work (Digital and photographs) have the frames of your phone or your Apple vision pro. Those experiences are framed in the rose color frames of your device.
There are two wolves in the future experiences for customers in Commerce. One where you are able to bring a digital experience and get it deeply connected into your home with devices. The other being the experiences just open up a safari window for you to check out and order the dang thing like you would like a "Normie"
If you ask anybody where they were when they first heard their favorite band. Same band, 1000s different stories.
Example, I remember being in middle school and a friend put on "The Ramones". As a classically trained cellist who also listened to ton of old Irish folk music. I was HOOKED! My experiences discovering bands and sharing them with friends through CDs and Tapes. Searching through the $1 bins to check out some band I never heard of. But those experiences shaped me.
The same thing has been happening with brands in commerce.
I could buy from a brand and the experience is wonderful. And my neighbor or internet friend could have a miserable experience. It all depends on the consumer.
The feeling of wanting something to be a truly personal experience is important.
There is a strong point to say the future of personalization needs to be handled with soft hands in order to not kill the small dove that is the customer.
I want the experience of buying to feel like its me in that basement back in middle school. That brand could change your life. And sadly I've had a lot of Meh experiences. Nothing that I can really say, "Hey remember that time in so-and-so's basement. When you showed me those bands? That was magical."
The idea of being able to have a customized experience especially in the spacial sounds wonderful. I could see my space transform before making a BIG purchase to repaint cabinets or what flooring would look like in side my house. I want that. That space can be designed in the digital world, and with this vision map and some elbow grease on the weekend can be made into a real in person thing. I love that. I want more of that. Give me the digital tools to become the world builder of my own physical space.
]]>Which is fun and a futurist view of growth and its exciting. Who doesn't want to join something that can take them to incredible places in life?
Let's say all things at launch and the first couple of years go incredibly well. Now, you are blasting through the sky, headed into space. There are few outcomes, continue to blast towards the moon with thrusters on full and hope there is fuel to get there and land. Explode into a billion pieces and shower down space junk.
Or a third option. Land the space shuttle back down safely.
However, landing the space shuttle is an option not talked about on socials because it's not as cool. So many founders would rather explode into a billion pieces trying to get somewhere.
Landing the space shuttle means the mission is complete, a job well done. A much more challenging part having a big enough runway to do so.
Lots of companies burn up or out while attempting to land their space shuttle. But the ones that safely land bringing the team and craft home are the ones I want to learn from.
]]>Fun Fact! The old Air Force Base runway in Plattsburgh, NY was an alternative landing spot for the Space Shuttle.
But I truly believe that coffee during work shouldn't be INCREDIBLE. It should be diner-level. Work Coffee is a tool, to put you in the zone.
There is something meditative about the folgers can, and a white mug. The ritual of making a cup of coffee is more important the quality of beans to me.
I try to limit the coffee during the weekend. Mostly to be able to handle the chaos that is children and house work. Coffee plus lots of stress triggers anxiety much quicker than not having it.
Biggest thing I've been thinking about is switching to a Tea in the afternoon. One to help with sleep, but also to avoid the "on accident" 4pm cup of coffee. Thats been happening more often than I'd like.
]]>It started with a silly Twitter DM.
Sign up for our "Leap Day Coffee Club." Every 4 years you get a cup from us! $2.99/month
Price: to be determined
Limit: 500
Delivery: February 2028
Comes with monthly updates on the process of designing/sourcing/packaging.
Would love suggestions on price or other ideas.
Yes I know 4 years in internet time is a LONG time. Is this something you'd be interested in doing and partaking in? Fill out the interest form here
]]>Real question… doing some research for a project. >>> Especially for people who feel stuck right now… Is there anything/something that you \*do\* have motivation to do right now? Is there any significance in looking there to get unstuck?
— Chase Jarvis (@chasejarvis) February 13, 2024There have been times recently where I've felt very stuck mostly with work.
The biggest thing that has helped me get unstuck is cleaning up my work space, and getting the house picked up. Cleaning up the house with kids is never easy and constantly on the back of my mind. But bringing that to the forefront, I can let the work task simmer.
When I come back to the work task I have a clearer start and tend to finish the task quicker than just trying to push through. Asking others for help after trying all the above things is the next step. And as always, writing out steps to complete the task in a notebook. Even something as writing out the problem I’m having to a coworker or partner and hitting send, will unblock me before I even get a response back!
Another thing I’ve found during times of feeling stuck, is mynoise.net nice background noise to bring back the focus state. Hope that helps Chase.
]]>Posting online is great, sure it creates opportunities. But what if all this stuff goes away?
Being able to move content around the web without the need for a platform feels like a super power. Especially being in Tech/Ecom space, as much as we love certain platforms of business. There is never 100% certainty that they will last the length of time.
This is why personal sites on the internet are important. This content/site is 100% owned by ME!
I am able to make posts that I can link to and reshare on other platforms but all the mant content lives here.
There maybe a day where your twitter thread that got A LOT OF EYES BALLS to grow your business goes away for one reason or another.
That thread should probably be a blog post, bro.
]]>I drop what I was doing, and jump into the call. Finally, the second part of the message pops up on my phone.
This is the first time in my career. Not a cost of living adjustment (Hey, those are pretty helpful too).
Ever since the call and the conversation. I've been a bit emotional. I've worked so hard to get where I am today. Work feels like play. The team I work with everyday is incredible.
I am a better engineer than I was. Cannot wait to show you what we have planned this year.
Thanks Jeremiah for betting on me.
]]>This is the Wouldn't it be Cool TO-DO List
Be a Speaker at an Event
Podcast
Document/Prototype
Keep up on Maintenance
A list of some of "GOALS" I think would be cool to do this year.
]]>I tend to be responsive even if its "before/after" hours of work. Sure that can be a sign of toxic hustle culture, I genuinely enjoy what I do for work. I also view work as being able to free up time for others on the team so they can shine at what they do best.
Probably a 95% chance I have a laptop screen open within arms reach of me most days. This is because most of my interactions are online, or coding something up for fun.
This brings up the death of the 3rd space. Home, Work, and your 3rd space (coffee shop, bar, record shop, RIP the mall).
As a parent of young children where there isn't a lot for us to do in the winter. I wonder how fair is it to leave to go to that 3rd space when your 1st space (HOME) is getting destroyed every time you leave one of the rooms. Sure, breaks are important but making sure the house isn't a diaster feels like the right move. It does bum me out that places outside of the home seem unwelcoming to being a 3rd space for people. But everything right now feels like you need to spend money to have an experience.
This is where being on the internet more and more, has paid off for me. Met incredible people that I know consider friends. I have landed loads of opportunities from being online a lot.
If you are feeling like you don't have a 3rd space, my website, and socials are available to come hang out on.
]]>I personally want more RAW, unfiltered things. When I ask "How are you doing?" DO NOT give me "Living the dream" reply I've heard in the hallways and factory floors. Most of those people had DREAMS and it probably wasn't working in an ER during the Pandemic, or making shiny beautiful lighting fixtures for fancy hotels, they would never set foot in or get to witness in person.
Give me the real, "Things are hard, but we are getting through it." responses. We can talk about it. We are all dealing with some stuff.
Post the Ugly, Raw, Unfiltered moments. Share your struggles with me and others. You will start to feel better.
]]>If you can make it, Tell Phillip I sent ya.
]]>This is where Luro comes in. Being able to monitor design/accesibility and more in one spot will make this experience of rebuiding a site feel more managable.
Biggest reason for not rebuilding my site sooner is the just the THOUGHT of doing this feels sooo overwhelming.
Give Luro a shot for your next project.
]]>This got me thinking about mental load of having a family and career. There are things that I take full responsibility to not thinking about things that keeps my wife up at night. Its not that I don't care, but I tend to struggle with "out of side out of mind".
Guilty of not taking some of the mental load away, but will totally do the work that needs to happen to complete the task.
Yesterday was clearing out the backyard of all the toys, and trash from the summer and getting it into the garage to get ready for trash day.
This year I will try to do better to keep less mental load on my wife. Its the stuff we don't see that is the heaviest load.
Thinking is often WAY harder than just doing.
]]>I'm just a tired dad who posts things on the internet and builds meaningful products and relationships. That is all.
]]>Strees of working in the ER in the Pandemic, while trying to change careers for my family.
Well, after Dozen of phone calls and a couple tests. Turns out I have a moderate heart condition as well as severe sleep apnea. Both of these issues are related, of course.
But, right now two more sleeps until I get a machine that will give me a restful night of sleep. I will give my wife peace of mind at night. There have been times of me getting shaken awake because I have stopped breathing in my sleep.
Excited to track my results and sleep. There are some open source monitoring programs that I could use to build some models of how I have been sleeping. (PROJECT SLEEP)
This is also a reminder not to skip the basic appointments. This stuff is important.
]]>I was working making Chandeliers like this one. Link
This turned into being a Janitor in a hospital, then that turned into working in Patient Registration in the ER during the Pandemic. This also in a time where I grew my family, bought a new home, and was teaching myself to build software (On the side, cause I didn't have enough to do).
That doesn't even begin to consider my jobs before kids, of building city busses, or being line cook. Or Booking shows, Playing shows, Touring, and running shows. For little or losing money.
I think all of these experiences with different jobs is a bonus skill that I am thankful for.
I won't ask anybody to do anything, I wouldn't do myself.
]]>Spring trip in 4 days.
Can you write a scary parent story?
]]>I try my best to help the builders, share their hard work. I can shout out a few projects I'm in Awe of currently. Some of the cool things my friends are working on.
Check out Luro (sign up for their beta!) Things made by polymathematics Go learn about Future Commerce Come be in the Kno Go eat Willow's Bagels
What are you building?
]]>Can I hang dry the clothes sure. but who has space to individually hang 10 loads worth of laundry!
Laundry will forever haunt my dreams.
]]>This was back in 2016. I bought into that. I was a Janitor at the local hospital, the major breadwinner of my family. I had a young kid. Who wouldn't be bright eyed about earning 4x more than they currently made and didn't come home smelling like bleach. Looking back I think the biggest thing was the promise of REMOTE work.
The idea of making 4x the median income in my area, AND be able to work from home?! Sign me up!
But this brings me to networking, my strength. All of my opportunities have come from Social Media. First it was a getting a tech degree sponsored by an Ed Tech company, then rebranding a marketing site, next it was contract Dev Rel for a software consultancy. All of these things were while I worked full time at the hospital in the ER (different position than janitor), and had our second kid in this time frame as well.
Twitter has been a great part of my journey. Being able to connect with people throughout the world from my small corner of NY state. Booking calls and interviews with people I highly respect.
The biggest thing is getting to work alongside with some of the people I learned from when I started this wild journey.
And it all boils down to building meaningful things in the world with wonderful people.
]]>Life gets busy. We get it, but taking time to play is important. Make that silly song about how you threw a spoon in the garbage disposal. Have a dance off with your partner or children. Be weird, go play.
End of your life isn’t what’s in bank accounts it’s number of laughs and memories created. Sure money, and a living are important. But just like these posts, they are moments that we remember.
Go be weird, the internet is a place where the games are made up, and the points don’t matter. But please go play.
]]>So this will be an attempt. First Drafts is the idea that hitting publish/deploy on the thing you are working on just to get it out in the world is OK.
Trying to post once a day for the Month of April. Follow along. These will be a wide range of topics and brain dumps.
Hope to see you through the month!
]]>The original project was built as my capstone project for Treehouse's full-stack javascript tech degree program. It was built using class-based components in React, a custom-built REST API using Express and Sequelize ORM.
This project is shipped and hosted in a very strange way. The Database uses SQLite3, and I discovered very quickly that there was not a great place to host this. So I went a very different route in my hosting choices. The front end of the course app is hosted on Netlify. The API is hosted on Glitch. The decision to do that was because I found that Glitch would let me host SQLite3 instances.
Follow along while I rebuild this application using Supabase, Prisma, Next.js, and Tailwind CSS.
]]>Nearly put me to tears,
He said "I’m going to get him a new job. So he can go to work. He will be so happy."
I never thought the weight of my not having a job right now would weigh on my children. They see that I am stressed and frustrated. They see me trying and continuing to put in the daily work.
Job searching is often harder than the job itself, especially right now.
I had the pleasure of working and building wonderful experiences from Govalo building out redemption flows gift cards. This was all in React/Next.js using the Shopify API
Then working closely with the wonderful team at Luro to build out a page crawler, and helped with a wizard to help users get through selecting the information they cared about. This was done using Vue/Nuxt/Prisma. Very smooth developer experience, with quick and fast ways to make changes to components, and layouts.
The last year has taught me so much, I am a much better engineer and problem solver now than I was before these opportunities.
I know I am a value add to any company I join.
]]>Talking to patients in stressful situations. A lot of times the worst day of their life. Making sure they felt comfortable and heard about their problems and struggles. Translates directly to taking care of customers who have questions and complaints.
Another skill I have is running and building community. I run a community for Dads that Code. #CoderDads
Building a community around Dads that have similar stories to mine has given me a lot of pride and hope for the future. Dads getting to buy their first house, Dads doubling their salary from selling car tires to being a developer.
It's also taught me that I am not alone in the journey and to share my daily struggles.
I will bring the ability to build meaningful products, and build customer relationships that will last and turn your customers into advocates for your product. I have the skills and ability to jump right in and start building. Let's chat.
]]>Which got me thinking about job hunting and my social presence. Are there things on my profiles that I need to clean out and get ready for a successful job search process?
This got me looking back at my old CodePens or my Github Repos cringe
Looking back through the things I've built made me realize even through a lot of is junk. These are the small projects and prototypes that got me to where I am today as a builder.
I want to focus on building more prototypes this year and more sharing. Being able to explain "this is what I've done" goes a long way in improving knowledge. I want to focus on building more prototypes this year.
]]>If working in an ER during the pandemic has taught me anything. Life happens fast, and being able to deal with change is a skill that needs to stay sharp.
Feeling like I have failed during the holiday season isn't very joyous. Applying to countless jobs (around 40+ interviews) in 2 months. Only to have roles frozen, or they weren't hiring right now and had to stop the interview process.
The next move will hopefully provide some calm to my family, and rewarding work. My personal mission statement is "Want to help people build the life they dreamed about"
]]>I got the opportunity twice this year to get in on some very cool companies building exciting products.
I got to work on making online gifting better and more accessible to brands, and who doesn't like getting gifts?
I worked with an incredible group.
Here are some stats!
Those were just professional achievements. Here are the things that happened too.
Very thankful for this community that has watched me ride the tidal waves of moving from a busy ER job to a tech job. CoderDads helped me through 2 layoffs this year.
I was on some podcasts/live streams this year! If you have a podcast, I would love to come on and share my story.
Gaelan Trombley show (Last year, but close enough)
Janitor to Software Engineer Roadmap with Emmett Naughton
It's been a wild year. I am looking for my next adventure. I am working on a few personal projects now. I am going into the New Year rested and ready to be an asset to my next company.
]]>I will respond to your questions and thoughts. This is to push me to possibly start a podcast, we will see what happens.
Lets see what happens!
]]>First off, Thanks to Kelly Vaughn and Rhian Beutler for bringing me into the Govalo team earlier this year. I learned so many incredible things there.
Next, I cannot express my gratitude enough for the team over at Luro. So many thanks to Dave Rupert, Trent Walton, and Reagan Ray for giving me the opportunity to help build parts of Luro. I got to build some incredible things. I have so much respect for what this team is working on.
Also, everybody that has been a part of CoderDads, this community has seen so many wild things happen. Dads landing their first jobs in tech, being able to buy their first house. Many other incredible stories in that community.
I am hopeful about where my next journey starts, but looking back at the wonderful people I have gotten to work with, brings me an overwhelming sense of joy.
]]>It got me thinking of my journey into tech.
Having worked in an emergency room through a global pandemic, it has taught me that I can do anything. Especially in the tech world.
Sure, its been a rollercoaster. Being able to reflect on the experience I have now working with incredible people, I know I will be an incredible asset to my next company.
]]>But here are some of things I've learned this year. (There is so much more)
First time using Vue, it just makes sense. It feels like I'm playing around in codepen all day.
No jumping around files, or moving to different parts of the file structure to find something that needs to be edited.
All in your stuff one file. I like it.
I think the most useful thing I've used so far is the v-if statements to be able to conditionally render different templates based on need.
With build in things like NuxtLink makes it very straight forward to create links.
In Nuxt there are two important methods for fetching data
asyncData for data required to successfully render the page. Render blocking and has
fetch for lazy-loadable data.
We use $axios to fetch everything. We are waiting on Nuxt 3 in favor of useFetch() or $fetch.
Another tool that I am very excited about. Prisma mad I had to add one line to the Prisma file, and hit the ground running
There is much more to learn here, so far I've learned
npx prisma studio (a view of your database)No complaints about prisma. Very helpful to quickly be able to build stuff. I want to learn more about it, and to be able to be more helpful with backend tasks.
This was the big feature that I helped build out in my first week.
Prisma made it very easy to build this out, just by adding one line of code in the ORM.
I also learned about page crawlers and how to make adding pages from a crawled website to tdatabase.he
Building out the views and templates for this feature was challenging because of all the moving parts.
Crawl the URL for different pages, return those pages back to the user. Let the user select which pages they want to add.
Take screenshots then display all those pages.
This requires Loading states, and some other fun UI.
Then to make sure it all fit in modals and worked properly. Also on top of all of that was the CSS of Modals. This was a HUGE feature that I'm proud of.
Everybody's favorite thing.
Using Jest, and building out some basic standard tests took a little while for me. But after building multiple components I got the hang of it.
Been able to write tests that test for Images and icons on pages. Testing if the images or icons would render on the wrong route or URL.
This has made my productivity while working on the page crawler much faster. Being able to just clear the db table that I was working with, to quickly see changes in my code has been super helpful.
Before I was having to spoof/fail api calls.
Remembering what you built and what you worked on over a specific time is when the real learning happens.
Building out small actionable pieces to share for demos, and feedback early on has been a major unlock for me.
This year has been rollercoaster. I have gotten to work with so many wonderful people, and learned from really incredible mentors.
]]>First, we got summer camps. School year finished strong, got the kids pumped about summer camp. Week 2 of camp got bamboozled by covid. Kids very upset, this now means 3 kids instead of 1 home during the week.
Second, I am working from home. Which has turned into me delivering popsicles and juice boxes as quick as I can so I can focus on work.
Three, tired kids means melt downs and throw downs. Or waking up very early in the morning because they fell asleep before I finished work.
But overall, now we are into August things are hitting a routine. Then next month will get messed with again with school starting. Its a wild ride.
In the meantime, send patience and coffee.
]]>Sure, if you had unlimited money and time to focus on craft, maybe. But for me, not the case at all.
Being a sole provider for my family I needed to work full time hours (40 plus hours a week, while working every other weekend).
On top of the full time job it was finding time to code , on my lunch break, or when my kids were being calm and relaxed. It seemed like climbing a mountain, but now I'm at the peak!
Landed a job as a software engineer!!!
The mountain got bigger. There is no finish line, and thats been very clearer. The next race has started, and I have been training for what seems my whole life.
Just remember, Keep climbing, Ask for help. Keep going.
]]>There were at least a dozen rejections with the feedback, of "Not Technical enough", "We went another route, but keep applying.", "You aren't Coding fast enough.", "You will never make it as a developer if you aren't working full time on building stuff." and many other hard-to-swallow pills. All of the rough news in the last couple months.
But I was determined to recover and get back up. Recovery for me was stepping away from VS Code. Being present with my kids and wife. Playing video games always helped, and not worrying about another year of not being in tech try not to crush all of my dreams. It was a heavy weight on my chest.(
The journey started out as me being a janitor and getting home around midnight every night. To new jobs within the hospital. All this time I was still coding on the side, and networking on Twitter. Doing calls and interviews on my lunch break or driving home from work. Really pushing to get to where I am today.
I want to share with everybody that I will be joining Govalo as a Software Engineer in January. It feels unbelievable. I may have been ugly crying since I got the offer letter. This has been a long time coming, and I am ready to get to work.
]]>I had my third kid, had paternity leave to try and get that full-time developer role that I've been working towards. Its been frustrating, and there is plenty of people who have started after me, and landed their jobs with their dream company.
A lot of this comes down to me having a full-time job in an Emergency Room, and having been there throughout the pandemic. Which has given me countless experiences of dealing with caring for patients and their needs.
But part of me feels like "Damn, this is the 4th year that I'm not in tech yet. What the hell is wrong me?" (5 Years in March 2022 of learning and building for the web).
However, this won't stop me from continuing to show up and make lasting important relationships in the tech community until I am full-time in it.
I have the experience and the drive to be in Tech. I belong there. My 2022 goal is to pivot! (insert Friends joke here)
I am pivoting to "Being in Tech". I am going to use my experience of working in the Emergency Room, to get a customer support or success style role.
Every job I've ever had has been pretty customer-facing. From being an Audio Visual Tech at a Teleconferencing Company in Vermont to being a Line-Coo to working in factories (making sure I make the best product I can for the customer), to being a janitor at my local hospital, and now working in the ER. Its always been about making sure customers were taken care of and they enjoyed their experience.
I want to be a cheerleader for companies and businesses, and make sure their customers are delighted to use their product(s).
Talking with Justin Jackson, he mentioned that is how he got his first shot in tech. I think it is the way to go. I am willing to do whatever it takes and learn along the way. That first "Ya, we will give you a shot". This company will get one of the hardest working and dedicated people on their team.
I am a Team Player. I will make sure customers are delighted, and supported. I can also jump in on developing quick landing pages for events and or other coding issues. I can host and moderate podcasts, events, and be very present when a customer has been struggling with the products.
Have to remind myself that it only takes one yes, and I'll be where I want to be.
Don't count me out, I will keep showing up.
]]>If enough wonderful people have children, and we collectively build communites and places for them to thrive. We can change the world.
I want to be apart of something BIG, meaningful work is important to me. Not something that I can just flex about at a reunion. But something that I know my daily work is changing somebody elses life.
We can build incredible things, and help make the world better.
]]>It's been a great fun way to showcases Dads in the group.
There are some top secret projects in the works. That I can not wait to share! Newsletter drops Monday Mornings Weekly.
Events are part of communities.
— Rosie Sherry (@rosiesherry) July 8, 2021
That's it. That's the tweet.
This brings up an interesting point. Ever since I was 14 years old, I have been planning and booking shows for bands. Playing in bands, booking tours, and booking events is community building. You have to find the space, find the bands, find somebody to work the door to collect money (Often an volunteer/friend), find the sound system. Sometimes deal with the police because of a neighbor complained about the volume of my friends band being too dang loud.
This would put me at about 15 years of experience of a Community builder. I miss live events, I think we all do with the affects of the pandemic.
Ever since having kids though the booking of shows stopped, and needed to find that same kind of community. And I found that with building #CoderDads. I am excited to share my journey more, and showcase some of the coolest dads out there.
]]>A lot of the stories I heard that motivated me to get into tech, were like "Learn to code, get a job making $90k/year after 3 months of learning."
Clearly, that isn't true for everybody, I've done 4 years of hard work and dedication and I am just now getting somewhere. It's amazing to me how much I have accomplished in this time frame.
Working full time, raising a family, while being the sole provider for my family. Having somebody that can hold you accountable for keeping motivated has been super helpful. Another thing is to find an online community of supportive internet friends. Sharing your progress and struggles is important.
The hardest part is the mental toughness. While dreading going to work every day while also keeping a laser-like focus on my goals and dreams for my family.
That is a lot of time! That's like working 40 hours a week on a project for 4 and a half weeks.
Another important thing I have learned is focus on the very important tasks in that 30-60 minutes of time. It teaches you very quickly what actually matters on a project. Trying to break down a project into 30-60 minute chunks has been super helpful. Worst-case scenario, block yourself from using social media, and putting your phone away will also help you stay focused on the task at hand.
Find your community, build cool things, and don't beat yourself up.
]]>I did both! I built out the project using both, and now I am sharing what I have learned about
First the REST API.
Pros: Very quick to get the Requests set up, and pretty neat code when using Hooks. Cons: Multiple requests with a lot of data we don't need.
The Github API gives minimal data on the first request. Below is the initial response.
0:
avatar_url: ""
events_url: ""
followers_url: ""
following_url: ""
gists_url: ""
gravatar_id: ""
html_url: ""
id: {int}
login: ""
node_id: ""
organizations_url: ""
received_events_url: "
repos_url: ""
score: 1
site_admin: false
starred_url: ""
subscriptions_url: ""
type: "User"
url: ""
After the initial response, you have to make another request to the users https://api.github.com/users/{username}
which will return another object of data, with only some of it being useful for this challenge.
"login": "",
"id": {int},
"node_id": "",
"avatar_url": "",
"gravatar_id": "",
"url": "https://api.github.com/users/{username}",
"html_url": "https://github.com/{username}",
"followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/{username}/followers",
"following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/{username}/following{/other_user}",
"gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/{username}/gists{/gist_id}",
"starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/{username}/starred{/owner}{/repo}",
"subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/{username}/subscriptions",
"organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/{username}/orgs",
"repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/{username}/repos",
"events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/{username}/events{/privacy}",
"received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/{username}/received_events",
"type": "User",
"site_admin": false,
"name": "",
"company": null,
"blog": "Blog",
"location": "",
"email": null,
"hireable": null,
"bio": "",
"twitter_username": "",
"public_repos": 29,
"public_gists": 0,
"followers": 25,
"following": 9,
"created_at": "2017-01-04T01:54:16Z",
"updated_at": "2021-04-25T14:01:38Z"
Two API calls just to get needed data for the challenge. Not to mention that is two API calls just to get one user's data. But it just one way to complete the challenge.
Now, this was the first time I had worked with GraphQL other than going through the Gatsby Tutorials for Graphql a couple of years ago.
There are quite a few GraphQL Clients you can use, but I decided to use Apollo Graphql.
The coolest thing for me is that once you write the query in GraphQL, you get all the data you need for whatever project you are working on, with just ONE API Call!
The GraphQl Query looks like this.
const QUERY = gql`
query SearchUsers($queryString: String!, $count: Int!, $cursor: String) {
search(query: $queryString, type: USER, first: $count, after: $cursor) {
userCount
edges {
node {
... on User {
id
login
avatarUrl
name
url
followers {
totalCount
}
starredRepositories {
totalCount
}
}
}
}
pageInfo {
hasNextPage
hasPreviousPage
endCursor
startCursor
}
}
}
`;
Pretty neat. I will be using GraphQL in the future.
]]>I finished this project a year ago. Why has it taken this long to get shared? There is not a straightforward solution to hosting this type of project.
It has a React front-end, with a custom-built REST API with Express using Sequelize ORM to use SQLite3 for the database.
The solution I came up with was to host the REST API and database on Glitch.com. Host the React front-end on Netlify.
Link to Project:
Course App (treehouse-course-app.netlify.app)
This project was a ton of fun to complete. It feels even better that I get to share it with you.
]]>I was playing around in Glitch.com a week or so ago, I noticed you could just import a github repo.
I had some projects that were built using SQLite3, and would need to migrate the database to something a Heroku or Vercel could host.
I imported the repo into Glitch and BOOM! I got the Live link with a working project.
This got me thinking of the other projects I had built out to be hosted online for free using Glitch.
Feel free to add your favorite books to the list!
Finished my paid client project. Now what?!? What would you say the next step to getting a full time role should be? #EggHeadChat
— emmett naughton (@EmmettNaughton) February 5, 2021
His answer didn't surprise me at all, I subconsiously know what I need to do to go to the next level. But it always helps to hear it from somebody you look up too. His response:
keep going. do the next thing that you're interested in, build something for yourself, look for that next client, keep putting yourself out there. it starts slow, but once the foundation is laid it *will* pay off! pic.twitter.com/rvtDoqX2HU
— Jason Lengstorf (@jlengstorf) February 5, 2021
I am now looking into what could I do in the next 12 weeks to get to that full time developer role. I will never give up, and I sure as hell will never survrender.
]]>Crafting an Effective looking for work Tweet
I fired this off on Sunday morning, and wooooo boy. It took off. The most rewarding thing about the tweet is that I got some amazing shout outs from people I truly admire in tech. I know I am on the right path, I belong in tech.
]]>Working in a hospital while trying to break into tech has been a wild and stress-filled adventure.
I would see people who have started their journey into coding later than me and land jobs at large companies. I asked myself: “Well, how can I possibly work all the time while working full time, raise my family, AND try to switch careers?!”.
There's a lot of advice out there to work all the time and your goals will happen. It seems impossible, but this is where I got sucked into “Hustle Porn”.
Some of the things I have been told were:
Being told you aren’t working hard enough feels like a huge slap in the face, mostly because if I told you everything my family has dealt with this past couple years, you’d be stunned. This has been something I have learned to deal with and not try to take it personally.
To not touch on Bias would also be a big swing and miss. I am a white male in America, who has access to High-Speed internet and a good enough computer to code. However, this is only part of the story. What is, perhaps less understood, has to do with something called “Location Bias.”
I don’t live in a big city. Most of the jobs here are Retail, or Nursing, or Prison guards. Not the ideal situation for a person who needs to stay creative. The promise of remote work got me hooked on trying to get into tech. It has turned out that it's not as easy as just applying for a remote position. One positive for rural workers, that has evolved from Covid is embracing remote development and workforces.
This is why coding was super appealing for me: All I needed was a laptop and an internet connection.
With the amount of time I’ve spent learning, people would say it’s wasted time. It’s taken me this long because I had to balance full-time work, raising my family, being the best partner to my wife, all while learning to code. The biggest reason for Hustling is to be able to provide the best life for my family.
It’s been a year for everybody, but what pushed me over the edge was when I found myself working through a punch list for a freelance while my 2-year-old son was in surgery. It hit me hard, I felt ashamed for working. My child was having an operation to make him better. In the past couple of months, I have started taking medicine for anxiety. I have also tried to work while having kids run around, and I regret my parenting style when I get frustrated. It’s not who I am and it’s not how my kids should see me.
I want them to see me as a hard-working, dedicated father who was able to do anything he puts his mind to. But I know every journey has speed bumps, I can admit this and work on improving.
Nobody goes alone, and while that is hard to believe or accept. it's true. Yes, I was the one working long hours and providing for my family, and coding on the side. But I couldn’t have done that without the support of my wife and family. As well as the support I have got from the online communities I am a part of.
The list goes on and on, from people like Ryan Carson of Treehouse, who saw me working hard, and sponsored me to learn. To my friends from Twitter who have seen me work hard to get to where I am. I have had wins in this journey to get into tech, but looking back on it the biggest win is everybody I have met along the way.
Do I LOVE staying up until 2 am or later to make sure items on a punch list for a client project are done before the morning standup? No, when I have to be at my day job at 8 am the next morning. This also means I am passing a lot of other duties and responsibilities to my wife, who is taking care of the kids while I work full time and then some on the side. The money to be able to survive comfortably after the year we have all had is hard.
I write this while expecting my 3rd child, and having the paternity leave coming up from my full-time job, which will be nice to remember why I started this journey into tech.
Even with my first paid project under my belt, I still have night terrors, and/or trouble sleeping worrying that I am working hard enough. It’s something I will always struggle with. I will now be calling myself a “Recovering Hustler”. I will do my best to create the balance needed to provide the best environment for my family.
Improving is the goal. Keep building and creating, If you have a lot going on, take 30 minutes a day and create something. It’s how I made it this far, small steps. Heading into 2021, will be job hunt for jobs in Tech.
]]>He was in Vermont for the holidays. He drove three and a half hours to meet with me, a developer still trying to wrap up my tech degree program. I was overwhelmed to think this could be the break I needed.
We talked about features and hopes for the project. I have seen what the team is building, and very excited about it. It makes me want to start something so I can use the platform.
Looking back at this meeting, it helped me believe in myself. I thank Levi for this, he saw my drive. Since meeting Levi, I have completed a lot. I have confidence in my developer abilities, and feel like I can do anything I set my mind to.
Having people be a cheerleader for you is incredible.
]]>I think about this question a lot. In the last 3.5 years of learning to code, I have been working full time and raising a family. Going from 1 kid to 2 kids. Changing jobs while completing Treehouses Full Stack JavaScript Tech Degree.
Now looking back on everything, it was a lot. I've been asked a lot about how I managed to do all this stuff. You never know how far you've come until you stop and look behind you. The Hardest Part for me was the hustle feeling like I wasn't doing enough. My days when I started would start at 7 am, and end around 12:30 am. This is just how my family's schedule happened to be at the time. I would code on my 30-minute lunch break, and before work (I worked evenings at this time).
Even after completing the Tech Degree and a freelance project, I can't turn off my brain from Hustle Mode. It has affected my children and my wife. I am thankful they are supportive and understand I've been working so hard for them. But I have days where I feel like I am letting them down because I am not where I think I should be career-wise.
Family first always, it is hard. It is not easy, but I won't give up!
]]>This year has been a rollercoaster, I am thankful that back in 2019 I helped start a community of Dads. Now that everybody is staying home and not going out, I know a lot of Dads and parents are struggling with everything. Working at home while raising kids, to not seeing friends and family, the list goes on.
This is why I am thankful for #CoderDads, these are a group of guys that I feel like I could call in a heartbeat if I had a problem or issue, and the conversations sound like we are having a game night or sitting down at the bar.
Starting to see some big wins for members of the community too. One of the Co-Creators landed a job as a Community Manager and now sending out emails for the company. I’ve seen people get apprenticeships, other members completing Boot Camps and shipping apps and showcasing them within the community.
If Covid has shown me anything, its this group of dads are Strong, and supportive. Trying to create a better life for their family through Tech. This is a place to share wins and struggles. I can’t wait to see more wins from this group of dads.
The amount of support in this group is great. Seen things from people jumping in to fix errors/bugs. The more Senior Coders have been giving solid career advice that many newer dads that are job hunting don’t know about. Hiring in Tech is Broken, so if you get a check list and game plan of how hiring is a major leg up.
Join #CoderDads
]]>The last several months have been stressful, and draining. I've been meaning to write more, but with everything going on, its been hard!
I am starting my habit now, because with the new year I plan to write more and talk more what I've been learning on a weekly basis. My journey into tech has been unique but a wilder rollercoaster of ups and down, and some LONG nights and earlier mornings.
Heres to habits, to create the life I want.
]]>
Its easy to make excuses. You are "Busy".
Here I am. Starting. This isn't the first time that I have tried to start, and it probably won't be my last.
]]>Getting a job is hard. Especially when all the experience you currently have is in really null and void during this career change.
I have worked a variety of non-tech jobs until this point. Anything from dishwasher, line-cook, janitor, factory worker, to Working in an ER interacting with patients to make sure all their medical information is update.
Fast paced environments. Critical thinking important in all of them. I have learned from all my jobs and personal experiences, showing up everyday no matter the obstacle or the issues going on at home. Showing up is 90% of the goal.
Another key important skill is communication. I can clearly communicate with coworkers, patients, clients, whoever. If that's Saying "Behind or HOT!" in a kitchen, or clearing explaining to a patient how they can take steps to get insurance coverage.
Its been a journey of self doubt, and small victories, some very early mornings working on a project before my boys woke up.
I am consistent and very driven and I want to build things.
]]>Step 1: Create the array of quotes you want to display
In the Array, You will break them up into Quote, the movie, and the year the movie came out.
Step 2: Select the "Random Quote"
We create a function called getRandomQuote.
3 variables used in this function (number, randomQuote, and source)
Math.Floor() returns the largest whole number less than or equal to a given number
Math.Random() returns a random decimal number between 0 and 1
We take the number in our quotes array, which selects a quote in the array
Then we return the variable randomQuote
Step 3: Print The Quote to the Screen
Create another function called printQuote()
We store the quote, the movie, and the year into their own variables. Now we need to use a variable called print. print creates a template that will be used to display the quote/source/year/citations.
Next, we add a couple if statements. if there is a citation we add that to the print variable, and if there is a year in the quote add it to the print variable.
The wrap up this function we select an HTML Element by ID and use innerHTML to inject the print's HTML template into the HTML file.
Step 4: Finally Call the printQuote Function
This is the final bit! Call printQuote()
That date is when I was enrolled in Treehouses Tech Degree Program. Its amazing to think about how far I've come as a person, and developer in that amount of time. Since July 2018, I became a father a two, I started a new job. Had 4 ER visits in my family, 4 procedures/surgeries. Three Inpatient stays, all while working full time and coding in my free time.
The Tech Degree took me longer than most people because of my situation. Most people can finish the Tech Degree between 3 to 12 months. I finished after 20 months. I couldn't have done that without the support of Treehouse's CEO and the Teachers/Student Success Team at Treehouse.
ASK FOR HELP!
The biggest thing I have taken away from completing the Tech Degree, is ASK FOR HELP! I lost countless days, even weeks, struggling to figure out an issue with my code. Sometimes the error was as small as misspelling a variable name, or adding one line of code to my API. Asking for help can feel scary, but the success team is there to see you grow as a developer. 2. Daily Commitment
Daily Commitment
Small daily commitments to coding is how I did this. It may sound impossible or to hard. I would bring my laptop to work so I could code during my short 30 minute lunch. sometimes I would get 30-60 minutes in before the kids woke up (spoiler alert: Rarely happened this way), or I'd get time to code once they went to bed, and I was exhausted.
Finish what you started
Finishing, completing what you start. My journey as a Developer, I have seen many people say they have dozens of half finished projects. Developers love trying out the newest tech. I think being able to stay focused on the projects you already started and finishing those first before trying the new hot thing.
I completed the Tech Degree Program on March 13th 2020. That is 20 months after I started the Tech Degree. Sounds like a long time, but with a lot of grit I was able to push through the hardships and challenges. Learned a ton over the past 20 months. Its incredible what can be done just by committing one hour a day to something. 20 months ago I was stuck in tutorial hell, and pushed through to create 12 amazing projects. I also started my blog, and my portfolio site. I am incredibly proud of the work I have put into the program and would highly recommend
With all this Pandemic stuff looming, I have continued to work in my local Emergency Department in Registration. With the current state of things, I want to do what I can do help the local community. I am still looking for my first Developer job, but right now making sure my family and local community are taken care of matters more right now.
]]>This journey includes, working full time (40+ Hours per Week) at my local hospital, being the sole provider for my family, the birth of my second child, emergency room visits, surgeries, hospital stays, trips across the lake to Burlington for doctors appointments Burn out and self doubt, feeling like I will never make it to the "Finish Line". Coding happened during my limited free time, either very early mornings, or late nights. I have a blog post sharing the first part of my Journey: Read it Here
All the things listed above make this journey seem impossible, how can a Father, the sole provider for his family find time to learn to code?! A Daily commitment to coding. There were days where I would just edit a few lines of CSS, or getting some JavaScript working or working on a NavBar. Doesn't seem like a lot but I got to where I am today, by dedicating a small amount of time to code over the last 2.5 years. Everyday, put a little bit of work on getting better. Its a reminder to always try and be 1% better than you were the day before, that goes for anything in life.
It took me months to realize I needed to share my projects. Being vulnerable is hard, putting your work out into the world is scary. Especially sharing it publicly on social media for people with much more experience than me will see what I have built.
I have met incredible people through my journey into tech. I have been very open and honest about my journey. Its been hard. I have almost quit (A LOT). But the support has helped push me over the hurdles.
In order to help pay things forward, I helped create a Slack channel called #CoderDads which is an awesome group for dads who code. This group has Dads who are looking for their first job, to some serious code veterans. Its been a great place to discuss the balance of Code Life and Family Life.
After 18 months of learning with the tech degree, I am in the final stretch! I am working on finishing up my final project! Its been a roller coaster. I've had job changes, the birth of my second child, MANY hospital visits, problems with the house, car troubles, you name it, its probably happened.
But I look forward to finishing the program.
Nobody said this journey would be easy or direct. To take a page from Chase Jarvis' Book "Creative Calling", Life gives you a compass not a map. I have been following my compass for awhile now.
While I am finishing my last tech degree project, I had the joy of meeting with the Co-Founder of Kitkaton, Levi Martinez. We met through twitter, Kitkaton is a tech-enabled commerce platform for creatives to monetize their audience. Levi drove 3.5 hours to meet me in a Starbucks in my town, and we chatted about the platform and what my Tour of Duty would look like for Kitkaton.
As of Feburary 2020, I am joining the mission of Kitkaton as Junior Software Engineer. (unfortunently due to Corona Virus and unforeseen circumstances this had be put on hold.) This opportunity has the potential to fully change my families life. I will be able to gain valuable experience in a growing tech company, while helping creatives make money. I am looking forward to be able to better provide for my family, and create generational wealth for my kids.
Now that I have landed the first job, I will continue learning and helping others learn to code. I hope to help support people who have similar stories to mine reach for their goals. I wouldn't be here without the Coding Community, or my supportive family.
My next post will be about the resources I have used to get where I am today. From Podcasts, to People to Follow on Twitter, to Resources for Learning.
]]>So this site was built using Eleventy and Netlify CMS. I found out about this configuration from Chris Enns.
I identify with the DIY mindset, of building and things yourself.
I wanted to be able to create an online journal for my journey through life, and learning. I get that there are otehr options for creating a blog, or writing online. My biggest concern is that those platforms may not be around forever. My blog will hopefully be around for the future.
Anil Dash (CEO of Glitch) has been blogging consitantly for twenty years! Which I hope to maintain that type of online pressence and no better way to do that than starting my online blog!
My posts will always be my own thoughts on either what I am working on, or reflecting on a lesson I have learned in the last couple weeks.
]]>I was working with a guy who was planning to go back to school for Computer Science. He mentioned TeamTreehouse.Com (He is now a software engineer at a company in Burlington, VT).
I started learning on my own for free. I started bringing my laptop to work for my lunch breaks, working on tutorials and learning as much as I could. I got stuck in tutorial hell. I needed my hand held to work through some projects, by using code along videos. I almost gave up on coding in November of 2017.
I signed up for Treehouse! I started getting more involved in the Dev Community via Twitter. Shortly after this my family got some amazing news! We would be welcoming our second child in September 2018. I would have to work extra hard and try and maintain some daily discipline with a new baby on the way. I became more active on twitter and listening to 6–7 hours of podcasts a day.
I get an email, from somebody I respect. I remember not being able to sleep that night because of how excited I was about the opportunity. We set up a monthly call.
I started Treehouse’s Full Stack JavaScript Tech Degree. September was coming quick, I knew I would have to work hard. I finished the first three projects before my son was born.
I have started my first day shift job! I have started getting up at 4:30am (Ryan Carson is the inspiration behind this) to get work done. Still working hard to get my first developer job by building my portfolio.
]]>