Coding Blocks

When to Log Out

07 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Well, this is awkward. Coding Blocks is signing out for now, in this episode we’ll talk about what’s happening and why. We have had an amazing run...

Things to Know when Considering Multi-Tenant or Multi-Threaded Applications

02 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s time to talk about the types of things you should consider when diving into multi-tenant applications and things to be especially aware of if y...

Two Water Coolers Walk Into a Bar…

18 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Grab your headphones because it’s water cooler time! This episode we’re catching up on feedback, putting our skills to the test, and wondering wha...

How did We Even Arrive Here?

04 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We were asked in one of our recent reviews in Apple Podcasts if we would share our career paths and how we got started and how we arrived where we are...

AI, Blank Pages, and Client Libraries…oh my!

07 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s Water Cooler Time! We’ve got a variety of topics today, and also Outlaw’s lawyering up, Allen can read QR codes now, and Joe is looking at ...

Alternatives to Administering and Running Apache Kafka

23 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the past couple of episodes, we’d gone over what Apache Kafka is and along the way we mentioned some of the pains of managing and running Kafka c...

Nuts and Bolts of Apache Kafka

09 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Topics, Partitions, and APIs oh my! This episode we’re getting further into how Apache Kafka works and its use cases. Also, Allen is staying dry, Jo...

Intro to Apache Kafka

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We finally start talking about Apache Kafka! Also, Allen is getting acquainted with Aesop, Outlaw is killing clusters, and Joe was paying attention in...

StackOverflow AI Disagreements, Kotlin Coroutines and More

13 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Joe Zack was on a brief holiday so Allen and Michael took over the helm for an episode. What would a new episode be without a little something regardi...

Llama 3 is Here, Spending Time on Environmental Setup and More

28 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Joe introduces us to more security items you should be aware of in the world of CWE’s, Michael bends to the will of Joe and Allen in...

Ktor, Logging Ideas, and Plugin Safety

14 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Picture, if you will, a nondescript office space, where time seems to stand still as programmers gather around a water cooler. Here, in the twilight o...

Importance of Data Structures, Bad Documentation and Comments and More

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Allen, Joe and Michael finally make it back to record together! Allen revisits the basics, Michael kicks off boomer hour nicely, and ...

Decorating your Home Office

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This time we are missing the “ocks”, but we hope you enjoy this off…ice topic chat about personalizing our workspaces. Also, Joe had to put a qu...

Multi-Value, Spatial, and Event Store Databases

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We are mixing it up on you again, no Outlaw this week, but we can offer you some talk of exotic databases. Also, Joe pronounces everything correctly a...

Overview of Object Oriented, Wide Column, and Vector Databases

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We have a different combination of the hosts for this episode where we continue the series on the types of database systems available and why you migh...

Picking the Right Database Type – Tougher than You Think

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You asked, we listened! A request from one of our Slack channels was to go over the various types of databases and why you might choose one over anoth...

There is still cool stuff on the internet

21 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we are talking about keeping the internet interesting and making cool things by looking at PagedOut and Itch.io. Also, Allen won’t ever...

Reflecting on 2023 and Looking Forward to 2024

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s that time of year…the time we (reluctantly) look back at what we said we were going to do this past year and see if we actually did it. Then,...

Gartner Top Strategic Technology Trends 2024

18 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode we are talking about the future of tech with the Gartner Top Strategic Technology Trends 2024. Also, Allen is looking into the crystal ba...

2023 Holiday Season Developer Shopping List

25 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s that time of year again when the three of us reflect on the things we’ve bought and loved, or the things we want to get…and want to love…...

Gartner and your Life Partners

13 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ever looked at a Gartner report? We talk about the Technology Adoption Roadmap for Midsize Enterprises 2022, and the cloud services you’re married t...

Open Telemetry – Instrumentation and Metrics

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Join us as we get back into the world of Open Telemetry. Piggy-backing on previous conversations from the Google SRE series as well as DevOps, metrics...

Keyboards, Cloud Costs, Static Analysis, and Philosophy

15 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve got a smorgasbord of delights for you this week, ranging from mechanical switches to the cloud and beyond. Also, Michael’s cosplaying as Meg...

Code Confidence using NASA’s Ten Simple Rules

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve mentioned in the past that the code we write isn’t maintaining heartbeats or being used in life-critical settings, but what if your code is?...

GitHub Actions

17 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we are talking all about GitHub Actions. What are they, and why should you consider learning more about them? Also, Allen terminates ...

Tracing Specifics – Know your System with OpenTelmetry

05 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Get a behind the scenes intro to some of the interesting conversations we have before we even get into the content. We’ll be jumping into the meat o...

What is OpenTelemetry?

21 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we’re talking all about OpenTelemetry. Also, Allen lays down some knowledge, Joe plays director and Outlaw stumps the chumps. See t...

Software in Audio and How to Lead

07 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Allen, Michael and Joe discuss the latest update with the Reddit saga, software for designing audio and reproducing analog sounds, an...

Team Leadership, TUIs, and AI Lawsuits

23 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we’re talking about the history of “man” pages, console apps, team leadership, and Artificial Intelligence liability. Also, All...

Better Application Management with Custom Apps

10 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last episode, it might have been said that you can become a senior engineer in just one short year. Our amazing slack community spoke up and had some ...

Errors vs Exceptions, Reddit Rebels, and the 2023 StackOverflow Survey

25 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we’re talking about lessons learned and the lessons we still need to learn. Also, Michael shares some anti-monetization strategies,...

Easy and Cheap AI for Developers, Reddit API Changes and Sherlocking

11 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re back after a brief break for a busy month of May, and we’re here to talk about some pretty cool stuff happening in the developer world. Outl...

Gitlab vs Github, AI vs Microservices

15 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this sequence of sound, we compute Joe’s unexpected pleasure in commercial-viewing algorithms, Michael’s intricate process of slicing up the pi...

Supporting Your Code, README vs Wiki and Test Coverage

01 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode we talk about several things that have been on our mind. We find that Joe has been taken over by AI’s, Michael now understands our l...

Water Cooler GPT

16 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re doing a water cooler talk today. Also, Allen can tell you how not to leak secrets, Michael knows how to work a spreadsheet, and Joe has been r...

Understanding Serial Transactions for Databases like Redis

03 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve got a new / old opening…Allen goes off / on script? Michael denies Joe the “swing” vote, and Joe is all in on AI assistance Testing for ...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Lost Updates and Write Skew

20 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What are lost updates, and what can we do about them? Maybe we don’t do anything and accept the write skew? Also, Allen has sharp ears, Outlaw’s g...

ChatGPT and the Future of Everything

06 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There’s this thing called ChatGPT you may have heard of. Is it the end for all software developers? Have we reached the epitome of mankind? Also, sh...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Weak Isolation and Snapshotting

20 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ever wonder how database backups work if new data is coming in while the backup is running? Hang with us while we talk about that, while Allen doesn’...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Multi-Object Transactions

06 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's time we learn about multi-object transactions as we continue our journey into Designing Data-Intensive Applications, while Allen didn't specifica...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Transactions

23 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We decided to knock the dust off our copies of Designing Data-Intensive Applications to learn about transactions while Michael is full of solutions, A...

2023 Resolutions

02 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Michael spends the holidays changing his passwords, Joe forgot to cancel his subscriptions, and Allen's busy playing Call of Duty: Modern Healthcare a...

200th Episode Extravaganza!

19 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We step back and look at how things have changed since we first started the show while Outlaw is dancing on tables, Allen really knows his movie monst...

Job Hopping and Favorite Dev Books

05 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We talk about career management and interview tips, pushing data contracts “left”, and our favorite dev books while Outlaw is [redacted], Joe’s ...

Technical Challenges of Scale at Twitter

21 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We take a peak into some of the challenges Twitter has faced while solving data problems at large scale, while Michael challenges the audience, Joe sp...

The 2022 Shopping Spree

07 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's that time of year where we've got money burning a hole in our pockets. That's right, it's time for the annual shopping spree. Meanwhile, Fiona Al...

As the Watercooler Turns

24 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We gather around the watercooler to discuss the latest gossip and shenanigans have been called while Coach Allen is not wrong, Michael gets called out...

Git from the Bottom Up – Reset, Stash, and Reflog

10 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We wrap up Git from the Bottom Up by John Wiegley while Joe has a convenient excuse, Allen gets thrown under the bus, and Michael somehow made it wors...

Git from the Bottom Up – The Index

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode, we learn more about Git's Index and compare it to other version control systems while Joe is throwing shade, Michael learns a new comman...

Git from the Bottom Up – Rebasing

12 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's time to understand the full power of Git's rebase capabilities while Allen takes a call from Doc Brown, Michael is breaking stuff all day long, a...

Git from the Bottom Up – Commits

29 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We are committed to continuing our deep dive into Git from the Bottom Up by John Wiegley, while Allen puts too much thought into onions, Michael still...

Git from the Bottom Up – Blobs and Trees

15 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's surprising how little we know about Git as we continue to dive into Git from the Bottom Up, while Michael confuses himself, Joe has low standards...

Understanding Git

01 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After working with Git for over a decade, we decide to take a deep dive into how it works, while Michael, Allen, and Joe apparently still don't unders...

Stack Overflow 2022 Survey Says …

18 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Once again, Stack Overflow takes the pulse of the developer community where we have all collectively decided to switch to Clojure, while Michael is ch...

Site Reliability Engineering – More Evolution of Automation

05 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We're going back in time, or is it forward?, as we continue learning about Google's automation evolution, while Allen doesn't like certain beers, Joe ...

Site Reliability Engineering – Evolution of Automation

20 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We explore the evolution of automation as we continue studying Google's Site Reliability Engineering, while Michael, ah, forget it, Joe almost said it...

Site Reliability Engineering – (Still) Monitoring Distributed Systems

06 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We finished. A chapter, that is, of the Site Reliability Engineering book as Allen asks to make it weird, Joe has his own pronunciation, and Michael f...

Site Reliability Engineering – Monitoring Distributed Systems

23 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We haven't finished the Site Reliability Engineering book yet as we learn how to monitor our system while the deals at Costco as so good, Allen thinks...

Site Reliability Engineering – Eliminating Toil

09 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We say "toil" a lot this episode while Joe saw a movie, Michael says something controversial, and Allen's tip is to figure it out yourself, all while ...

Site Reliability Engineering – Service Level Indicators, Objectives, and Agreements

25 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the morning edition of Coding Blocks as we dive into what service level indicators, objectives, and agreements are while Michael clearly ne...

Site Reliability Engineering – Embracing Risk

11 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We learn how to embrace risk as we continue our learning about Site Reliability Engineering while Johnny Underwood talked too much, Joe shares a (scar...

Software Reliability Engineering – Hope is not a strategy

28 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's finally time to learn what Site Reliability Engineering is all about, while Jer can't speak nor type, Merkle got one (!!!), and Mr. Wunderwood is...

The Great Resignation

14 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We're living through the tail end, maybe?, of the Great Resignation, so we dig into how that might impact software engineering careers while Allen is ...

Minimum Viable Continuous Delivery

28 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We dive into what it takes to adhere to minimum viable continuous delivery while Michael isn't going to quit his day job, Allen catches the earworm, a...

#CBJAM 22 Recap

14 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have a retrospective about our recent Game Ja Ja Ja Jam, while Michael doesn't know his A from his CNAME, Allen could be a nun, and Joe still wants...

PagerDuty’s Security Training for Engineers, The Dramatic Conclusion

31 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We wrap up our discussion of PagerDuty's Security Training, while Joe declares this year is already a loss, Michael can't even, and Allen says doody, ...

PagerDuty’s Security Training for Engineers, Penultimate

18 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We're pretty sure we're almost done and we're definitely all present for the recording as we continue discussing PagerDuty's Security Training, while ...

PagerDuty’s Security Training for Engineers! Part Deux

04 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We continue our discussion of PagerDuty's Security Training presentation while Michael buys a vowel, Joe has some buffer, and Allen hits everything he...

PagerDuty’s Security Training for Engineers

20 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking our time as we discuss PagerDuty's Security Training presentations and what it means to "roll the pepper" while Michael is embarrassed in...

What is a Game Engine?

06 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With Game Ja-Ja-Ja-Jamuary coming up, we discuss what makes a game engine, while Michael's impersonation is spot-on, Allen may really just be Michael,...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Secondary Indexes, Rebalancing, Routing

22 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We wrap up the discussion on partitioning from our collective favorite book, Designing Data-Intensive Applications, while Allen is properly substitute...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Partitioning

08 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We crack open our favorite book again, Designing Data-Intensive Applications by Martin Kleppmann, while Joe sounds different, Michael comes to a sad r...

The 2021 Shopping Spree

25 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Mathemachicken strikes again for this year's shopping spree, while Allen just realized he was under a rock, Joe engages "no take backs", and Micha...

Should You Speak at a Conference?

11 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We discuss the pros and cons of speaking at conferences and similar events, while Joe makes a verbal typo, Michael has turned over a new leaf, and All...

Transactions in Distributed Systems

27 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Joe goes full shock jock, but only for a moment. Allen loses the “Most Tips In A Single Episode: 2021” award, and Michael didn’t get the invite ...

Docker Licensing, Career and Coding Questions

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Some things just require discussion, such as Docker's new licensing, while Joe is full of it, Allen *WILL* fault them, and Michael goes on the record.

Why Get Into Competitive Programming?

30 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We step away from our microservices deployments to meet around the water cooler and discuss the things on our minds, while Joe is playing Frogger IRL,...

Are Microservices … for real?

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We decide to dig into the details of what makes a microservice and do we really understand them as Joe tells us why we really want microservices, Alle...

2021 State of the Developer Ecosystem

01 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We dive into JetBrains' findings after they recently released their State of the Developer Ecosystem for 2021 while Michael has the open down pat, Joe...

What is GitHub Copilot?

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's time to take a break, stretch our legs, grab a drink, and maybe even join in some interesting conversations around the water cooler as Michael go...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Leaderless Replication

06 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We wrap up our replication discussion of Designing Data-Intensive Applications, this time discussing leaderless replication strategies and issues, whi...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Multi-Leader Replication

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We continue our discussion of Designing Data-Intensive Applications, this time focusing on multi-leader replication, while Joe is seriously tired, and...

Designing Data-Intensive Applications – Single Leader Replication

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We dive back into Designing Data-Intensive Applications to learn more about replication while Michael thinks cluster is a three syllable word, Allen d...

Some Fun APIs

24 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We couldn't decide if we wanted to gather around the water cooler or talk about some cool APIs, so we opted to do both, while Joe promises there's a W...

Making Money with Code

10 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We talk about the various ways we can get paid with code while Michael failed the Costco test, Allen doesn't understand multiple choice questions, and...

Write Great APIs

26 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We discuss all things APIs: what makes them great, what makes them bad, and what we might like to see in them while Michael plays a lawyer on channel ...

How to Scrum

12 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We discuss the parts of the scrum process that we're supposed to pay attention to while Allen pronounces the m, Michael doesn't, and Joe skips the wor...

What is Scrum?

29 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

During today's standup, we focus on learning all about Scrum as Joe is back (!!!), Allen has to dial the operator and ask to be connected to the Inter...

Show Recursion Show

15 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We dig into recursion and learn that Michael is the weirdo, Joe gives a subtle jab, and Allen doesn't play well with others while we dig into recursio...

Specialize or Bounce Around?

01 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's been a minute since we last gathered around the water cooler, as Allen starts an impression contest, Joe wins said contest, and Michael earned a ...

Why is Python Popular?

15 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We dig into all things Python, which Allen thinks is pretty good, and it's rise in popularity, while Michael and Joe go toe-to-toe over a gripe, ahem,...

Game Jam Lessons Learned

01 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We step back to reflect on what we learned from our first game jam, while Joe's bathroom is too close and Allen taught Michael something (again).

Who Owns Open-Source Software?

18 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We discuss all things open-source, leaving Michael and Joe to hold down the fort while Allen is away, while Joe's impersonations are spot on and Micha...

Our Favorite Developer Tools of 2020

04 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We start off the year discussing our favorite developer tools of 2020, as Joe starts his traditions early, Allen is sly about his résumé updates, an...

Into the Octoverse

21 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's the end of 2020. We're all tired. So we phone it in for the last episode of the year as we discuss the State of the Octoverse, while Michael prep...

We

07 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We discuss the things we're excited about for 2021 as Michael prepared for a different show, Joe can't stop looking at himself, and Allen gets paid by...

What is a Developer Game Jam?

23 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We learn all the necessary details to get into the world of developer game jams, while Michael triggers all parents, Allen's moment of silence is oddl...

The DevOps Handbook – Create Organizational Learning

09 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We wrap up our deep dive into The DevOps Handbook, while Allen ruined Halloween, Joe isn't listening, and Michael failed to... forget it, it doesn't e...

The 2020 Shopping Spree

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's our favorite time of year where we discuss all of the new ways we can spend our money in time for the holidays, as Allen forgets a crucial part, ...

The DevOps Handbook – Enable Daily Learning

12 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We dive into the benefits of enabling daily learning into our processes, while it's egregiously late for Joe, Michael's impersonation is awful, and Al...