Steve Oxley
@stevenoxley.com
If you’re a software engineer, which would you rather work on - a greenfield project or a software system migration? If you’re looking to further career, you may want to consider the migration. I explore some reasons why in my latest article: www.stevenoxley.com/blog/2025/10...
October 29, 2025 at 11:29 PM
If you’re a software engineer, which would you rather work on - a greenfield project or a software system migration? If you’re looking to further career, you may want to consider the migration. I explore some reasons why in my latest article: www.stevenoxley.com/blog/2025/10...
I wrote an article about how to influence software architecture (and decision-making more generally). Check out “How to Influence Architecture .” See if you agree or if you have better ideas. stevenoxley.com/blog/2025/10...
October 9, 2025 at 8:15 PM
I wrote an article about how to influence software architecture (and decision-making more generally). Check out “How to Influence Architecture .” See if you agree or if you have better ideas. stevenoxley.com/blog/2025/10...
I finished reading Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman. Here is my three sentence summary: (1/2)
September 30, 2025 at 3:58 PM
I finished reading Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman. Here is my three sentence summary: (1/2)
A few weeks ago I finally captured a POV of a run down the Return to Sender trail on Canfield mountain. I just got to where I could clear every jump on this trail last summer, and in this video I linked them all together in a single run!
youtu.be/fjwkn3UqQyc
youtu.be/fjwkn3UqQyc
Cancourse Return to Sender
YouTube video by Steven Oxley
youtu.be
August 28, 2025 at 6:15 PM
A few weeks ago I finally captured a POV of a run down the Return to Sender trail on Canfield mountain. I just got to where I could clear every jump on this trail last summer, and in this video I linked them all together in a single run!
youtu.be/fjwkn3UqQyc
youtu.be/fjwkn3UqQyc
I finished reading Release It! by Michael Nygard recently. It was a great read - highly recommended - and triggered a number of thoughts which I explore in this article: www.stevenoxley.com/blog/2025/08...
August 26, 2025 at 3:07 PM
I finished reading Release It! by Michael Nygard recently. It was a great read - highly recommended - and triggered a number of thoughts which I explore in this article: www.stevenoxley.com/blog/2025/08...
I included some reader comments in my latest article about how to apply the principle of production purpose. See what other people think in Speed? Stability? or Making 💰? How to clarify software priorities: www.stevenoxley.com/blog/2025/08...
Speed? Stability? or Making 💰? How to clarify software priorities | Bytes and Bikes
www.stevenoxley.com
August 8, 2025 at 9:34 PM
I included some reader comments in my latest article about how to apply the principle of production purpose. See what other people think in Speed? Stability? or Making 💰? How to clarify software priorities: www.stevenoxley.com/blog/2025/08...
I finished listening to the book Buy Then Build this morning. I felt like the author was trying to make acquisition entrepreneurship sound easy while saying stuff like, You only need $100k down! (1/2)
August 7, 2025 at 3:20 AM
I finished listening to the book Buy Then Build this morning. I felt like the author was trying to make acquisition entrepreneurship sound easy while saying stuff like, You only need $100k down! (1/2)
How do you resolve distractions so that you can focus on what I like to call your main quest? I explore the options in this article: www.stevenoxley.com/blog/2025/07...
Conquer Your Main Quest | Bytes and Bikes
www.stevenoxley.com
July 30, 2025 at 6:22 PM
How do you resolve distractions so that you can focus on what I like to call your main quest? I explore the options in this article: www.stevenoxley.com/blog/2025/07...
Reposted by Steve Oxley
We ran a randomized controlled trial to see how much AI coding tools speed up experienced open-source developers.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
July 10, 2025 at 7:47 PM
We ran a randomized controlled trial to see how much AI coding tools speed up experienced open-source developers.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
The results surprised us: Developers thought they were 20% faster with AI tools, but they were actually 19% slower when they had access to AI than when they didn't.
I have fully collected and analyzed the results of my polls about how long people are waiting for code review. I wrote up my report here: nudgsicle.com/articles/cod...
How Long Does (Should) Code Review Take?
I recently ran polls across my social media accounts, asking people what their typical wait time for code review is.
(The polls can be found on Mastodon, LinkedIn, and X.)
I had a total of ten respond...
nudgsicle.com
June 6, 2025 at 7:02 PM
I have fully collected and analyzed the results of my polls about how long people are waiting for code review. I wrote up my report here: nudgsicle.com/articles/cod...
Does expired bear spray put the bear at risk of food poisoning?
#ShowerThoughts
#ShowerThoughts
May 29, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Does expired bear spray put the bear at risk of food poisoning?
#ShowerThoughts
#ShowerThoughts
I recently purchased some foam dart guns for my... kids. They are as fun as I hoped. I’ll share more, but I can highly recommend these blasters:
nerf.fandom.com/wiki/Spectrum
nerf.fandom.com/wiki/Racer
dartzoneblasters.com/product/desp...
And strongly warn against...(1/2)
nerf.fandom.com/wiki/Spectrum
nerf.fandom.com/wiki/Racer
dartzoneblasters.com/product/desp...
And strongly warn against...(1/2)
May 22, 2025 at 3:59 PM
I recently purchased some foam dart guns for my... kids. They are as fun as I hoped. I’ll share more, but I can highly recommend these blasters:
nerf.fandom.com/wiki/Spectrum
nerf.fandom.com/wiki/Racer
dartzoneblasters.com/product/desp...
And strongly warn against...(1/2)
nerf.fandom.com/wiki/Spectrum
nerf.fandom.com/wiki/Racer
dartzoneblasters.com/product/desp...
And strongly warn against...(1/2)
New discussion questions for Release It! are live on Kook Book Nook. It’s a good book; you should come read it with us ;)
kookbooknook.com/t/what-do-yo...
kookbooknook.com/t/what-level...
kookbooknook.com/t/whats-the-...
#ReleaseItBookClub
(from: stevenoxley.com/mb/kook-book...)
kookbooknook.com/t/what-do-yo...
kookbooknook.com/t/what-level...
kookbooknook.com/t/whats-the-...
#ReleaseItBookClub
(from: stevenoxley.com/mb/kook-book...)
What do you hope to get out of reading Release It? [Preface]
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your current mindset and goals for changing that. I’ve definitely experience myself a tendency towards thinking more about the structure of code and modularity rather than thinking about the code actually running and operating it in production. I think there’s definitely a balance there but as a developer it can be all too easy to overindex on development and maintenance rather than operations and availability. Is that what you mean?
kookbooknook.com
May 22, 2025 at 3:57 PM
New discussion questions for Release It! are live on Kook Book Nook. It’s a good book; you should come read it with us ;)
kookbooknook.com/t/what-do-yo...
kookbooknook.com/t/what-level...
kookbooknook.com/t/whats-the-...
#ReleaseItBookClub
(from: stevenoxley.com/mb/kook-book...)
kookbooknook.com/t/what-do-yo...
kookbooknook.com/t/what-level...
kookbooknook.com/t/whats-the-...
#ReleaseItBookClub
(from: stevenoxley.com/mb/kook-book...)
Is this the future?
“Siri, I’d like to watch a 10 episode, hour-per-episode show. Use the books I’ve been reading recently for inspiration (I especially like the sci-fi one you generated for me last week), but try to surprise me... (1/2)
“Siri, I’d like to watch a 10 episode, hour-per-episode show. Use the books I’ve been reading recently for inspiration (I especially like the sci-fi one you generated for me last week), but try to surprise me... (1/2)
May 14, 2025 at 4:15 AM
Is this the future?
“Siri, I’d like to watch a 10 episode, hour-per-episode show. Use the books I’ve been reading recently for inspiration (I especially like the sci-fi one you generated for me last week), but try to surprise me... (1/2)
“Siri, I’d like to watch a 10 episode, hour-per-episode show. Use the books I’ve been reading recently for inspiration (I especially like the sci-fi one you generated for me last week), but try to surprise me... (1/2)
I was recently on a walk with my 2 year old daughter. We were having a pleasant time. I said to her, “I’m glad to have you around. I like you.”
To which she responded, “I know. Where’s mommy?”
(from: stevenoxley.com/mb/convos-wi...)
To which she responded, “I know. Where’s mommy?”
(from: stevenoxley.com/mb/convos-wi...)
May 10, 2025 at 12:15 AM
I was recently on a walk with my 2 year old daughter. We were having a pleasant time. I said to her, “I’m glad to have you around. I like you.”
To which she responded, “I know. Where’s mommy?”
(from: stevenoxley.com/mb/convos-wi...)
To which she responded, “I know. Where’s mommy?”
(from: stevenoxley.com/mb/convos-wi...)
Trying Dlvr.it for Social Syndication
Trying Dlvr.it for Social Syndication
I decided to try out dlvr.it for syndicating the RSS feed from my microblog on my website to my social media accounts. There are two main things I’m interested in:
* how does it handle links?
* how does it handle threads?
* how does it handle HTML like this unordered list?
There doesn’t appear to be any customization. And I think this microblog post should prove a good test. We will see how it goes!
dlvr.it
May 2, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Trying Dlvr.it for Social Syndication
I’ve been reading the book Release It, and I’ve started putting discussion questions on Kook Book Nook. The first few topics to discuss the book are already up: kookbooknook.com/tag/release-it. Come read with me! Also there’s a 40% discount to buy the book...
April 23, 2025 at 8:56 PM
I’ve been reading the book Release It, and I’ve started putting discussion questions on Kook Book Nook. The first few topics to discuss the book are already up: kookbooknook.com/tag/release-it. Come read with me! Also there’s a 40% discount to buy the book...
I’m relaunching the Release It! book club on kookbooknook.com (yes, the name is kooky on purpose). Come join me and let’s learn from each other and have some fun along the way.
Click this link to get started: kookbooknook.com/t/new-book-c...
#ReleaseItBookClub
Click this link to get started: kookbooknook.com/t/new-book-c...
#ReleaseItBookClub
Kook Book Nook
Discuss books as you read them.
kookbooknook.com
April 18, 2025 at 1:41 AM
I’m relaunching the Release It! book club on kookbooknook.com (yes, the name is kooky on purpose). Come join me and let’s learn from each other and have some fun along the way.
Click this link to get started: kookbooknook.com/t/new-book-c...
#ReleaseItBookClub
Click this link to get started: kookbooknook.com/t/new-book-c...
#ReleaseItBookClub
I’m not into baking. But now that I have been diagnosed with celiac disease, I have figured out how to make (actually good) gluten-free bread at home, and if you’re like me, you might want to save some money and do it, too. Here’s the recipe: stevenoxley.com/blog/2025/03....
Go-to Gluten Free Bread | Bytes and Bikes
stevenoxley.com
March 27, 2025 at 2:13 PM
I’m not into baking. But now that I have been diagnosed with celiac disease, I have figured out how to make (actually good) gluten-free bread at home, and if you’re like me, you might want to save some money and do it, too. Here’s the recipe: stevenoxley.com/blog/2025/03....
In Release It! chapter 3, Nygard makes distinctions between faults, errors, and failures:
- Fault: “A condition that creates an incorrect internal state in your software.”
- Error: “Visibly incorrect behavior.”
- Failure: “An unresponsive system.”
(1/3)
- Fault: “A condition that creates an incorrect internal state in your software.”
- Error: “Visibly incorrect behavior.”
- Failure: “An unresponsive system.”
(1/3)
March 26, 2025 at 1:57 PM
In Release It! chapter 3, Nygard makes distinctions between faults, errors, and failures:
- Fault: “A condition that creates an incorrect internal state in your software.”
- Error: “Visibly incorrect behavior.”
- Failure: “An unresponsive system.”
(1/3)
- Fault: “A condition that creates an incorrect internal state in your software.”
- Error: “Visibly incorrect behavior.”
- Failure: “An unresponsive system.”
(1/3)
Nygard states that “the major dangers to your system’s longevity are memory leaks and data growth.” Can you think of other major dangers to system longevity?
#ReleaseItBookClub
#ReleaseItBookClubChapter3
(1/3)
#ReleaseItBookClub
#ReleaseItBookClubChapter3
(1/3)
March 25, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Nygard states that “the major dangers to your system’s longevity are memory leaks and data growth.” Can you think of other major dangers to system longevity?
#ReleaseItBookClub
#ReleaseItBookClubChapter3
(1/3)
#ReleaseItBookClub
#ReleaseItBookClubChapter3
(1/3)
In chapter 3 of Release It! Nygard refers to James R. Chiles’s “analogy between a complex system on the verge of failure and a steel plate with a microscopic crack in the metal. Under stress, that crack can begin to propagate faster…[until] the metal breaks explosively.”
March 25, 2025 at 1:52 PM
In chapter 3 of Release It! Nygard refers to James R. Chiles’s “analogy between a complex system on the verge of failure and a steel plate with a microscopic crack in the metal. Under stress, that crack can begin to propagate faster…[until] the metal breaks explosively.”
Nudgsicle is coming along - slowly but surely. It’s amazing to me how much of a slog it is - even for someone like me who has integrated OAuth, OpenID Connect, etc. - to build authentication for an application. Even with services like Amazon Cognito.
Fun fact... (1/2)
Fun fact... (1/2)
March 24, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Nudgsicle is coming along - slowly but surely. It’s amazing to me how much of a slog it is - even for someone like me who has integrated OAuth, OpenID Connect, etc. - to build authentication for an application. Even with services like Amazon Cognito.
Fun fact... (1/2)
Fun fact... (1/2)
How to fail as an indie hacker: a listicle.
1. Never ship anything.
[End of list]
(from: stevenoxley.com/mb/indie-hac...)
1. Never ship anything.
[End of list]
(from: stevenoxley.com/mb/indie-hac...)
March 19, 2025 at 10:58 PM
How to fail as an indie hacker: a listicle.
1. Never ship anything.
[End of list]
(from: stevenoxley.com/mb/indie-hac...)
1. Never ship anything.
[End of list]
(from: stevenoxley.com/mb/indie-hac...)
Chapter 3 of Release It! has some interesting definitions that I hadn’t considered as deeply before. Nygard notes that the following two terms come from mechanical engineering: impulse and stress. (1/2)
March 18, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Chapter 3 of Release It! has some interesting definitions that I hadn’t considered as deeply before. Nygard notes that the following two terms come from mechanical engineering: impulse and stress. (1/2)