Main Thread
8 minutes
Fast Laravel Case Study: Laravel News
A technical deep dive into caching the most-requested Laravel News pages with Cloudflare.
Here's everything I've ever written, starting all the way back to 2008. Enjoy!
A technical deep dive into caching the most-requested Laravel News pages with Cloudflare.
2025 was the first "flat" year (no growth) in 10 years of Shift.
The complete story of flying around the world, first class - all paid for by Laravel and the Stock Market.
Asking myself why I decided to work on yet another side-project.
Coming to my decision to launch another side-project and key takeaways for working on side-projects.
A look back at my goals from 2023 and an outline of my goals for 2024.
A review of the personal finance decisions which increased my calm as an Indie Hacker running a successful SaaS.
A look back at my goals from 2022 and an outline of my goals for 2023.
The backstory for building a feature to spawn additional worker servers based on the job queue workload.
A look back at my goals from 2021 and an outline of my goals for 2022.
A review of growing my SaaS product to $1,000,000 in revenue over 6 years, both from a business and personal perspective.
The motivation and execution around building a PHPUnit to Pest Convert in one week.
A look back at my goals from 2020 and an outline of my goals for 2021.
A deep dive into the precedence of the various configurations when testing Laravel applications.
Install PHPMyAdmin alongside your local macOS development environment running Apache, MySQL, and PHP using Docker.
Have your Docker container prompt match your local prompt and add a simple emoji so you know where you are.
Interact with Docker containers by name using one simple, custom command.
A tutorial for installing Apache, MySQL, and PHP on macOS for local development using Docker.
Developers often choose to use inheritance. However, in Laravel, this may prove to be a painful decision.
Last week Shift had a database outage with a data loss of over 600 orders.
A look back at my goals from 2019 and an outline of my goals for 2020.
Test your controller actions use the expected middleware with a simple assertion.
A proposal of the top changes I'd like to see which streamline Laravel and a the developer experience.
Steps to configure PHP, Apache, and MySQL after upgrading from Mac OS X Mojave to macOS Catalina.
This is an update of a previous post to install Apache, PHP, and MySQL on Mac OS for macOS Catalina.
10 tips for crafting maintainable Laravel applications which leverage features of the Laravel framework while remaining easy to upgrade.
A review of a recent change to Laravel Shift as it relates to a recommendation for crafting maintainable Laravel applications.
Answers to 42 Git questions asked during a recent training I lead to guide a development team from git init to Git Master.
An outline of developing a feature practicing TDD, Outside-In, and YAGNI to demonstrate the intricacies of these practices working together.
Why upgrading your old Laravel applications is a waste of your resources with a pitch for Shift do it instead.
A guide for testing Stripe Checkout using Laravel Dusk to verify the most important piece of your application - accepting payments.
Tests provide confidence the code behaves as expected and confidence to refactor the code in the future.
A review of underutilized Laravel features found by Shift analytics and shared at Laracon US 2019.
Ways to reduce the cost of setting up your existing Laravel application for testing.
I woke up to 56 emails, 17 tweets, 9 Slack messages, and 4 telegrams. It was 7:07 AM.
An in-depth guide to using HTTP Tests to get started writing tests for your Laravel application.
An alternative approach to testing validation in Laravel which minimizes the number of tests required, while maximizing confidence.
Some insight in how I price my products and services, and the reasoning behind a recent price increase for Shift.
The second in a series on building products where I review steps done to grow a new audience for my upcoming product Optionality.
Some notes on the process of converting the static site generator I use from Jekyll to Jigsaw.
A look back at my 2018 dev goals and a lookahead at my dev goals for 2019.
The first in a series of posts on building products from the ground up.
Steps to configure PHP, Apache, and MySQL after upgrading from Mac OS X Sierra to macOS Mojave.
This is an update of a previous post to install Apache, PHP, and MySQL on Mac OS for macOS Mojave.
A set of 10 practices for writing code with a focus on improving readability and reducing complexity.
A unique analysis of data from Laravel Shift on over 8,000 Laravel apps.
How to identify the different forms of nested code and refactor them to more readable code.
A little backstory on the 5 development goals I set to achieve in 2018.
Why differences in test objects are often inconsequential and how abstraction can improve developer happiness.
Three more practices to write clean code and help improve code readability.
In an effort to provide on the go support for Laravel Shift, I created an SMS based admin using Nexmo and Laravel.
Exploring the various Git commands you can run when you make a commit on the wrong branch.
Additional references from my recent post "Writing Clean Code" containing motivation and practices for writing clean code.
Three simple practices to help write clean code and improve the readability of a codebase.
A closer look at the important difference between changing code and refactoring code.
The backstory for my plan to host an online workshop on Git.
I started invested in the stock market when I was 20. Over the past 15 years, I learned these valuable lessons.
Most high performance web sites optimize for the sad path. In this article, we address a way to optimize for the happy path too.
Advice on compensation, seeking raises, and determining when to change jobs shared from my own experiences.
A real world example of using git bisect to find a bug deep in my application code.
Some claim aliasing core Git commands is the "Right Way". It's not.
Why I believe Lumen is dying and what the future holds for Lumen.
A response to Adam Wathan's challenge that isolated unit testing is incompatible with TDD.
For some, git rebase falls on the magic end of the spectrum for Git commands. In this post, we'll take a closer look at git rebase.
A case for using Git from the command line instead of GUIs.
2 rules I follow for when to make commits.
Why I chose to pivot from a recent, successful product to a new product.
Announcing a platform for developers to build custom Shifts.
Some insight into three of the Git commands I use every day.
The pre-announcement of my new video series "Getting Git" - a comprehensive guide from git init to Git master.
A write-up of the code samples given during my "Practicing YAGNI" talk at ZendCon 2016.
This is an update for Mac OS X Sierra of a previous post on installing Apache, PHP, and MySQL for Mac OS X.
Steps to configure PHP, Apache, and MySQL after upgrading from Mac OS X El Capitan to Mac OS X Sierra.
How to upgrade or install a different version of PHP on Mac OS X.
A retrospective on creating Laravel Shift as it reaches its milestone of 1,000 Laravel applications upgraded.
A recent coding style I call the "Proximity Rule". Might be called something else, but I still like the code.
A summary of my talk at Laracon US 2016 on "Practicing YAGNI".
Going beyond mentoring or pair programming with personal development coaching in PHP, JavaScript, Objective-C, TDD, Git, and more.
A rant on the different stages a programmer reaches during their development.
Introducing Shift - a Laravel framework automated upgrade tool.
This is an update for Mac OS X El Capitan of a previous post on installing Apache, PHP, and MySQL for Mac OS X.
Steps to configure PHP, Apache, and MySQL after upgrading from Mac OS X Yosemite to Mac OS X El Capitan.
A retro after practicing test driven development for 100 days.
Finding the frequency of dates that satisfy a simple math equation.
Some initial thoughts after two weeks on a new team practicing extreme programming.
The time I left Steve in the Grand Canyon Years ago my college roommate and since long-time friend, Steve, and I hiked the B...
A rant for simpler, clearer communication.
A closer look at the practice of removing comments from code.
Back to the basics with just Jekyll.
Childhood fun that took a wrong turn.
A look at how the simple practice of "boyscouting" can improve your code.
A look at how the process of task driven development kills the craft of software engineering.
Got Slack? A look at what slack is, how slack is used, and why you need slack?
Tutorial for configuring Apache Virtual Hosts on Mac OS X.
This is an update for Mac OS X Yosemite of a previous post on installing Apache, PHP, and MySQL for Mac OS X.
A list of books culled over the years on the journey to improve my craft as a software engineer.
After 3 years of rejection, I am finally speaking at a PHP conference.
A distinction between failure and fuck ups.
Developers need to remember the Debugging Golden Rule.
A rockstar developer can't save you. Why? Because the developer gap.
Making the difficult decision to let PocketBracket, a successful app, fail.
The rules for turning Mario Kart for the Nintendo 64 into a drinking game.
Thoughts on the responsibilities of a top user on StackOverflow after a comment from another user.
The story behind launching my first project on Kickstarter.
A shell script to open GitHub from the command line.
A closer look at the methods employed by recruiters.
A proof on how you can convert <code>uniqid()</code> to a Unix timestamp in PHP.
A rant on my journey to become a real iOS developer.
A guide to interpreting and fixing PHP errors.
A post from my talk as MOSSCon about contributing to Open Source.
The time I bought a hatchet at the Home Depot in midtown Manhattan.
This post provides a basic checklist for common database debugging when developing with examples in PHP and MySQL.
An update to my solution for a multitenant WordPress install. With improvements in maintainability and extensibility.
A look at how <code>use</code> breaks PHP namespaces and why you should avoid using <code>use</code>.
A reflection on the core criteria of a good job after deciding to leave The New York Times.
A strategy for winning the Family Feud game show based on probability and extensive viewership.
While updating some legacy code to be backward-compatible I found that forward-compatibility was equally important.
A follow-up post reviewing the benchmarks performed during my recent migration from WordPress to Octopress.
An app developer's take on why Apple should buy Spotify.
A post on my recent migration from WordPress to Octopress as a return to simple blogging and a site with greasy, fast speed.
A response to a post on PHP Micro-Optimizations floating around the PHP community recently.
An evaluation of the argument 'Why [certain language] developers are better developers' and why it might be valid.
A review of our second Tough Mudder. This course in Kentucky. As well as a quick look at why I am a Tough Mudder.
The next installment of a series on how to be a better PHP developer, and better developer in general. This post covers PHP coding standards.
This post outlines how to install PEAR and PECL on Mac OS X.
I'm speaking at WordCamp Louisville 2012. I had a great time last year and look forward to presenting my talk from WordCamp Chicago – <em>21 Ways to Make WordPress Fast</em>.
This post outlines installing Apache, PHP, and MySQL on Mac OS X. In addition, I cover configuring Virtual Hosts and installing PHPMyAdmin.
This post outlines updating SVN for Mac OS X. I updated after realizing new apps used SVN 1.7 while Mac OS X Mountain Lion used SVN 1.6.
An unsolved, bedtime mystery from college.
When my sweet tooth lead to an embarrassing moment at the airport.
While talking about technologies and trends, I heard an interesting analogy - the difference between fashion & style as it relates to code.
A story from my childhood explaining why I don't give money to bums.
WordPress is slow. We know. It's on you to make WordPress fast. This post offers 21 ways to make your site and WordPress faster.
WordPress Multitenancy - a simple solution to a complex problem. This post covers creating a multitenant architecture for WordPress. Aimed at improving scalability and maintainability.
I'm speaking at WordCamp Chicago 2012. I had a great time last year and look forward to presenting my new talk – <em>21 Ways to Make WordPress Fast</em>.
After reviewing thousands of lines of code over the last few years, I compiled a list of simple tips to help you be a better PHP developer.
After interviewing with some top tech companies, I realized the difference between a developer and an engineer.
After my shared hosting plan expired, I migrated to Amazon EC2. My WordPress site now runs on a micro instance. Free for the next year.
The journal entry from the ninth day of my Georgia section hike through the Appalachian Trail.
The journal entry from the eighth day of my Georgia section hike through the Appalachian Trail.
The journal entry from the seventh day of my Georgia section hike through the Appalachian Trail.
The journal entry from the sixth day of my Georgia section hike through the Appalachian Trail.
The journal entry from the fifth day of my Georgia section hike through the Appalachian Trail.
The journal entry from the fourth day of my Georgia section hike through the Appalachian Trail.
The journal entry from the third day of my Georgia section hike through the Appalachian Trail.
The journal entry from the second day of my Georgia section hike through the Appalachian Trail.
The journal entry from the first day of my Georgia section hike through the Appalachian Trail.
The complete gear list for my Georgia section hike of the Appalachian Trail.
In May I set out a 14 day, 206 mile hike through the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail continuing on to the Great Smoky Mountains.
For years I searched for a PHP User Group in Louisville. No more. I'm starting the Louisville PHP User Group and leading our first meeting.
A look back on 4 years of developing, managing, and marketing PocketBracket - a March Madness app for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices.
Step by step instructions for installing and configuring AWStats on Amazon EC2, as well as a script that automatically configures and updates sites for AWStats.
A script that hashes password for existing user records when using CakePHP Auth.
After recently sharing my Netflix account with my parents, I noticed a missing feature I believe is common in shared systems: User Profiles. This post is a letter to Netflix requesting this feature.
This post covers installing, configuring, and deploying (Heroku) I/O Docs - a live interactive documentation system for RESTful web APIs developed with node.js and redis.
A rant after encountering unexpected sort order when using <code>minYear</code> and <code>maxYear</code> attributes to control options in an drop down. The solution involved an undocumented, and in my opinion unnecessary, attribute.
An article about our first Tough Mudder - the Tough Mudder Indiana at Badlands Off Road Park in late November 2011.
After scouring the web for days, this post aims to provide concise, central instructions for installing Node.js, npm, and redis on Mac OS X.
In two weeks I, as part of team #tigerblood, will accept the Tough Mudder Challenge - a 21 obstacle, 12 miles challenge course.
PHPMyAdmin 3.4 came with many UI changes. After a few months of using PHPMyAdmin 3.4, I'm weighing the pros and cons.
I came across some interesting behavior with CakePHP's Auth Component. The solution didn't align with the documentation or my understanding of the Auth Component's login redirect. This post covers the problem and my solution.
A follow up post from my talk on Configuring WordCamp for Multiple Environments at WordCamp Louisville 2011.
I'll be speaking at the 2011 WordCamp Louisville this Saturday, October 1st. This will be my third time speaking at WordCamp and second time for this talk – Configuring WordPress for Multiple Environments.
I've taken an interested in performance lately and heard about siege. The blog articled I found to install siege failed on the first step. So I decided to write my own in hopes it would help any non sysadmin developer that wanted to install siege on Mac OS X Lion. Although this should work with Leopard and Snow Leopard.
A follow up post about my talk on Configuring WordPress for Multiple Environments at WordCamp Chicago. It includes a link to the original blog post, slides, code samples, and a note about the proposed Unconference Talk.
A quick post on outputting the proper markup for guidance text using CakePHP's Form Helper.
Sharing my *moment* with WordPress and its dreaded "Error establishing a database connection" after updating the database.
My CakePHP project fell down a rabbit hole earlier after creating a custom app_controller and app_model from something that should have been a no-brainer. Hopefully this helps someone else.
I needed to perform conditional data validation in CakePHP for a project recently. This is a review of the internal options to do so and my own approach.
Some thoughts after a week with the new Apple TV and signing up for Netflix.
A rant on the recent competition between Facebook Places and Foursquare as it relates to intellectual property and the technical industry.
The process by which energy transfers between electrical devices and us.
A rant that revisits the most important and unfortunately most forgotten component of problem solving - root cause analysis.
For this year's 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament I updated PocketBracket with a new UI and several user requested features. To build the buzz in the ever competitive app market, I'm running an iPad Giveaway.
I constantly see headlines for articles that just whine about the lack of Flash support on the iPhone OS. This is my believe as to why Flash is not supported in the iPhone OS.
After an awkward elevator ride at the end of an already long day, I established an elevator etiquette.
A reflection on the routines I believe make me a good developer and look for in developers around me.
Some quick guidelines on how to keep your everyday work meetings from being a waste of time.
A description of my recent iPhone App - LastPlayed. Including development notes, marketing strategy, future direction, and an invitation for your feedback. Complete with a shameless plug for you to download the app for free.
Today I wrote my last IE6 hack, to overcome a common CSS bug, and I say good riddance to this nearly decade old browser.
As I didn't find a good DIY guide after a few Google searches, I wrote this post after installing a new trampoline on my 18' Hobie Cat.
An article about the process of creating my first iPhone Application - PocketBracket: March Madness. I revisit everything from development to marketing, and the story doesn't end there.
A JavaScript tab solution with a nice Scriptaculous Effect that uses semantic markup, CSS, and degrades gracefully.
So there are several accordion solutions out there. But after reviewing a few, I created this hybrid using lean markup, simple CSS, and the Prototype and Scriptaculous libraries which degrades better than its predecessors.
A rant on what diversity, particularly in the development community, costs in respect to advancement.
A specification for developing a functional CSS Organization and Minification tool that can be used to manage CSS files.
A Cookie class in JavaScript, using Prototype, allowing multiple data objects to be stored in a single Cookie. Class contains methods for data management and storage.
If you didn't guess from the title, this is my first article. What does it contain? A look back at the development of this site, of course. I outline the pieces of this site with general development tips.
An explanation on why I never adopted ColdFusion. Including a deeper look at several features, or lack thereof, that drive me nuts and some suggestions on how things could turn around.