All entries of my technical and business blog

Homebridge Homekit Notify if Garage Open Too Long

Apr 5, 2021 iot

With a combination of Homebridge, a plugin, Pushover, and a Homekit compatible garage door opener, I can now receive notifications if my garage door was left open too long. Let’s dive into how…

An Argument for Larger Dev Scopes

Mar 29, 2021 management programming

Conventional wisdom says to scope down your initiatives and make small tasks for your team members. It’s best if each can easily work on a single task in a silo, so they can get the project done with the least overlap and delay. But, what are we losing with this methodology?

The Importance of ToDo Tests

Mar 22, 2021 php phpunit testing

I’m not a huge fan of todo comments in code because I think they’re mainly forgotten. However, I don’t have the same opinion for PHPUnit tests. Let’s talk about why - and how to easily add them in your code.

Illustrating Why Fillable and Validated Matter in Laravel

Feb 22, 2021 laravel php security

When given a choice of methods and ways to do something, it might not be clear which way is the best. As programmers, we tend to pick the easiest, then. However, the easiest can have security implications. Let me illustrate why we should use more stringent controls in a Laravel project.

Do Not Calculate Answers to Your Unit Tests

Feb 8, 2021 php phpunit testing

Since you’re a programmer, you’re always looking for ways to be a bit more efficient. Because of this, it can be easy to fall into the trap of being too programatic, too calculation-heavy in your unit tests. But, this isn’t a test then - its just another block of quite fallible code. Let’s talk about why and show what to do instead.

Who Do I Tell "I don't know" To?

Jan 18, 2021 business

When interviewing a junior programmer a couple weeks ago, I was asked a very insightful question: “Who can I tell ‘I don’t know’ to?” At first, I wasn’t sure what they were exactly aiming at with the question. But, as I formulated an answer, I realized this was a great question. Let me share a longer version of the answer with you.