Jan 15Member-only3 Reasons To Learn VimLearning Vim is challenging but well worth your time — What is Vim? Vi (not to be confused with Vim) was created in 1976 by Bill Joy. Vi is a standard text editor initially designed for the UNIX operating system. Vi is the universal text editor of Linux, which has been around almost since the beginning of UNIX and has changed very little…Software6 min readSoftware6 min read
Published inJavaScript in Plain English·Jan 9Member-onlyBuilding A Custom Input For OTP CodesStep-by-step guide for building a smooth number input — A typical flow for two-factor authentication is to use an application that will store a one-time code on a device that can be used in the application the user is trying to access. These apps include Google Authenticator, Authy, and many other options. This flow is widespread, and I’ve often…JavaScript5 min readJavaScript5 min read
Published inLevel Up Coding·Dec 20, 2022How To Build A NPM PackageLessons learned from creating my first Javascript package — As developers, we are always trying to figure out how to make our solutions extensible and reusable. We hate rewriting the same code over and over again. Walking the line between maximum production and automation takes a lot of work. At times, it becomes clear that a solution can be…JavaScript6 min readJavaScript6 min read
Published inJavaScript in Plain English·Dec 12, 2022Session Authentication With Node.js, Express, Passport, and MongoDBA straightforward guide for Session-based Authentication. — Quick Note — I recently made a post walking through an authentication solution for JWTs. I made a disclaimer at the top of the post recommending people not use the post for production software. Instead, I promised I would walk through Session-based authentication, and I’m finally getting around to it. Here is a…JavaScript5 min readJavaScript5 min read
Published inILLUMINATION·Dec 5, 2022Reviewing Jordan Peterson’s Essay Application“Essay” could help level up your writing skills. — Believe and say what you want about Jordan Peterson. This review of “Essay” will omit any personal opinions about him. I aim to objectively appraise “Essay” and its utility without letting politics cloud the product’s value. I will say only one thing about Peterson in this review. He has always…Writing6 min readWriting6 min read
Published inILLUMINATION·Nov 29, 2022Better Dialogue: De Facto vs. De Jure ObjectionsIt’s still possible to bridge the political gap, but our discourse must improve. — It takes a cursory look at the current political sphere to see that disagreements on the fundamental aspects of society are vast and only seem to be growing further apart. Simultaneously, the ability to meaningfully communicate with our fellow humans has expanded in wondrous ways over the last half-century. The…Politics5 min readPolitics5 min read
Nov 25, 2022JWT Authentication With Node, Express, Passport, and MongoDBA straightforward guide for a basic implementation of JWT authentication for a MERN application. — Disclaimer for this post! JWTs are not recommended for user sessions because they have many security issues with their stateless nature. Many excellent blog posts go in-depth with the problems. This Blog post should only be used to further your understanding of JWTs as they have their use cases and are a powerful tool when…JavaScript4 min readJavaScript4 min read
Nov 17, 2022Introduction To PostgreSQL Backups With PSQL, pgAdmin & HerokuA how-to guide for primary PG backups and moving data from a production environment to local — We often want accurate test data for our local environments when developing new features or fixing bugs. There are many ways to accomplish this goal. One of our favorite ways at Advisory Alpha is using Heroku’s PG:PULL command or running a pg_dump backup using pgAdmin. We use that command to…Postgres4 min readPostgres4 min read
Published inTop Level Sports·Nov 12, 2022The Most Influential Play of LeBron James’ CareerThe decision that helped save the NBA from a dark age and kickstarted a new era — This evening was Lebron James’ first NBA game and the night of the most influential play of his career. The date was October 30th, 2003. NBA fans worldwide were excited about the long-awaited arrival of LeBron James into the league. Lebron was a prodigy, unlike anything the basketball world had…Basketball8 min readBasketball8 min read
Nov 10, 2022Building A Category Filter With ReactJS | MERN StackComprehensive step-by-step guide for one implementation of data filtering — While building my website, the need for a category filter became apparent when searching for blog entries. I decided to keep track of my changes and post the result. Join along for a step-by-step walkthrough of my implementation. TECHNOLOGY ASSUMPTIONS: An already-up-and-running ReactJS app An already up-and-running NodeJS app with ExpressJSReact5 min readReact5 min read
