Thoughts on why I still blog
An introspective post on why I started to blog and why I continue to do so.
Posts by Year
2022
Use Python and GraphQL APIs to add draft issues to a GitHub project
Leverage the gql library to add draft issues to an org level project.
Installing optional dependencies for Python libraries in zsh
Working around a zsh error when installing optional dependencies for python libraries.
Determine the file architecture for binary files
Notes on figuring out what operating system your file was intended to run on
Finding your GitHub org (beta) project ID
Quick notes on using GraphiQL to find your project ID
Mermaid.js is pretty, pretty, pretty good
My notes on trying out Mermaid.js for the first time.
Reference your GitHub code in a Markdown file
Create a stylized code snippet in your GitHub project.
Deploying a Rails application to Heroku
A bunch of notes after writing my first Rails application and deploying it to Heroku.
Joining Shopify
Two main reasons I chose to join Shopify
2021
15 lessons I learned from my time at IBM
Celebrating my last day as an IBMer by writing about a lesson learned for every year I was at IBM.
Creating a profile for a GitHub organization
Add some flare to your GitHub organization by following this guide.
Cloudera All-In-One
Spinning up a single node Cloudera Data Platform cluster.
Debug like a detective: The case of the abandoned app
With the help of John Walicki and David Carew, we go about bringing an old and abanoned application back to life.
YADPBP: Yet Another Docker to Podman Blog Post
My notes on the whole Docker to Podman migration
Overriding a GitBook theme
A few quick notes on how to customize the default GitBook theme
First impressions of using github.dev
Github.dev is a powerful online editor for your repo. Here are my thoughts on using it for the first time.
Use MacBook’s Touch ID as a Security Key for GitHub
A quick recap on how to add a security key as a 2FA option for your GitHub account.
Looking back at my IBM internship (2007-2008)
Today is national internship day and everyone is posting about it on social media. I take a trip down memory lane.
Comparing GitHub’s REST and GraphQL APIs
Moving from PyGitHub to gql and documenting the performance improvements.
A look at the numbers and analytics behind a tweet
Dig into how a tweet affected traffic to my LinkedIn profile and this site.
Using ldapsearch queries
To complement a previous post, a write up that includes ldapsearch instead of python-ldap.
More to come soon …
A post to remind myself to write more often.
Delete orphaned File and Block volumes on IBM Cloud
A quick bash script to run to list and delete orphaned volumes from Kubernetes clusters.
Announcing IBM Cloud Nuke
Nuke a whole IBM Cloud account and delete all its resources..
Keeping your code skills sharp
A short reflection on one month of daily-ish coding challenges.
VMs and Containers: Scale up vs. Scale Out
A fresh look at horizontal and vertical scaling for containerized and non-containerized applications.
5 things to include when writing about an accomplishment
Make those end of year reports less painful by remembering to include information that helps give context to the reader.
Using a Datastax database on IBM Cloud
Connecting and seeding data to the Cassandra based database
The most important factor to look at when looking for your next role
Make sure you’re not sacrificing tomorrow for today
Share Box links publicly
… and have them (almost) never expire
Use GitHub Actions for more inclusive words
Scrub problematic language from your repos
Poking around with the GitHub CLI
Jotting down my notes from playing around with the GitHub CLI
2020
5 Features I Like About Material for MkDocs
Having experimented with Material for MkDocs for the last few days, here, in no particular order, are five things I like about Material for MkDocs
Vim tips: Double Z and NERDTree
Tips from using Vim over the years
Announcement: New IBM Cloud Essentials course is available!
Read the details about the latest version of the IBM Cloud Essentials course that I helped create
Install DataStage with an Ansible Playbook
My notes for installing IIS 11.7.1.1 with Anisible
Install Information Server 11.7.1.1 (DataStage)
My notes for installing IIS 11.7.1.1 on RHEL 7
A spookily simple web app game
Made in about an hour for my four year old son.
Installing WebSphere Application Server 8.5.5 Fixpack 18
My notes for installing WAS 8.5.5 on Ubuntu 18
Use a dictionary … in Bash!
Yes, you read that right.
Populate a Cloudant database using Python
My notes for seeding a database with data stored in a YAML file
An overview of the new IBM Cloud Satellite distributed cloud
Motivations for moving to a distributed cloud and a new way to get started with it
OpenStack at 10: How it impacted my career and life
A love letter to OpenStack and how I owe it so much.
Using IBM App Connect as an Integration Engine
Leverage App Connec to integrate with MQ, Event Streams, and Cloudant.
7 developer advocacy events in 7 weeks
As it turns out, developer advocacy can be done digitally, too.
Mentor junior people
A reminder that it’s important to take time to mentor folks.
Use GitHub Actions to remove unused images from your repo
Remove .PNG, .JPG, and .JPEG files in your git repo with a GitHub Action.
Remove unused images from your git project
Remove .PNG, .JPG, and .JPEG files in your git repo with a bit of bash.
Lessons learned while using Python’s subprocess module
Changing directories and waiting for processes to return in Python.
GitHub Action to deploy to IBM Kubernetes service
A walkthrough of the code and infrastructure needed to use GitHub Actions and IKS.
Copying issues to and from GitHub and GitHub Enterprise
Using bash to move open source an internal project on GitHub Enterprise
Steve and JJ’s duct tape and bailing wire approach to managing IBM’s public GitHub org
A short description of our tools and motivation for manaing the IBM org on GitHub.
Create a license file for your GitHub repo in 4 clicks
Use GitHub’s license templates to quickly create a well structured license file in your repo.
CI/CD of serverless actions with Travis CI
Use Travis CI and the IBM Cloud CLI to continously deploy serverless actions
2019
Deploying an app to WebSphere Liberty
Step by step guide to getting an app to WebSphere Liberty
GitHub task automation with serverless actions
Invoke GitHub APIs with Python using IBM Cloud Functions
Navigating IBM’s Data and AI Products
A developer’s viewpoint on Watson APIs, Watson Studio, Watson Machine Learning, and Watson Machine Learning Accelerator
Use Watson APIs on OpenShift
Learn how to call Watson APIs when using the OpenShift platform
Contributing to Open Source projects: Googliser
Adding a new feature to a slick CLI tool – JFDI
Move a repo from GitHub Enterprise to GitHub
Using bash to move open source an internal project on GitHub Enterprise
Cleaning up multiple local git folders
Using bash to tidy up multiple git projects all at once
Adventures with IBM Kubernetes - Part 2
Lessons learned from my trials and tribulations using IBM’s Kubenetes service
Adventures with IBM Kubernetes - Part 1
Lessons learned from my trials and tribulations using IBM’s Kubenetes service
Updating IBM Cloud CLI plugins
CLI Adventures: The IBM Cloud CLI edition
Connect with Python LDAP library
The least amount of Python you need to write to connect to an LDAP
2018
Create a cloud native MERN application from a starter kit
An announcement blog for my latest Code Pattern, a MERN application
Integrating Watson Assistant with WordPress
How to integrate your Watson Assistant chatbot with WordPress
Create a next-generation call center with Voice Gateway
Use the Voice Gateway offering on IBM Cloud Private to orchestrate Watson services and Twilio
Learn how to create a Python web app that uses Watson Natural Language Classifier
My first take at using Watson’s Natural Language Classifier
IBM’s Watson Visual Recognition service to support Apple Core ML technology
Announcing that the Watson Visual Recognition service will now support Core ML
Learn how to power your Salesforce app with Watson
An announcement blog for the Salesforce and Watson code pattern
2017
Recapping AI and Data Analysis code patterns of 2017
An recap blog that recaps all the code patterns my team published in 2017
Introducing the all-new IBM Code How-To Guides
An announcement blog for introducing IBM Code How-To Guides
2016
OpenStack Keystone Newton Mid-cycle Recap
A recap of what went on in the OpenStack Keystone Newton mid-cycle meetup
Newton priorities for Keystone
A rundown of what will be doing on in the New priorities for Keystone
Creating a new virtual machine on Bluemix
A quick run down on how to spin up a new virtual machine on Bluemix, IBM’s Cloud Platform, in a few minutes.
Keystone mid-cycle recap for Mitaka
A recap of topics that were discussed at the Mitaka mid-cycle meetup
OpenStack development tips: Setting up a ZNC bouncer
A guide to running your own ZNC bouncer.
2015
Keystone Design Summit Outcome and Goals for Mitaka
A recap from the Keystone design summit and goals for the next release, Mitaka
Viewing Keystone CADF notifications with Ceilometer and RabbitMQ
Taking a hack at making sure Keystone and Ceilometer can talk CADF lingo
Keystone mid-cycle recap for Liberty
A recap from the keystone liberty mid-cycle in Boston
Debugging keystone tests and live deployments
Unit tests, functional tests, on a web server or eventlet, we’ve got you covered
Checklist for performing OpenStack code reviews
Best practices for getting reviewing OpenStack patches
Leveraging OpenStackClient as your unified command line interface
OpenStackClient (OSC) becomes an official project and releases v1.0.3
Welcoming oslo.policy into the OpenStack Oslo family
Where we officially announce oslo.policy graduating from the incubator