Get it on Amazon I started out this year reading Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes as part of a book club, and it has stuck with me since reading it. I loved this book. Like many of the books that I take the time to do a write up about, it came to me at exactly the right time. So much of what she says “yes” to isn’t just about copying the movie “Yes Man” and following the ensuing hijinks.

Get it on Amazon Once in a while, the universe aligns, and you stumble upon that perfect book at the perfect moment. For me, that cosmic timing happened in December 2023 when I dove into the pages of “Lean In.” Let me tell you, 2023 has been a rollercoaster ride. I welcomed twins into the world, which explains the recent radio silence on this website. Having babies in the latter half of the year conveniently turns it into the defining chapter of your life.

Get it on Amazon The Chaos Machine by Max Fisher is easily one of the most important books that any software engineer could read. It contains lessons that are imperative to understand for designing ethical software applications. Here I’ve outlined a summary of some of the most important lessons that I gathered from the read, and then add some of my own thoughts at the end. I highly recommend it to anyone that is responsible for building applications used by humans or for anyone that has been looking around recently wondering “when did everything get so polarized?

Get it on Amazon Don’t Make Me Think was a quick read on the important points around testing a website or app for usability. This is a critical item that needs to be tested early and often, but typically is pushed off to the very end of a project if it is even tested at all. What is Usability? Usability testing encompasses a few important items that every website should be able to accomplish.

The end of 2022 is rapidly approaching, and with it I’m starting to evaulate how the fourth quarter of the year went, and what I want to set my sights on for the first quarter of 2023. I love the first quarter of the year. It comes with so much fresh motivation that I often meet the goals that I set out to meet, which sets a great tone for the rest of the year!

In October of 2022, hundreds of Gophers flocked to Chicago to celebrate their love of Golang and the Go community for the first time since 2019. The entire experience was an absolute blast. I enjoyed all of the presentations, the lightning talks, having chats with the sponsors, and meeting so many passionate engineers from around the world. Here I summarize some of my key takeaways, insights, and things that I want to take back with me to my own Go programming experience.