The blog ofJonathan Pepin

Getting ready for any tech interview

2019-11-26

I just went through the process of getting a new job as a software engineer in the Bay Area and I consider that I've done quite well, despite how nervous I was about it. Quick stats for context: - Reached...

Notes from Winning Without Pitching Manifesto [raw]

2019-04-22

We Will Specialise If we are not seen as more expert than our competition then we will be viewed as one in a sea of many, and we will have little power in our relationships with our clients and...

Elixir Phoenix LiveView with a real world example

2019-03-20

Chris McCord recently released the code for the new Phoenix LiveView (https://github.com/phoenixframework/phoenix_live_view), which allows you to create interactive, real time templates, using server-rendered HTML - In other words, no Javascript needed! There's been a few examples floating here and there, and...

Next.js isomorphic fetch in getInitialProps

2019-03-02

I've enjoyed working with Next.js for a little while now, part of a project Jon&Jess (http://jonandjess.studio) is building for a client. The project has grown fairly in the past few months, including a custom Express backend, authentication and resource creation/editing and...

Notes from Never Split The Difference [raw]

2019-02-20

“How am I supposed to do that?” one of the FBI’s most potent negotiating tools: the open-ended question. While I wasn’t actually saying “No,” the questions I kept asking sounded like it. They seemed to insinuate that the other side...

The Jon&Jess logotype in css

2019-02-18

While we were working on the Joe Schmoe (https://joeschmoe.io) website, Jess asked me if it was possible to have a red dot on the "j" of each Schmoe's name, like in our logo. "No. You'd have to export SVGs for each...

React anti patterns

2019-02-03

Dan Abramov recently wrote a very nice article (https://overreacted.io/react-as-a-ui-runtime/) going deep into how React works, looking at it as a Runtime. It explains very clearly how things such as the virtual DOM and rendering work, and I can't recommend it enough....

Notes from This Is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn To See [raw]

2019-01-28

The answer to just about every question about work is really the question, “Who can you help?” Marketing is the act of making change happen. Making is insufficient. You haven’t made an impact until you’ve changed someone. Marketing is the...

On expectations, clarity and actions

2019-01-21

Like most, I like my house clean. So if I notice dust on the floor, I'm usually inclined to pickup the vacuum. But today is Monday and on Tuesdays our cleaners come. Knowing this I probably won't take care of...

2019 tech list

2019-01-20

For the sake of continuous learning and self improvement, I like to fix learning objectives for myself. I also like to try to learn new technologies, which I allows to discover new ways of thinking. This year is no different,...