Code with Jason

Join us for a conversation with John Gallagher, founder of Joyful Programming, as he shares insights on making programming enjoyable through Ruby, design, and object-oriented practices. We’ll explore the Unison programming language, designed to simplify distributed computing, and discuss the role of AI tools like ChatGPT in adopting new technologies. The episode includes stories about human forgetfulness and the growth opportunities podcasting offers, along with resources from Joyful Programming

• Joyful Programming
• Software Design Simplified

Jason Swett and Irina Nazarova discuss the revitalization of the Ruby community, focusing on the announcement of Sin City Ruby 2025 in Las Vegas. They highlight the importance of small, intimate gatherings for networking, insights from past events, the resurgence of Ruby meetups in San Francisco, and the role of mentorship in fostering growth.

- Evil Martians
- Martian Events
- Sin City Ruby

This episode explores how Prefab enhances deployment workflows by integrating feature flags with Java microservices and Ruby on Rails, drawing on Jeff's experiences at HubSpot and EasyCater. We discuss strategies for minimizing deployment risks, improving PR reviews, and mentoring junior developers through clear objectives and constructive feedback. Real-world examples and practical advice offer insights into building efficient development systems and fostering growth in engineering teams.

Links:
- Prefab
- Jeff Dwyer on LinkedIn

Johanna Rothman shares how to overcome the isolation of remote work by rebuilding community and fostering connections. She talks about the balance between creativity and knowledge, how understanding client needs is more important than just following requests, and why value-based work often beats hourly pay. Johanna also explains how experimenting, using feedback loops, and refining ideas can lead to better results in both business and writing.

In this episode, we reflect on the shift from remote work to in-person connections and explore Detroit's transformation into a vibrant place to live and work. With guest John DeSilva, CTO of Revela, we discuss his company’s growth from a basement startup to success with Ruby on Rails and the challenges of upgrading apps with Turbo. We also dive into database design, managing outdated data, and the surprising value of old-school technology in today’s world.

Freedom Dumlao discusses Flexcar’s switch from Java to Ruby on Rails, covering the challenges, successes, and lessons learned from the transition. He shares insights on balancing coupling and decoupling in microservices, the strategic parallels between programming and problem-solving, and his experiences at Ruby conferences. The episode wraps up with community highlights, dining tips for Boston’s Chinatown, and ways to connect with Freedom.

On this episode, I talk with JP Camara, Principal Software Engineer at Wealthbox about nicknames, how having quality A/V equipment impacts how people perceive you, concurrency in programming, quantum computing, Galileo and the multiverse, blank slate-ism and whether people deserve credit or blame for their inborn traits and decisions, free will or determinism, whether or not we live in a simulation, and Jeremy Bearimy.

• The Fabric of Reality by David Deutsch
• The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch
• The Blank Slate by Stephen Pinker
• The Language Instinct by Stephen Pinker
• JP Camara on LinkedIn
• JP Camara on Twitter
• JP Camara.com

In this episode, I sit down with Artur Trzop, co-founder and COO at Knapsack Pro for a conversation that touches on the Polish language and learning foreign languages, Artur's journey to founding his own company, what the Knapsack Pro gem does, American programming work taking place in Poland, growing a company to the point of financial sustainability, facing competition from larger entities, and recent improvements to Knapsack Pro. 

• Rails World
• Knapsack Pro
• Docs.KnapsackPro.com
• Artur Trzop on LinkedIn
• Artur Trzop on Twitter
• Sin City Ruby

On this episode, I'm joined by Derrick Fonseca for a conversation that touches on Derrick's path to software development and the commonalities in problem solving between programming and mechanical engineering, finding the problem, my experience at Rails World 2024, the state of the Ruby community and the benefits of attending meetups, writing understandable tests and test driven design, and my upcoming conference Sin City Ruby 2025.

• The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch
• The Fabric of Reality by David Deutsch
• Rails World
• RailsConf
• Boston Ruby Meetup
• San Francisco Ruby Meetup
• Professional Rails Testing by Jason Swett
• Derrick Fonseca on LinkedIn
• Sin City Ruby

On this week's episode, Will Carey, CTO of Brand New Box and I get together for a chat that touches on RailsConf Detroit, Will's work at Brand New Box, the challenges of remote work, starting new development projects, the benefits and risks of deploying early, pets vs cattle when it comes to server maintenance, Kubernetes, state-full code vs stateless code, starting at the end and working backwards, the value of curiosity, the benefits of building long-term relationships, and my consulting work.

• RailsConf
• Brand New Box
• Will Carey on LinkedIn
• Sin City Ruby