Rails with Jason

This podcast episode features a lively conversation between Jason Swett and Nick Schwaderer, covering a range of topics from Thanksgiving traditions to Ruby conferences, personal philosophies, and even the idea of starting a long-format, freeform podcast. They discuss their approaches to cooking turkey, the quirks of different Thanksgiving side dishes across the U.S., and the experience of celebrating American holidays abroad. The conversation then shifts to Sin City Ruby and Rails World, with Nick reflecting on how conferences create strong community bonds. They also delve into personal growth, handling adversity, and the importance of resilience in career and life.

The episode explores the challenges of remote work and the opportunities for connection that arise from engaging in community events like the Sin City Ruby conference. Neeraj Singh shares his experiences running a remote consulting agency, highlights unconventional hiring practices, and delves into the benefits of creating clone products, all while emphasizing the value of quality software and a thriving company culture.• Discussing the emotional toll of remote work • Importance of community events for connection • Neeraj's Big Binary: A unique, remote-first agency • Innovatively maintaining talent on the bench for flexibility • The value of creating clones in a saturated market • Hiring challenges and unique strategies • Retaining talent through strong company culture • Quality assurance as a fundamental aspect of software development • A holistic view on building competitive and maintainable productsBigBinaryNeetoSin City Ruby

In this episode I talk with Ryan Kulp, creator of TRMNL, an e-ink dashboard.TRMNLryanckulp.comRyan Kulp on X

In this podcast episode, Steven R. Baker dives into test doubles like mocks and stubs, discussing their essential role in robust code development and challenging traditional testing practices. The conversation covers the nuances of Test-Driven Development (TDD), including writing failing tests first for better code clarity and test coverage, and explores RSpec's influence on TDD. Additionally, Steven examines Ruby's adaptability and the integration of AI in programming, providing listeners with actionable strategies for more maintainable codebases and a balanced view on AI's evolving role in software development.

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 ProgrammingJoyful ProgrammingSoftware 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 DeutschThe Beginning of Infinity by David DeutschThe Blank Slate by Stephen PinkerThe Language Instinct by Stephen PinkerJP Camara on LinkedInJP Camara on TwitterJP 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 WorldKnapsack ProDocs.KnapsackPro.comArtur Trzop on LinkedInArtur Trzop on TwitterSin 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 DeutschThe Fabric of Reality by David DeutschRails WorldRailsConfBoston Ruby MeetupSan Francisco Ruby MeetupProfessional Rails Testing by Jason SwettDerrick Fonseca on LinkedInSin 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.RailsConfBrand New BoxWill Carey on LinkedInSin City Ruby

On this episode, I'm joined by Adarsh Pandit, Executive Director of Ruby Central.  We discuss men's fashion, Adarsh's path to becoming a developer, the distinction between contracting and consulting, defining what you do as a consultant, keeping yourself top of mind to potential consulting clients, how Ruby Central is building community among Rubyists, the current state of Ruby meetups & conferences, and my conference, Sin City Ruby.Derek Guy on TwitterRubyConfRailsConfrubycentral.orgAdarsh Pandit on LinkedInadarsh@rubycentral.orgSin City Ruby

On this episode, Landon Gray and I get together for a conversation that touches on AI consulting, backfilling tests in a system that wasn't developed with TDD, generative AI assisting with testing in data science settings, using AI to develop your product vs using AI in your product, getting clients as an AI consultant, the benefits of remaining a solo contractor over starting an agency, work/life balance as a freelancer, whether charging an hourly rate is the best way to represent the value you provide as a consultant, having a north star to guide your decision making in your work life, what actually comprises risk, how marketing yourself is important regardless of whether you're an employee or a freelancer, how the modern hiring process is broken, value created vs compensation received, and Landon's trip to the AI Engineer World's Fair in San Francisco.The AI Engineer World's FairMadison RubyLandon Gray on LinkedInLandon Gray on Twitter

On today's episode, I sit down with Eric Normand to discuss how to select good customers, the importance of sales and marketing to a freelancer, the importance of imagination, industry, and optimism, the purpose of consulting, how I structure my consulting services, other ideas for consulting structures, domain modeling, tech debt vs dull knives as a metaphor, how product design influences domain modeling, how having a theory of your product impacts domain modeling, the abundance of bad advice for new consultants, and the pros and cons of masterminds.Eric Normand.meEric Normand's NewsletterEric Normand's Clojure GuidesEric Normand's Clojure Video CoursesThe Eric Normand PodcastMillion Dollar Consulting by Alan Weiss99 Bottles of OOP by Sandi MetzEric Normand on LinkedInEric Normand on Twitter

On this episode, I'm joined by Joel Hawksley, Staff Engineer at GitHub for a discussion of code ownership with regards to a 3-year WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) project at GitHub, benevolent dictatorship, collective ownability, terrible code vs acceptable code vs the viability of a project, writing good code vs solving problems, defining quality code, quality code resulting from clear conceptualization, the desirability (or not!) of perfect adherence to standards, reducing defect rate, and meaningful testing goals. Code Complete by Steve McConnellJoel Hawksley at GitHubJoel Hawksley at TwitterHawksley.orgEpisode 88 - ViewComponent with Joel HawksleyLive From Ruby Conf 2021, Joel Hawksley Tells Me About His DrinkEpisode 130 - ViewComponent with Joel Hawksley

On this week's episode, I talk with Allison McMillan to discuss working environments, the importance of getting a remote team together on a regular basis, the benefits of a well thought out offsite, not-so-great offsite types, elements of a worthwhile offsite, and more.Allison McMillan.comAllison McMillan on LinkedInAllison McMillan on Twitter

On this episode, I talk to Matt Kirkland, Founder and Designer at Brand New Box.  We talk about how to get good clients, the utility of reminding people that you exist, reading science fiction, ChatGPT as highly advanced autocomplete, reading history, The limits of ChatGPT-style AI as compared to AGI, and Matt's Dracula read-through newsletter Dracula Daily. Philip K. Dick on GoodreadsFrançois Chollet on Sean Carroll's Mindscape PodcastDracula DailyMatt Kirkland.comBrand New BoxMatt Kirkland on TwitterMatt Kirkland on LinkedIn