Category: Blog
03 Mar, 2020
Github Actions: Steps in Containers
Build Pipelines and build agents using CI/CD products are not new. The latest generation of these have all moved to Docker. Docker creates a clean and flexible build environment that streamlines installation steps and tool combination issues. This created a new problem, however. Either you must: Make your own...
13 Feb, 2020
Hacking Your Life with Task Types
I want to share an idea that has changed my life by mitigating burnout and feeling more fulfilled day-to-day, month-to-month, and year-to-year. The idea is task typing. In my next two blog posts, I will introduce you to the idea and show you a few ways to use it...
28 Jan, 2020
4 Ways to Learn Object-Oriented Design
Looking back over 2019 I realized I’ve had the privilege to work on a diverse set of software projects: Architecting and coding an Enterprise Transform and Load (ETL) project in Python and Django Building an SFTP platform using AWS lambda, Node, and Vue Adding major features and refactoring a...
14 Jan, 2020
Finding Diacritics in a Postgres Table
Recently I had the task to find all the Diacritics in a database table. I had to find an easy way to select every row that has a diacritic in the name. The solution was surprisingly simple, but a bit unintuitive. In this article, I will provide you with...
17 Dec, 2019
Concurrency comparison of Javascript to Go
A lot has been written on concurrency and it is a deep subject. In order to understand the subtlety of how concurrency is implemented in Go and Javascript respectively, consider them through this high-level, relatively simple example. For deeper understanding of how coroutines, channels, and generators work I will...
10 Dec, 2019
7 Questions for Computer Security Incident Response
Preparing your business to protect against and be ready to respond to security incidents reduces your company’s risk. The business leadership has responsibilities that they must address to enable the technology team’s defense and response. Here are 7 questions you need to answer: What is a security incident? You...
03 Dec, 2019
Kitchen Sink: Audit/Governance/Work Queue – Extract Transform and Load Part 6
In the previous articles, we discussed the main pieces to consider when designing and implementing an Extract Transform and Load pipeline. Submission Information Packages and High-level Validation: Data, End Points, and validation Canonical Transformation: Converting data to a common object base Business Rules: Low-level validation Identification: Does this data...
25 Nov, 2019
Focus – Power of a Fresnel Lens
Today I want to talk about focus. Specifically the importance of focus for growth stage companies. The reality is that you have limited resources- this is a constraint. You may have several, a dozen, or even more competing priorities. These represent opportunities, but they also represent distractions. The TL;DR...
19 Nov, 2019
Converting Large Jobs into Batches
Let’s say that you have a process that requires a long time to run but you’ve got a limited time window in which to do so. If your job can be broken up into multiple pieces, the simple thing to do is partition the job and have multiple workers process...
12 Nov, 2019
Basic Rules Engine Design Pattern
In today’s posts, I want to share with you one of my favorite design patterns. I’ve used this design pattern in countless situations in multiple different languages, but it is the most useful when creating and managing rules. In the following simplified scenario, I want to validate a Recording...