Feb 3, 2023Shoot The F#cking DeerI felt stuck the other day at work. We’re facing a part of our API we don’t love and want to change it. But it seems like we’ve been talking, and debating, and planning for a while. And the changes don’t happen. Work isn’t the only place I’ve had this…Software Development3 min readSoftware Development3 min read
Mar 2, 2020Handling Slow Cascading Deletes In RailsDaddy Warbucks : You lock the orphans in the closet. Miss Hannigan : They love it! TL;DR If you’re using a development framework to interact with data (Rails, Django, Express, whatever), you’ve most likely had to make smart choices on how cascading deletes work in your system. …Rails5 min readRails5 min read
Oct 29, 2019Don’t Drink The WaterFinding Lead in Chicago’s Water — Be careful out there folks with public water. My daughter and I found lead in a public water fountain in Chicago’s Lincoln Park. This experiment also helped us learn something about feeling like a nobody when trying to get something big accomplished. P.S. You should follow me on YouTube or Twitter.Chicago1 min readChicago1 min read
Oct 17, 2019I am a failureRecently, (I hope you saw), I launched a thing I’ve been working on like crazy, Locomotion! But… despite a ton of interest, kind words about the product, lots of social media love, folks haven’t purchased Locomotion as much as I had hoped. …Startup3 min readStartup3 min read
Oct 9, 2019Another HallwayThis last summer was my daughter Addison’s first dance recital. That’s a big deal for a 5 year old and her parents! Tons of practice, both sets of grandparents coming, and one giant crowd of people to perform in front of. The performance was awesome. But afterwards, I had the…Life4 min readLife4 min read
Oct 2, 2019A/B Testing YouTube VideosIt’s been over a year in the making, but today my family would like to announce our latest adventure: FilmHope. Are you the type of person who doesn’t measure anything? Do you buy your clothes without sizing them up? If someone asks says something costs $5, do you just give…Marketing3 min readMarketing3 min read
Jul 10, 2019My New Startup & LocomotionHey. I know I’ve been radio silent here for awhile. I’m sorry about that. But I’ve needed the focus to get a new product built. If you’re interested, let me quickly tell you about it. Do you do any stop motion movie making? …Animation5 min readAnimation5 min read
Published inThe Set List·Feb 12, 2019Using Slack To Run Your Business? Folks Are Confused.How good are we at actually running our businesses and organizations over email and Slack? In 2005, researchers from New York University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign devised a series of experiments to understand how well people can communicate using email. In one experiment…Slack3 min readSlack3 min read
Published inThe Set List·Feb 7, 2019The Curse of KnowledgeYOU PROBABLY ALREADY KNOW THIS. BUT, I’M PROBABLY WRONG. — One of the hardest struggles anyone has in their business is telling others what they sell. It’s harder than coming up with ideas. We’re full of ideas. It’s harder than finding a big market for your business. More leads won’t help if you can’t talk to the few people who’ve…Marketing4 min readMarketing4 min read
Published inThe Set List·Jan 23, 2019How Elon Musk Could Get You More DonorsWith a few minutes to spare, I was looking for a last minute gift for a friend and decided they’d love a donation made in their name. …Nonprofit5 min readNonprofit5 min read