Latest posts
- How Many Tokens Did You Burn TodayMay 27, 2026rss@idiallo.com
Early in my career, a manager at one of the big firms where I worked made a request so absurd it remains etched in my memory. I walked back to the team, repeated what he had asked, and couldn't finish the story without laughing. He wanted me to create a pie chart, of lines of code, per developer, per week. We all lost it. Our lead developer asked if, by any chance, the manager's eyes looked gl
- Amber Alert sends Spam URL?May 26, 2026rss@idiallo.com
Well that was weird. I just received an Amber Alert and the link led to a spammy looking website. Spam? The link leads to a 3gp file converter which is highly unusual. But the more I look at it, I have the impression it's a mistake. Most likely, they have exceeded the maximum number of characters for the Emergency Service alert. Here is the message: AN AMBER ALERT HAS BEEN ACTIVATED BY THE CALIFO
- The commencement speech that shook the worldMay 23, 2026rss@idiallo.com
There he was, the man at the helm of innovation. Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google. The man who once said, google doesn't need to record your conversation, it already knows everything about you. Yet he didn't see this one coming. In his speech, he looked clear-eyed into the crowd of graduates and told them that AI is inevitable. There was a group of people who will have a hard time joinin
- How to Talk to Your CoworkersMay 22, 2026rss@idiallo.com
You know you explained the same issue before in two or three different places, yet here they are asking again. Why don't they understand you? Why do they ask the same question when you've already given them the answer right there on Jira? Are they stupid? Lazy, maybe? Do they not take the time to read? I often hear this from developers. They write clear documentation and instructions, and peop
- Don't call yourself a Software Engineer, and other Career AdviceMay 18, 2026rss@idiallo.com
I can only imagine what it's like learning the skill of programming in this day and age. What does an average college class look like? What is the CS professor teaching? And students, how do you reconcile what you are learning vs the current job market? I know if I was a student today, I would at least attempt to make connections on LinkedIn to prepare for a future where I would need those con
- In the Empire's DefenseMay 17, 2026rss@idiallo.com
I didn't watch Star Wars when it was released. I wasn't even born. By the time we popped the cassette tape in the VCR, it was at least 15 years old. But I liked the movie all the same. It was not my favorite film by any means, but it was memorable. The first time you see Darth Vader appear on screen, you know this villain is not going to be easy to defeat. "Villain" because no one needs to tell yo
- It's funny because it's trueMay 14, 2026rss@idiallo.com
I made a joke online. Based on Internet upvote points, it was pretty funny. OK, I didn't come up with the joke, but it was a perfectly timed reference. A few days back, Cliff Stoll, of the Klein bottles, submitted a post on hackernews titled: Rumors of my death are slightly exaggerated First of all, I was surprised that Cliff frequents hackernews. Second, I didn't know that he was supposed to be
- Software engineers are obsolete... for nowMay 13, 2026rss@idiallo.com
In my first interview for a developer position, I shared a link to my personal project with the interviewer. It was a website for learning how to program. I created it from the ground up. I built the PHP app, designed the database schema, made a nice design to tie it all together. I wrote down my process, and it became the first tutorial on the site. Then I collected tutorials from all over the we
- We Are Not Going to Agree on AIMay 11, 2026rss@idiallo.com
On one hand, I know a developer producing 30,000 lines of code a month. On the other, I know a developer who says AI is stupid. Each swears by their stance and has evidence to back it up. One has a working product and the other has a broken one. The New York Times profiled Medvi and reported they're on track to make $1.8 billion this year. Clearly AI worked for them... if you ignore the allege
- Hi strangerMay 08, 2026rss@idiallo.com
I'm at home, sitting on the kitchen table. I just took my boys to school and I'm about to start my work. I'm writing this message directly to you. And you are reading it. Hello! Isn't that funny? I've been trying to write consistently, and it gives the impression that I am this serious person with some serious insights. But no, I'm just writing. Sometimes you respond, you send a nice email, o