Ruben Martinez Jr.
LightNews LightNews
banner
ruben.codes
Ruben Martinez Jr.
@ruben.codes
220 followers 730 following 200 posts
📱 Staff iOS Engineer
💜 Breaking hearts/code at OkCupid
📸 Occasional photographer (@rmj.portraits on IG)
📚 Bibliophile (@rubencodes on Goodreads)
🐻‍❄️ Bowdoin ‘15
🐱 Cat dad
📍 Brooklyn
💬 He/Him 🏳️‍🌈
Posts Replies Media Videos
ruben.codes
My side project the last few weeks: I built an app for easily cataloguing your personal library! It’s called readme, and it’s available on iOS and macOS! apps.apple.com/us/app/readm...
Picture of a phone screen showing a list of books with related tags and a search bar. The caption reads “readme: Your library, now browsable on the go!” Picture of a phone. The app reads “Scan ISBN” and “Scan an ISBN barcode, then tap it to add to your library (hint: you can usually find it on the back of your book)” above a camera viewfinder. Below, the app reads “No ISBN? Search by title or author”. The picture is captioned “Quickly scan in your entire collection”. A split screenshot captioned “Tag books to keep them organized”. The top shows a list of tags, while the bottom shows a book description. A screenshot of a phone captioned “Showcase your favorites right on your Home Screen”. The screenshot shows two different sized widgets, showing lists of books.
August 30, 2025 at 12:04 AM
ruben.codes
Loved this view of Fenway Park at The Lumineers concert this weekend 🤩 Straight off my Leica Q3 #photography
A packed nighttime crowd at Fenway Park at The Lumineers concert as seen from the turf, with thousands of people visible by their blue light-up wristbands, creating a sea of twinkling illumination. The iconic Fenway Park sign is visible in the background, with a U.S. flag flying above it. The sky is dark, and the stadium seating is filled to capacity with glowing lights throughout.
July 20, 2025 at 12:37 PM
ruben.codes
Genuinely starting to consider whether I should open an Etsy store for all the stickers I make 😂
A journal page with four sticker; from top to bottom: 1. a pink square sticker with rounded edges and a sparkly finish reading “The product does not wish to be managed.” in white text and a serif font. 2. a pink circular sticker with a holographic finish reading “softcore tech bros” in silver text and a bold lowercase cursive font with a thin orange shadow and a thicker black shadow. 3. a heart-shaped sticker in a light purple color and a sparkly finish reading “Por que no los dos?” in the colors of the bisexual pride flag and an uppercase serif font. 4. a pink/purple rounded rectangle sticker with a soft holographic finish reading “DO NOT DISTURB (I’m creating shareholder value)”. A journal page with four sticker; from top to bottom: 1. a black rounded rectangle with a white border sticker with a sparkly finish reading “LGTM” in white text on the first line and “LOOKS GAY TO ME” in white text on the second line next to a square pride flag with a checkmark overlayed. 2. a capsule-shaped black sticker reading “Commit to me, Daddy 💅” next to the GitHub octocat logo all in pink. 3. a sticker cut to the shape of the word “JANK” in silver text and a pixel font with janky irregularities. 4. a rounded rectangle sticker in a light greenish background. In the foreground, a red banner with greenish text reading “NOTICE” in a large pixel font. On the bottom part, it reads “THE PERKS WILL BE REMOVED UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES” in smaller black text and a pixel font. A journal page with three sticker; from top to bottom: 1. a blue rounded rectangle sticker with text reading “VERY HEAVY INTO TRANSGENDER” in a bold font with text the color of the transgender pride flag. 2. a sticker with a silver background in a soft holographic finish reading “NOT TODAY SATAN” in black text with each word on a new line. The word “NOT” has a red line through it. 3. a pink rounded rectangle sticker reading “MORALE” in filled white font and “FEWER PROBLEMS” in a smaller outlined white font.
May 29, 2025 at 12:55 AM
ruben.codes
I love looking at my OkCupid iOS repo commit chart because you can see that one time I cosplayed as an iOS engineer in 2019 vs now when it's my real job.
A GitHub contributions bar graph for the user “rubencodes” showing a total of 646 commits. The graph shows few small bars around 2019, a noticeable uptick beginning in 2023, and steadily increasing contributions peaking in 2025.
May 6, 2025 at 1:29 PM
ruben.codes
Been a lil while since I sobbed this hard at a Broadway show! A must-see.
April 12, 2025 at 3:18 AM
ruben.codes
jj kinda day 🥃
Closeup photo of Ulysses chapter 7. The backdrop is an out of focus bar setting.
March 4, 2025 at 2:24 AM
ruben.codes
Some more of my favorite shots from this set 📸 #photography
Two young women sit closely together in warm, golden sunlight streaming through a window. One woman, wearing a black tank top and cargo jeans, leans against the other, who is dressed in a black long-sleeve top. The atmosphere is intimate and relaxed, with soft shadows and reflections visible in the glass behind them. A woman reclines on a cushioned window seat, bathed in warm, golden light. She wears a delicate, lace-trimmed white dress with thin straps, her gaze directed thoughtfully out the window. The soft focus of the background, filled with blurred trees and natural light, enhances the dreamy, intimate atmosphere. Two women dressed in flowing white garments rest together on the floor near a window, their foreheads gently touching. One leans against a cushioned chair while the other lies beside her, their expressions soft and serene. The warm, natural light enhances the intimate and tranquil atmosphere, with vintage-inspired textures surrounding them.
March 3, 2025 at 9:04 PM
ruben.codes
Using this from now on to respond to PRs I don't love.
John Lithgow in the audience looking not angry, but slightly disappointed
March 3, 2025 at 2:49 AM
ruben.codes
Idea I prototyped with SwiftUI this morning: a toggle to switch from a card stack to scrollable list of profiles.
February 28, 2025 at 8:51 PM
ruben.codes
Had a blast shooting with @astridkallsen.bsky.social & @modeladventurer.bsky.social 📸
Astrid balances on a wooden swing wearing a black turtleneck and dark-wash jeans; she's holding binoculars while looking out the window as sunlight shines in on her Ciara wears a black bodysuit while staring towards the camera; her long wavy bronze hair covers one eye while the sun bathes her profile in light from the right.
January 24, 2025 at 8:38 PM
ruben.codes
Big year for me + LEGOs so far 👷‍♂️🔧🚧
Lego Mona Lisa Lego “tranquil garden” Lego plum tree
January 10, 2025 at 12:31 PM
ruben.codes
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say “hotter fire bad” and “easier to extinguish fire good” theconversation.com/lithium-ion-...
Battery-powered vehicles account for a small share of car fires, but controlling EV fires is difficult. Typically, an EV fire burns at roughly 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 Celsius), while a gasoline-powered vehicle on fire burns at 1,500 F (815 C). It takes about 2,000 gallons of water to extinguish a burning gasoline-powered vehicle; putting out an EV fire can take 10 times more.
January 2, 2025 at 12:56 PM
ruben.codes
Some recent photos 📸
Warm black and white photo of a blonde woman in a cheetah print dress and a large fur coat walks down the sidewalk of a street in DUMBO pulling a suitcase in one hand and carrying a purse in another, the manhattan bridge in the background. Black and white photo of a blonde woman wearing sunglasses and in a cheetah print dress wrapped in a fur coat half curled up on a couch next to a large window. A blonde woman sitting atop a kitchen island wearing a silver dress and black boots. She is smiling and partially in motion, one leg and her arms raised in the air.
December 18, 2024 at 3:49 AM
ruben.codes
literally who thought this was a good idea
Message below a form email input: "We updated a common typo in your email. If this was incorrect, you can revert now."
December 6, 2024 at 9:44 PM
ruben.codes
Yesterday evening, Eleven Madison Park very graciously offered my dinner party the opportunity to take a tour of the kitchen (I was thrilled), and then had our coats ready for us as we walked out & afterwards we were like wait… did we just get kicked out in the classiest most polite way possible? 😂
Picture of the industrial kitchen at Eleven Madison Park Picture of the staging area for desserts at Eleven Madison Park
November 29, 2024 at 12:12 PM
ruben.codes
Might make baking marranitos my own personal thanksgiving tradition 🤤
A plastic container with pig-shaped molasses cookies.
November 27, 2024 at 6:49 PM
ruben.codes
I only take my friends to the nicest of places 😌
Screenshot of a text message reading “And yes if you feel like you’re about to get axe murdered by Santa himself you’re in the right place”
November 23, 2024 at 1:59 PM
ruben.codes
"Jesus, I see what you've done for other people, and I want that for me."
November 20, 2024 at 1:22 AM
ruben.codes
Someone told me they wanted Spotify Wrapped but for Slack emoji... and I took that personally.

✨ Emoji Wrapped ✨

Now on GitHub, coming soon to the Chrome Web Store github.com/rubencodes/E... 📊
Screenshot of Slack's "Customize Your Workspace" page with Emoji Wrapped stats at the top. "This year, you used... 650 different Slack Emoji!" "Some of your ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ favorites were... :thankyou: (209 times) :wow: (129 times) :laugh-cry-vibrate: (98 times)" "Your most rarely used emoji 🔎 :cyclone-intensifies: (1 time) :holymoly: (1 time) :dabbing: (1 time)" "The people you most often reacted to 👯 <user image> (209 reactions) <user image> (129 reactions) <user image> (113 reactions)" "Your 🔝 reactions to them were... :bear_waves: (13 times) :cool-doge: (11 times) :thonk: (9 times)" "These new emoji caught your 👀 :thankyou: (209 times) :done: (11 times) :lets_go: (6 times)"
November 19, 2024 at 11:05 PM
ruben.codes
puffy chonker reporting for duty 🫡
November 19, 2024 at 1:35 PM
ruben.codes
arrived at maple-mate.com from a podcast ad, and, wow no notes chef kiss
“Fall for a Canadian. Fall in love with us.” “America, we'd love for you to have a first date with pure maple syrup. So we're paying for your first brunch date with a Canadian. Match on your favourite dating app. Go to brunch. Indulge in maple syrup. And brunch happily ever after.
November 18, 2024 at 4:16 PM
ruben.codes
I do not, as a general rule, drink lattes, but I desperately want to master the latte so I guess I drink lattes now.
Picture of a mug with a latte in front of an espresso machine.
November 18, 2024 at 3:59 PM
ruben.codes
Being sick in bed yesterday reading Liars by Sarah Manguso was honestly impeccable vibes. 10/10 #BookSky 💙📚
Picture of cat on my bed next to a closed copy of Liars by Sarah Manguso with my reading glasses on top.
November 18, 2024 at 3:25 PM
ruben.codes
Best set of lines in a movie ever change my mind 📣
Danny Ocean: “Does he make you laugh?” Tess: “He doesn’t make me cry.”
November 18, 2024 at 2:01 AM
ruben.codes
“The hottest thing a guy can do is fold a fitted sheet,” I gently mumble to myself while doing laundry 😤
A poorly folded fitted sheet
November 17, 2024 at 7:09 PM