Essays on software, design, and building things.
2025
Cloud & Self-Hosted
Learn how to set up a secure, production-ready VPS on Hetzner Cloud to host self-hosted applications using Docker, Docker Compose, Portainer, and Nginx Proxy Manager. A complete step-by-step guide for developers and indie makers.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Learn how to download any YouTube video and generate accurate transcriptions using yt-dlp and OpenAI’s Whisper AI. This step-by-step guide covers installation, setup, adding tools to your PATH, and producing subtitles or plain text transcripts locally on your machine — with no reliance on third-party cloud services.
2024
Cloud & Self-Hosted
Learn how to set up multiple Rails apps on a single DigitalOcean droplet with Redis, ActionCable, Nginx, and a streamlined CI/CD pipeline. This guide covers everything from deployment automation to resource management and security.
Coding
Learn how to create SEO-friendly URLs in your Rails 7 blog with this step-by-step guide. Improve your website’s search engine ranking by implementing slugs, removing unnecessary parameters, using hyphens, and more.
Coding
Learn how to implement Google reCAPTCHA in a Rails 7 application to reduce spam on your contact form. This step-by-step guide covers configuration, integration with the Simple Form gem, and best practices for securing your web forms.
Coding
Learn how to implement dynamic filtering in a Rails 7 application with this step-by-step guide. Using a library management system as an example, we'll cover creating a `Filterable` concern, setting up models and controllers, and enhancing user experience with Simple Form and Stimulus. Perfect for Rails developers looking to add powerful filtering capabilities to their projects.
2023
Coding
Learn how to seamlessly integrate Google Analytics into your Rails application. This guide provides a step-by-step approach using a partial for a cleaner and more modular setup. Dive into the insights of your Rails app's traffic with ease.
Coding
Coding
Coding
Coding
Coding
Learn how to include SEO metadata in your Rails 7 blog application. Boost your blog's visibility with optimized title tags, meta descriptions, Open Graph tags, and Twitter Card tags.
Coding
Dive into Part 4 of my Rails 7 blog building series, where we integrate the Devise gem for authentication and implement an admin interface to manage blog posts, categories, and tags seamlessly.
Coding
In Part 3 of our Rails 7 blog building series, learn how to optimize SEO with title tags, meta descriptions, and social media metadata. Boost your blog's visibility and reach a wider audience.
Coding
Coding
Learn how to create a blog using Ruby on Rails 7 with Hotwire and Turbo. This step-by-step guide covers setting up your project, creating models, and building your first views.
Coding
Automate PDF form-filling in your Ruby on Rails 7 application using Hotwire.
Coding
Automate PDF form-filling in your Ruby on Rails 7 application using Hotwire. If you're using PDFTK in your application to fill out PDF forms, this blog post will guide you on how to now deploy your application to Heroku and make PDFTK work on Heroku as well.
Coding
Coding
Coding
Learn how to deploy your Dockerized Rails application on Amazon AWS.
Coding
Discover how to host multiple Docker containers on a single DigitalOcean droplet. Improve resource utilization and manage multiple applications efficiently following these simple steps.
Coding
Deploy your Dockerized Rails application on a cloud hosting provider with ease. This guide covers popular cloud platforms and provides detailed instructions to ensure a seamless deployment process.
Coding
Learn how to add SSH keys to your DigitalOcean droplet for secure and convenient remote access. Follow this step-by-step guide to enhance the security of your cloud infrastructure.
Coding
Get started with Docker in your Ruby on Rails application. This beginner-friendly guide covers containerization basics, benefits, and step-by-step instructions to dockerize your Rails app.
Product Management
Discover 5 strategies to ensure your product roadmap aligns with your overall business objectives. Maximize efficiency, prioritize features, and drive success by following these best practices.
Product Management
Explore the pros and cons of building a custom product versus using off-the-shelf solutions. Learn how to make the best choice for your business's unique needs and long-term success.