Bookmark

Bookmarked https://www.xaprb.com/blog/you-guys/ .

This is another post you really need to read, if you haven't already, as it makes you really think about the way you communicate.

I know a lot of people who use the term 'you guys' as a gender-neutral term, but after reading this article it really helps persuade you that the term is actually not as inclusive as you think.

For a couple of years now I've been making an effort to use gender-neutral ways to address groups, and I hope after reading this you will too.

by Jamie Tanna's profile image Jamie Tanna . #diversity-and-inclusion #communication #guys.

 Note

Correctly using bookmarks (instead of reposts)

As I've embraced indie post types, such as reposts, I've noticed that actually I've been using them wrong.

Looking at https://indieweb.org/bookmark#Repost it appears I've been conflating a "retweet" on Twitter with a "repost", thinking they were the same. Alas, they are not, and it makes more sense to be a bookmark.

I've since updated the posts using the wrong type and will get things right next time!

by Jamie Tanna's profile image Jamie Tanna . #indieweb.

 Bookmark

Bookmarked https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/on-writing-well/ .

Being able to write semi-readable written text with technical terminology is a huge skill, and makes such a difference compared to not being able to write it.

I've found that since blogging more, my written language has gotten a lot better, and significantly makes my job easier.

I've worked with a number of brilliant engineers who can't explain themselves as well in written forms, which means commit messages and core pieces of documentation are difficult to understand.

Remember that you're never going to be the only person reading something, so make your content well thought out, re-read it and ask someone else to read through it to check it's OK.

by Jamie Tanna's profile image Jamie Tanna . #communication.

 Bookmark

Bookmarked https://www.vidarholen.net/contents/blog/?p=746 .

In every programming language, there is a linting tool that can help pick up on some common style issues. ShellCheck isn't one of those - it's so much more!

I've been using it for many years now, and since it came into my life it's honestly changed the way I use shell scripts. There have been so many pitfalls that I've avoided falling into since learning about them (and adding ShellCheck to my Vim linting setup.

This is a great read from Vidar, the ShellCheck author, about a case where it could've caught issues that caused the deletion of a production database!

by Jamie Tanna's profile image Jamie Tanna . #shell #command-line.

 Note

My first impressions with the Pixel 3A

Last week I replaced my OnePlus 3 with a Pixel 3A.

Both Anna (https://annadodson.co.uk) and I have been thinking about getting a new phone for a while, but as both our phones were doing fairly ok, and we didn't want any unnecessary expenses, we decided to keep an eye out but not yet get anything.

I'd originally heard about the Pixel 3A on the TechMeme Ride Home podcast (https://anchor.fm/techmeme-ride-home/episodes/Tue--0507---All-The-Headlines-From-Google-IO-e3v85p) which sounded really nice.

But then when I saw both Ed George ( https://twitter.com/Sp4ghettiCode ) and Graham Smith ( https://twitter.com/whoisgraham ) tweeting about the fact that they had just got one, I was very interested. As respected Android devs, I see them both as having done the research and know what they're doing - so it meant that I didn't have to do as much research, right??

I could've waited, in all fairness, but Google did a deal where you got a Nest Home Hub, too, so it meant the phone was effectively £280 instead of £400, and we all know I love a good deal. Unfortunately that it still in the box, as is the Google Home Mini I've got, but maybe one day they'll make their way out - we're an Alexa household currently, but are looking at being multi-platform.

So what are my opening thoughts, one week in?

  • The migration tool was pretty cool, especially being able to just connect up another phone and have it sync, but for some reason my Google Play Store decided not to download anything so that didn't quite work as expected
  • I had rooted my OnePlus 3 so I could get better privacy control over my device, but hadn't used much on the rooting side for a while, largely because Google are making it such a pain to do. I decided I wouldn't root this device quite yet, which means I'm able to use Google Pay - which so far I've done a couple of times and it's been pretty useful, but has just saved me getting my wallet out
  • Battery is much better than my two year old OnePlus 3, and the second day I had it I was tethering + playing music almost all day without it even running out of charge the following morning. Pretty decent!
  • I am however missing some of the convenience gestures I could use from the lock screen - turning the torch on quickly, and controlling my music
  • I'm a fan of the always-on display, especially as it prompts me with the upcoming calendar event
  • The fast charge seems to be on par with the OnePlus Dash Charge - again a big decided in whether I got it or not, as being able to quickly boost battery was very important
  • It has a headphone jack, so I'm happy
  • Booting is super speedy - not that I need to that often, but it's good to have!
  • I'm liking Android Pie, although I'm sad I no longer have the multitasking button so can't toggle apps as quickly
  • I bought an official case, which although a bit pricey was quite nice, and has a good feel to it
  • The camera seems to be pretty decent, from the few shots I've taken of our black cat, Morph

Overall it seems to be going well - hopefully it'll last as long as my OnePlus 3!

EDIT: And something I forgot to mention was that the fingerprint sensor isn't in my location. I'm very used to it being where the home button is on my OnePlus 3, and combined with the placement of the headphone jack on top, it means I'll regularly unlock my phone as I'm taking it out of my pocket, which is quite annoying.

EDIT: I also found the way to easily swap between apps is by swiping on the soft touch buttons, left to right. And by holding it for longer I can skip between multiple apps - nice stuff!

by Jamie Tanna's profile image Jamie Tanna . #android #phone.

 Bookmark

Bookmarked https://github.com/thoughtbot/guides/blob/master/security/application.md .

I found this when listening to episode 194 of the Bike Shed podcast: My PGP Shame. I'd only added this episode to my playlist as it was an interesting title, but listening to it, it was even better than I thought.

There was some great stuff in there about Thoughtbot's application security guide, linked, which is a definite must-read.

My favourite quote of the episode, though, is the following exchange:

I've got to be honest, how does anything work at all? Oh computers don't work

by Jamie Tanna's profile image Jamie Tanna . #security #podcasts.

 Note

Joining PHPMiNDS' organising team

I'm super excited to announce that I'm joining the organising team for https://phpminds.org/ !

Trawling back through the Meetup.com group for PHPMiNDS, I found the earliest time I marked myself as attending was November 2016.

I've never been a PHP dev, although I've dabbled for years. But I've always seen it as a great community, and have been attending for most months since then.

Attending tech meetups has always been about bettering myself, and learning more, and the talks at PHPMiNDS can absolutely be applied to my work, despite it being a different tech stack.

Before https://www.jvt.me/posts/2019/04/11/phpminds-april/ Shaun had mentioned to me about looking for another pair of hands with organising PHPMiNDS, and after a little bit of time to mull it over I decided I would definitely be interested in getting involved.

I'm really excited to start to help out Adoni (https://pavlakis.uk) and Shaun (https://shaunhare.co.uk) with organising the meetup, and I hope continue making it as awesome for others as it has been to me.

by Jamie Tanna's profile image Jamie Tanna . #announcement #phpminds.