Episode #18: Smarter Testing, Simple Solutions, Playful Coding, Age in Tech, & SaaS Choices
Are You Over-Engineering Your Tests? Four Signs to Watch For
Test automation has brought huge benefits to software development, but it’s easy to get carried away and end up with tests that are more complex than they need to be. Four common signs of over-engineered tests are: automating absolutely everything (even what’s best left manual), asserting on too many things in a single test (which leads to flakiness), abstracting test code so much that it’s hard to read or maintain, and constantly switching to the latest automation tool just for the sake of it. The main takeaway is that test automation should make your life easier, not harder. Focus on atomic, maintainable tests that check one thing at a time, keep your code readable, and only automate what truly makes sense. If your tests are reliable and efficient, you’re on the right track—there’s no need to fix what isn’t broken.
Your Barbershop Doesn’t Need Kubernetes—Why Simple Tech Wins for Small Businesses
I recently read an article in which the author describes how a VC-backed startup tried to sell a local barbershop a $50,000 enterprise scheduling system packed with buzzwords like Kubernetes, predictive analytics, and multi-region failover—features that make sense for massive companies, not three neighborhood shops. Instead, the author built a simple AI-driven tool in a day that actually solved the owner’s real problem: rescheduling clients quickly when a barber calls in sick. The bigger point is that most small businesses don’t need complex, “future-proof” enterprise solutions—they need tech that solves today’s headaches, is easy to use, and doesn’t break the bank. There’s a huge, mostly ignored market for straightforward, focused automation: tools that call and text customers, reschedule appointments, or send reminders. For developers, the opportunity isn’t chasing unicorns—it’s building a million simple, effective solutions for a million real-world problems. And for small business owners, the message is clear: you don’t need to buy into the enterprise hype to get value from AI. Sometimes, the simplest tool is the best one.
Rediscovering the Joy of Writing Toy Software
In an era where software is becoming more industrialized and AI threatens to automate much of our craft, there’s something deeply rewarding about building “toy” programs just for the fun and learning of it. This blog post argues that reinventing the wheel isn’t a waste of time; instead, it’s one of the best ways to truly understand how things work. Writing simple, non-production code—like your own regex engine, emulator, or even a basic text editor—lets you explore the core concepts behind the tools we use every day, and often leads to unexpected insights that carry over into your professional work. The author shares a long list of toy projects, ranging from a CHIP-8 emulator to a basic physics engine, each rated by difficulty and time commitment. The key message: keep it simple, avoid overengineering, and don’t be afraid to crash and iterate as you go. You’ll not only gain practical knowledge, but also reignite the sense of curiosity and creativity that got many of us into coding in the first place. And while AI tools can be useful, there’s real value in wrestling with a problem on your own—because the joy of discovery is hard to beat.
Is Ageism Still a Problem in Tech? Insights from the Trenches
The tech industry has long struggled with ageism, and a recent discussion on Hacker News shows it’s still a hot topic. Many experienced engineers shared stories about feeling overlooked or even hiding their age to avoid bias in hiring. Some believe that younger managers and teams are more comfortable hiring peers who fit into their culture—often at the expense of older candidates who might bring more experience but also different expectations around work-life balance and responsibilities. On the flip side, others pointed out that experience can be a huge asset—especially in complex or critical environments. There’s also a sense that as the industry matures, the cohort of “older” engineers is growing, and their value is becoming more recognized in certain sectors like embedded systems or government work. So here’s gist: Ageism is real, but it’s not universal. The best way forward seems to be staying curious, keeping your skills fresh, and seeking out teams and companies that truly value experience over stereotypes. If you’re navigating your career at any age, it’s a reminder to focus on environments where your contributions are appreciated, not just your birthdate.
Should we opt for SaaS platform in our project? The Hidden Costs of SaaS — Vendor Lock-In Disguised as Convenience
Every time you choose a SaaS tool, you pay in research time and mental overhead. What you learn about one service rarely helps you with the next. Once you sign up and hand over your email and credit card, you’re already committed—even before you’ve written a line of code. Then comes the real headache: integrating these tools with your stack. Are they compatible with your workflow? Can you even run them locally, or stub them out in tests? Suddenly, you have to juggle complex configuration logic for production, staging, and local environments. No matter how much you try to avoid it, you’re locked in. Swapping services—even open source or self-hosted ones—means rewriting big chunks of your codebase. The pitch is “don’t reinvent the wheel,” but every service is a little contract, a new dependency, and it subtly shifts your architecture. The answer? Instead of picking individual services, consider platforms that offer everything—like Cloudflare or Supabase. With everything speaking the same language and living under one roof, you dodge those hidden taxes and regain your flow. In the end, it’s your code and creativity that matter most—not the framework or vendor you use