Jake Worth ⚛️🌲
@jakeworth.com
That software engineer you know in Maine. I share daily learnings, essays about programming and management, and New England tech events. Organizer of MaineJS. https://www.jakeworth.com
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Jake Worth ⚛️🌲
@jakeworth.com
· 13d
🌲 I made a Bluesky Starter Pack of devs in Maine! We're a small community, and growing. Click that follow button, and let's get a conversation going!
go.bsky.app/6WrdHtm
go.bsky.app/6WrdHtm
I used to be like: "I'm a Rails dev, so my blog *has* to be a Rails app!" Nowadays, I'd pick whatever is the absolute easiest tool for me to write, edit, and deploy.
November 14, 2025 at 2:22 PM
I used to be like: "I'm a Rails dev, so my blog *has* to be a Rails app!" Nowadays, I'd pick whatever is the absolute easiest tool for me to write, edit, and deploy.
This week I shipped something new on the website: a user manual for working with me. Have you ever made one of these? Was it useful? Share in the replies!
www.jakeworth.com/user-manual/
www.jakeworth.com/user-manual/
User Manual
Working with me? Awesome! I built this user manual to share my working style and communication preferences.
For those interested in building their own user manual, here’s the guide that helped me.
🧭 W...
www.jakeworth.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:55 PM
This week I shipped something new on the website: a user manual for working with me. Have you ever made one of these? Was it useful? Share in the replies!
www.jakeworth.com/user-manual/
www.jakeworth.com/user-manual/
Tonight is the Maine JS Meetup! Join us at Novare Res in Portland for an evening of ECMAScript-compliant conversation and socializing. 🍻
www.meetup.com/mainejs/even...
www.meetup.com/mainejs/even...
November Social at Novare Res!, Tue, Nov 11, 2025, 6:00 PM | Meetup
Join us at Novare Res in Portland for an evening of networking, socializing, and JavaScript!
⏰ Timeline
6:00 - 8:00 PM: Refreshments / networking
8:00 PM: Depart (or not;
www.meetup.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Tonight is the Maine JS Meetup! Join us at Novare Res in Portland for an evening of ECMAScript-compliant conversation and socializing. 🍻
www.meetup.com/mainejs/even...
www.meetup.com/mainejs/even...
It's the Hashrocket Starter Pack! "Follow all" for insights from some of the smartest, most interesting folks to ever walk the streets of Jax Beach. 🏝️
go.bsky.app/ArMALD4
go.bsky.app/ArMALD4
November 7, 2025 at 4:20 PM
It's the Hashrocket Starter Pack! "Follow all" for insights from some of the smartest, most interesting folks to ever walk the streets of Jax Beach. 🏝️
go.bsky.app/ArMALD4
go.bsky.app/ArMALD4
🎉 Tuesday night, join us in the Old Port, Portland, Maine for an evening of socializing and JavaScript! Always a great group, and great conversation.
www.meetup.com/mainejs/even...
www.meetup.com/mainejs/even...
November Social at Novare Res!, Tue, Nov 11, 2025, 6:00 PM | Meetup
Join us at Novare Res in Portland for an evening of networking, socializing, and JavaScript!
⏰ Timeline
6:00 - 8:00 PM: Refreshments / networking
8:00 PM: Depart (or not;
www.meetup.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:56 PM
🎉 Tuesday night, join us in the Old Port, Portland, Maine for an evening of socializing and JavaScript! Always a great group, and great conversation.
www.meetup.com/mainejs/even...
www.meetup.com/mainejs/even...
This week, we ran an experiment: entire team voting on tickets to be included in an upcoming release! It was interesting.
Has anyone done this? What would you call it; participatory software planning?
Has anyone done this? What would you call it; participatory software planning?
November 7, 2025 at 2:53 PM
This week, we ran an experiment: entire team voting on tickets to be included in an upcoming release! It was interesting.
Has anyone done this? What would you call it; participatory software planning?
Has anyone done this? What would you call it; participatory software planning?
🌲 I made a Bluesky Starter Pack of devs in Maine! We're a small community, and growing. Click that follow button, and let's get a conversation going!
go.bsky.app/6WrdHtm
go.bsky.app/6WrdHtm
November 2, 2025 at 8:34 PM
🌲 I made a Bluesky Starter Pack of devs in Maine! We're a small community, and growing. Click that follow button, and let's get a conversation going!
go.bsky.app/6WrdHtm
go.bsky.app/6WrdHtm
Testing a feature or bugfix, make sure you aren’t trying to "catch it passing."
Okay: "Can I get it to work?"
Better: "Does it ever fail, even if I stray from the happy path?"
Okay: "Can I get it to work?"
Better: "Does it ever fail, even if I stray from the happy path?"
October 31, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Testing a feature or bugfix, make sure you aren’t trying to "catch it passing."
Okay: "Can I get it to work?"
Better: "Does it ever fail, even if I stray from the happy path?"
Okay: "Can I get it to work?"
Better: "Does it ever fail, even if I stray from the happy path?"
"Being fast" matters at the org level, too. Fast organizations fix little things. They experiment instead of talking. They deploy fearlessly because they know they can recover quickly from mistakes.
October 28, 2025 at 9:57 PM
"Being fast" matters at the org level, too. Fast organizations fix little things. They experiment instead of talking. They deploy fearlessly because they know they can recover quickly from mistakes.
💻 New England programmers: just a few weeks until our monthly Maine JS Meetup! We'll be socializing and talking JavaScript at Novare Res in the Old Port.
RSVP now!
www.meetup.com/mainejs/even...
RSVP now!
www.meetup.com/mainejs/even...
November Social at Novare Res!, Tue, Nov 11, 2025, 6:00 PM | Meetup
Join us at Novare Res in Portland for an evening of networking, socializing, and JavaScript!
⏰ Timeline
6:00 - 8:00 PM: Refreshments / networking
8:00 PM: Depart (or not;
www.meetup.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:51 PM
💻 New England programmers: just a few weeks until our monthly Maine JS Meetup! We'll be socializing and talking JavaScript at Novare Res in the Old Port.
RSVP now!
www.meetup.com/mainejs/even...
RSVP now!
www.meetup.com/mainejs/even...
My gratitude continues to deepen for getting to pair program with some very smart people early in my career.
It was challenging. I got a lot better, quickly. I still marvel at some of the techniques I saw.
It was challenging. I got a lot better, quickly. I still marvel at some of the techniques I saw.
October 27, 2025 at 8:47 PM
My gratitude continues to deepen for getting to pair program with some very smart people early in my career.
It was challenging. I got a lot better, quickly. I still marvel at some of the techniques I saw.
It was challenging. I got a lot better, quickly. I still marvel at some of the techniques I saw.
Tired: making a list.
Wired: making a list, then ranking it.
Here's why you should prioritize most lists that you make, at work and beyond.
"Always Be Ranking"
www.jakeworth.com/posts/always...
Wired: making a list, then ranking it.
Here's why you should prioritize most lists that you make, at work and beyond.
"Always Be Ranking"
www.jakeworth.com/posts/always...
Always Be Ranking
Anytime you’re making a list at work, rank it.
www.jakeworth.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Tired: making a list.
Wired: making a list, then ranking it.
Here's why you should prioritize most lists that you make, at work and beyond.
"Always Be Ranking"
www.jakeworth.com/posts/always...
Wired: making a list, then ranking it.
Here's why you should prioritize most lists that you make, at work and beyond.
"Always Be Ranking"
www.jakeworth.com/posts/always...
Anytime you're making a list at work, of anything, rank it. Tech debt? Security concerns? Feature requests? Rank them.
Rank them so that you do the important ones first. Those are the only ones you probably will do.
Rank them so that you do the important ones first. Those are the only ones you probably will do.
October 16, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Anytime you're making a list at work, of anything, rank it. Tech debt? Security concerns? Feature requests? Rank them.
Rank them so that you do the important ones first. Those are the only ones you probably will do.
Rank them so that you do the important ones first. Those are the only ones you probably will do.
Write acceptance criteria that actually work! AC that helps you:
- Build the “right Thing”
- Build the “thing right”
- Document
I also cover how to learn this skill as a team and individual contributor.
#ProductManagement
www.jakeworth.com/posts/accept...
- Build the “right Thing”
- Build the “thing right”
- Document
I also cover how to learn this skill as a team and individual contributor.
#ProductManagement
www.jakeworth.com/posts/accept...
Acceptance Criteria That Actually Work
Acceptance criteria, or AC, describe what a feature or bugfix does. Writing them is an art, and some AC work much better than others. So, how do we make them work? By including a little more detail.
www.jakeworth.com
October 2, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Write acceptance criteria that actually work! AC that helps you:
- Build the “right Thing”
- Build the “thing right”
- Document
I also cover how to learn this skill as a team and individual contributor.
#ProductManagement
www.jakeworth.com/posts/accept...
- Build the “right Thing”
- Build the “thing right”
- Document
I also cover how to learn this skill as a team and individual contributor.
#ProductManagement
www.jakeworth.com/posts/accept...
Fight to work on big things. When presented with the option of working on something big, like a new app or major new feature, or doing anything else, prefer the big thing.
You'll learn more, gain ownership, build patterns, have visibility, and context switch less.
You'll learn more, gain ownership, build patterns, have visibility, and context switch less.
October 1, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Fight to work on big things. When presented with the option of working on something big, like a new app or major new feature, or doing anything else, prefer the big thing.
You'll learn more, gain ownership, build patterns, have visibility, and context switch less.
You'll learn more, gain ownership, build patterns, have visibility, and context switch less.
There is always an argument against shipping. Be the person always arguing to ship.
September 30, 2025 at 4:48 PM
There is always an argument against shipping. Be the person always arguing to ship.
I'm trying to build a "Maine software engineer" Bluesky starter pack! If you you're a software engineer in Maine, send me a message.
September 29, 2025 at 4:06 PM
I'm trying to build a "Maine software engineer" Bluesky starter pack! If you you're a software engineer in Maine, send me a message.
Has anyone written a great guide to writing software bug and feature tickets? It's one area of our field that I see a lot of variance. #agile
September 26, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Has anyone written a great guide to writing software bug and feature tickets? It's one area of our field that I see a lot of variance. #agile
Yesterday, I vibe-code a Python CLI to delete typos, one-offs, sensitive items, etc. from your Zsh history. One of my favorite LLM use-cases!
September 23, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Yesterday, I vibe-code a Python CLI to delete typos, one-offs, sensitive items, etc. from your Zsh history. One of my favorite LLM use-cases!
Auto-formatters? No thanks; I type it all perfectly by hand, in a way nobody disagrees with.
September 19, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Auto-formatters? No thanks; I type it all perfectly by hand, in a way nobody disagrees with.
What are your favorite conversational LLM prompts?
I'll start: I'll share a blog post and ask: "What are the weakest parts of this argument?"
I'll start: I'll share a blog post and ask: "What are the weakest parts of this argument?"
September 19, 2025 at 2:54 PM
What are your favorite conversational LLM prompts?
I'll start: I'll share a blog post and ask: "What are the weakest parts of this argument?"
I'll start: I'll share a blog post and ask: "What are the weakest parts of this argument?"
In the next four weeks, you should go to a tech meetup.
September 17, 2025 at 12:03 PM
In the next four weeks, you should go to a tech meetup.
Working in Docker this week for the first time in years. This watch (+ sync and build) setting has been a game changer.
Docker Compose Watch
One of my projects features a Dockerized API. The dev process was: write a file, rebuild container, and restart container. There’s a better way!
www.jakeworth.com
September 16, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Working in Docker this week for the first time in years. This watch (+ sync and build) setting has been a game changer.
You’ve been given programming some work, and you’re stuck. Hours have become days. To make matters worse, you haven’t told anybody.
This is the solution.
This is the solution.
Raise the "I'm Stuck" Flag
Consider this scenario. You’ve been given some work, and you’re stuck. Hours have become days. You’ve exhausted the internet. You’re starting to backtrack, delete work, and start over. Feeling…
www.jakeworth.com
September 14, 2025 at 12:02 PM
You’ve been given programming some work, and you’re stuck. Hours have become days. To make matters worse, you haven’t told anybody.
This is the solution.
This is the solution.
I gave talk this week at Maine JS about the JavaScript MutationObserver API. It's really cool! Here is the app I made that demonstrates the feature.
GitHub - jwworth/mutation-observer-demo: Demoing Mutation Observers for the Maine JS Meetup
Demoing Mutation Observers for the Maine JS Meetup - jwworth/mutation-observer-demo
github.com
September 13, 2025 at 12:02 PM
I gave talk this week at Maine JS about the JavaScript MutationObserver API. It's really cool! Here is the app I made that demonstrates the feature.