Runtime Arguments

If you’re expecting AI to write entire programs for you while you sit back and watch, we're going to disappoint you right up front—that’s not what these tools do well, and chasing that fantasy will waste your time. But what if we told you there’s a tool that could help you interpret cryptic error messages, navigate tricky syntax in unfamiliar languages, write the documentation you always skip, and spot those needle-in-the-hays...

If you need to connect to remote networks, or if you are outside of your network and would like to connect into it, then almost certainly you need a VPN. In this episode we talk about various ways to connect and list some of the issues that you might run into.

Take-aways from the episode:

• There's a difference between a "VPN" and a "VPN Service"
• If you are looking for something simple allowing you to talk t...

Your programs can be better. There are lots of ways to make them better. It all starts with figuring out what matters and measuring it. Measuring it all the time. Measuring it more. This episode is about following that path.

Show notes:

Take-aways from the episode:

• Understand what you are optimizing for: (speed,memory,storage,developer, etc…)
• Measurement is job one, because that’s the only way to know where the money is a...

When setting up a new system there's many things to think about including choosing the filesystem. In this episode, we dive into all of the choices and describe the benefits of each.

Show notes

Things to think about:

1. For Linux, ext4 is the default for many distros and it's pretty good but btrfs has some really great benefits and you should consider using it.
2. For MacOS, the default is case-insensitive for filenames.  This ...

People throw around the term Functional Programming but it's not always clear what they mean. In this episode, we describe what it is and how you could already be doing it.

Show notes and things to think about:

1. Functional programing isn't academic.  It isn't overwhelming.  It isn't impossible to use.  It isn't inapplicable to ordinary problems like the ones you're solving right now.
2. You can use functi...

Web browsers and web sites have been around for quite a while. Javascript has been the language driving those pages but there's a way to write in a lower-level language and speed up the slow parts without losing cross-platform compatibility. That way is called Web Assembly (WASM). In this episode we dig into exactly what that is.

Show notes:

Take-aways from the episode:

1. If you have a compute intensive part of your w...

Lots of people talk about Cryptocurrency. It's in the news all the time but who really knows what it is? In this episode, we dig into it and explain what it's all about.

Show notes:

Take-aways from the episode:

• Crypto is not really anonymous
• Crypto is both regulated and taxed (at least here in the US)
• Legal uses of crypto outweigh illegal uses.  This stuff is legitimate.  There are dangers, but crypto is something you migh...

Have you thought about moving your computing into the Cloud?

This episode takes a look at a real-world adventure that Jim went through when moving his computing infrastructure from purchased servers in a rented rack in a datacenter to a VM Running in a cloud service provider using Docker, Linux, managed PostgreSQL. He covers the steps he took to get there, how it's going, the good stuff and the challenges in making it work.

Show...

There are many scams, some to get your password(s), some just for money.  Join us as we discuss a new way to protect your online accounts.

Show notes:

Lists of login methods:

• https://testdriven.io/blog/web-authentication-methods/ 
• https://www.logintc.com/types-of-authentication/

Who implements Passkeys?

• https://www.passkeys.com/websites-with-passkey-support-sites-directory
• https://fidoalliance.org/passkeys-directory/
• https://w...