James Ebentier

Writing

How Automated Scans Saved Me From Disaster

Deep Dive web-development ruby-on-rails automation deployment

Learn how automated scans saved me from an SEO disaster after converting my site to a new platform. I'll walk you through the process of how I found the issues, what they were, and how I resolved them.

July 11, 2024 · 4 min read

The First Deployment and Cut-Over

Deep Dive web-development ruby-on-rails terraform deployment

The process and challenges of deploying a Ruby on Rails application to Heroku and transitioning a domain with zero downtime, using Terraform for infrastructure automation.

July 08, 2024 · 5 min read

Converting a Site from React to Rails + Tailwind Quickly and Efficiently

Deep Dive web-development ruby-on-rails project-planning

After getting a Rails base template configured and ready to go, the next step is to convert all the existing functionality of the application from the old React app to the new Rails app. This is the process I used to do that quickly and efficiently, as well as some of the less...

July 05, 2024 · 4 min read

My Rails Starter Template

Deep Dive web-development ruby-on-rails project-planning starter-template

The first step of any Rails project is getting the started template up and running. This is what my template looks like.

July 02, 2024 · 5 min read

How to Decide What is Necessary

Deep Dive web-hosting decision-making planning

One of the hardest parts of a project is deciding what not to do. Learn with me as I navigate this process while converting my site from a Single Page Application to a full-stack application.

June 28, 2024 · 7 min read

The Downsides of Single Page Apps

Deep Dive solo-development personal-sites cheap-hosting

Learn with me why single page apps are not always the best choice for your web application.

June 19, 2024 · 5 min read

Why Is Automated Testing Important?

Deep Dive automation developer-life-cycle solo-development

Automated testing is a critical part of the software development process. Learn why even as a solo developer, you should be writing tests for your code.

June 17, 2024 · 3 min read

Hosting Your Personal Site On AWS S3

Deep Dive personal-website aws-s3 aws-cloudfront terraform

Now that we know we want to host our personal site on AWS S3, we need to set up the bucket and the website. We'll also need to set up the bucket policy to allow the website to be publicly accessible. And a couple other things to make sure the website is secure. Let's dive in!

June 13, 2024 · 9 min read

Hosting a Personal Site on the Cheap

Deep Dive automation developer-life-cycle web-hosting

Most software engineers want to host their own personal website. A site that has their resume, social handles, something that distinguishes them from others, and possibly even a blog. Personal websites have become quite the norm for developers these days, but where is the bes...

June 06, 2024 · 4 min read

Editorial Guidelines

Note vs. Deep Dive

Note Deep Dive
Length Short (~< 500 words) Long-form (~1,000+ words)
Purpose A single thought, reaction, TIL, or link + commentary A worked-through system, argument, or lesson that teaches a reusable mental model
Cadence Frequent, low ceremony Infrequent, high polish
Artifacts Optional Usually code, diagrams, or worked examples
Role Keeps the site alive, shows personality The credibility engine for fractional work

Heuristic: If it teaches a reusable mental model or walks through a system, it's a Deep Dive. If it's a thought, reaction, or TIL, it's a Note. When in doubt, it's a Note — Notes can graduate into Deep Dives.

Keyboard bindings

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COMMAND mode (:) -- v1 commands. The registry is extensible: future commands (e.g. metrics queries) appear below automatically once registered, no template change required.