Andy Ray's Blog

In Docker, we run processes in isolated environments, such as Rails applications or Node.js applications. Why, then, do Docker "image" files start with lines like FROM ubuntu? Are  containers running full Ubuntu operating systems? If not, why do we specify an entire operating system? For that matter, what does it even mean to "run an operating system? These instructions are tailed for MacOS users, but work for Linux users as well. Just replace Homebrew with your package manager. Let's install…

Three.js builds its shaders with a complex system of string concatenation based on data in your scene, like the current number of lights. Under the hood, at least as of r100, Three.js builds shaders using a function called initMaterial, which happens only at render time, if the material is new or needsUpdate is set. To get the Three.js running shader code without having to do a…

TL;DR I built my novel shader graph editor, ShaderFrog , on AWS and chose the "wrong" configuration. Learn from my easily avoidable ignorance and pain and Amazon's dark UI patterns. Trying out AWS When preparing to launch ShaderFrog I looked for cloud server options. I had a Rackspace server, but it was too expensive and I wanted to reduce costs. My only other experience was with scammy shared hosts like BlueHost, and I wanted to learn somet…

Do you want to send emails from your custom domain hosted on AWS? There's a few pitfalls that aren't well documented. The free, official "Check MX" tool will help you debug these issues, and you should use it, but it doesn't have Route53 specific instructions. 1. Log in to AWS and go to Route53 Log in to your AWS management console and find the "Route 53" (direct link ) prod…

TL;DR A charismatic founder doesn't guarantee company success. I acknowledge my privileged position of being able to scrutinize companies before joining them. Not everyone has that luxury. So You're About To Join (or Fund!) A Startup You're early in your programming career. You're young, excited, and looking for The Next Big Thing™. You passed the main interviews with a trendy startup and the final step is the company founder interview. In your one-on-one interview with the founder:  They're…

TL;DR React was open sourced in 2013 . Three years later, my blog posts still receive many false arguments about JSX. Let's get on the same page. "JSX Violates Separation Of Concerns" React is mainly the view layer. React is only the view layer . We're only in one…

TL;DR It took me a long time to understand Webpack and how it fits in the build process. This is what I wish someone had told me. What is Webpack? How does Webpack compare to Grunt, Gulp, Browserify, Brunch, etc? What's a "development server?" What on earth is require("coffee!./cup.coffee");? Stop it. Webpack is a build tool that puts all of your assets, including Javascript, images, fonts, and CSS, in a dependency graph. Webpack lets you use require() in your source code to point to local fi…

By following these steps, we'll learn how to create a custom keyboard shortcut to automatically spawn a set of windows and splits with processes running. Screenshot of the "Restore Window Arrangement" iTerm2 shortcutiTerm2 is useful software, but this process is complicated. I've attempted to document known pitfalls. How to Create a Custom Window Arrangement Close all iTerm2 windows. We'll use the "Save Window Arrangement" feature which saves all windows. Any windows open in the background wil…

TL;DR I tend to err on the side of believing someone who has experienced something I haven't, even if I initially disagree with it. Knowing vs. Understanding An audience member trying to ride a bicycle where the turning the handlebars left turns the bicycle right, and vice versa. The audience member is falling off the bike.The "Smarter Every Day" YouTube Channel released a remarkable video, The Backwards Bicycle . It features a bicycle with a gear th…

TL;DR This is what I wish someone had told me when I struggled learning Flux. It's not straightforward, not well documented, and has many moving parts. This is a follow-up to ReactJS For Beginners . Should I Use Flux? If your application deals with dynamic data then yes, you should probably use Flux. If your application is just static views that don't share state, and you never save nor update data, then no, Flux won't give you any benefit.…

Warning: This  post contains shirtless pictures of me. TL;DR Ketosis has treated me well. I share expected and unexpected results. Six Months of Ketosis In Part I I talked about what ketosis is and how to achieve it. In Part II I talked about my first month of complications. This post is about long term adaptation. When I last measured, my liver was still metabolizing fat and produci…

TL;DR I struggled for a long time trying to understand React. This is what I wish someone had told me. What is React? How does React compare to Angular, Ember, Backbone, et al? How do you handle data? How do you contact the server? What the heck is JSX? What is a "component"? Stop. Stop it right now. React is MAINLY THE VIEW LAYER. React is mentioned in the same breath as other Javascript frameworks, but "React vs Angular" doesn't make sense because they aren't directly comparable. Angular…

TL;DR This is a journal of my first month of ketosis. A quick recap of Part I : * Ketosis is when your body metabolizes fat instead of sugar as its primary fuel source. * To enter ketosis you must eat fewer than 50 grams of carbs per day for a minimum of two weeks, and ideally 60-80% of your diet is fat. * You can measure blood ketones with over-the counter-tests. * Ketones are the preferred fuel for organs like your brain, heart…

Content warning: Some anti-feminist quotes, and I make unspecific references to sexual assault. TL;DR I finally "got" feminism thanks to outspoken critics on Twitter, research, and watching many "well meaning" males complain about reverse sexism. Target Audience? If anyone, this post is targeted at my past self. I was a "well meaning" guy who would occasionally argue against feminism saying we should focus on equality for everyone, not one group. Focusing on equality for one group must be dis…

TL;DR I eat lots of fat to switch my body into metabolic fat burning. Uhhh...what? Ketosis is a state in which your body makes a fundamental metabolic switch from burning glucose (sugar) to burning fat as the primary fuel source. To enter ketosis you must restrict carbohydrate intake to less than 50 grams a day for a minimum of two weeks. Uhhh...why? There are many benefits to ketosis that will warrant another blog post. But I'll indulge you briefly: * Increased consistent energy * Profoun…

If you're going to indulge my writing on nutritional science, you should know where I stand on specific  issues. The most important thing when learning about a new subject is learning who you can trust. Every opinion below is based on research, but if it all reads as lunacy to you, then don't trust me. I won't cite any studies in this post. This is not to argue for a point. It's a lay of the land. What is my role in nutrition? I am not a doctor, practitioner, nurse nor involved in the medical…

Why might you need this? If you have file A, and every time you change A, file B gets rebuilt, and you have to commit file B, these steps will help you. These examples are written with Sass in mind. You should avoid committing built or compiled files to Git. Always try to fix that first. These steps are only a last resort. 1. Don't Show Minified CSS In Your Diffs Why: We don't want to see huge blobs of minified CSS when we run git diff.  We only care about diffs of the…