021 - Helpful Productivity Tools & Practices

On July 22-26, 2019, the Vehikl team will be attending the largest LaraconUS to date! With over 900 attendees showing up to the Playstation Theatre in Times Square, NYC, it will surely be an incredible experience!

Join us as we speak with returning guest, Adam Frank! We’ll discuss upcoming talks, things to do in and around NYC, and what we’re looking forward to at this year’s conference.

We’ll be in the main lobby of the theatre at our booth! We’ll have t-shirts to give away as well as other swag items, so make sure to stop by before they’re gone!

Links and Resources:

• LaraconUS website: https://laracon.us/
• LaraconUS Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaraconUS
• Laravel website: https://laravel.com/
• NYC PHP Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/new-york-php/events/262484765/
• Vehikl Twitter: https://twitter.com/vehikl
• Adam Frank's Twitter: https://twitter.com/frankyfraaank

Contributions:

• Guest: Adam Frank
• Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares
• Music and show art: Adam Frank
• Audio Editing: Nick Down
• Recording Facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo)

Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://vehikl.com.

On March 25-27, 2019, we will be travelling to Tampa, Florida for VueConf US! During today’s episode, we’re going to talk about this year’s schedule, last year’s conference in New Orleans, and all the fun things we’ll be doing on our trip!

Our guest speakers for this episode are Brian Hogg and first-time guest Natalie Mastracci! They’ll be talking about some of the things they’re looking forward to as first time VueConf attendees, and lots of other interesting things! Join us as we chat about fun facts and activities to do while we’re in the area.

Vehikl will have a booth at the conference, so if you plan to attend VueConf US this year stop by and see us in the Florida sunshine!

Links and Resources:

• VueConf US: https://us.vuejs.org/
• Brian: https://brianhogg.com
• Natalie on Twitter: @NMastracci
• Vehikl on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vehikl?lang=en

Contributions:

• Guests: Brian Hogg and Natalie Mastracci
• Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares
• Music and show art: Adam Frank
• Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo)

Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://vehikl.com.

Today we're discussing what's going on at the London Vehikl office! The London team has recently moved into a new building. The building is a beautiful and modern location. Caryn and James work in the London office and join us to tell us what it is like to work there, and what it's like working for Vehikl for general.

The London location is hiring developers. It is a nine person team and looking to grow. Caryn and James walk us through their on-boarding process and tell us what they look for in a new team member.

We also discuss the flourishing Dev community in London. Caryn tells us about the local meetups, conferences, and potential partnerships the London office may consider further down the line.

Some of the meetups and conferences James and Caryn mentioned today are:

• Fanshawe Reactr Program
• UX Centre Stage
• Explode Conference
• DevLondon meetup

Links and Resources:

• Caryn Humphreys on GitHub: https://github.com/LadyCarni
• James Abell on GitHub: https://github.com/jamesabell
• Torqd Podcast: http://podcast.vehikl.com/
• Vehikl on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vehikl?lang=en
• Visual Studio (VS) Code: https://code.visualstudio.com/
• Tech Alliance: http://www.techally.com/
• Fanshawe: https://www.fanshawec.ca/
• Fanshawe Reactr Program: http://www.reactr.ca/
• Dev London: https://devldn.ca/
• UX Centre Stage: https://ltux.ca/
• Explode Conference: https://explodeconf.com/

Contributions:

• Guests: Caryn Humphreys and James Abell
• Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares
• Music and show art: Adam Frank
• Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo)

Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://vehikl.com.

Welcome to our first episode of the new year. Today’s episode is the start of a new series we are calling Vehikl: Under the Hood. We sit down with Colin DeCarlo and Brian Hogg and discuss some exciting developments in the London, Hamilton, and Waterloo offices. Vehikl is hiring new talent and we have many growth opportunities.

We also talk about upcoming meetups and conferences that Vehikl is involved in and what we’re looking forward to in 2019. The meetups we feature today are:

• Dev London -- London office, January 29th.
• Speed Networking Night -- Conestoga College, January 29th.
• GPUG -- Waterloo office, January 30th.
• KWJS -- Waterloo office, February 20th.

We plan to attend two conferences this year, here’s where we’ll be:

• LaraCon Online -- March 6th.
• Vue.js Conference US -- Tampa Bay, FL, March 25-27th.
• LaraCon 2019 -- New York City, NY, July 24-25

Links and Resources:

• Brian Hogg on GitHub: https://github.com/brianhogg
• Colin DeCarlo on LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/colindecarlo
• Discover HamOnt: https://discoverhamont.ca/
• Dev London Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/dev-london/
• GPUG: http://meetu.ps/c/qCPs/vR6J7/f
• KWJS Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/kwjavascript/
• Vue.js Conference US: https://us.vuejs.org/
• LaraCon Online: https://laracon.net/
• LaraCon 2019: https://laracon.us/
• Vehikl on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vehikl?lang=en
• Vehikl email: Go@vehikl.com

Contributions:

• Guests: Brian Hogg and Colin DeCarlo
• Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares
• Music and show art: Adam Frank
• Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo)

Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://vehikl.com.

What does "serverless" really mean, and how do you get started working with it? Why is serverless infrastructure becoming a popular option? Join us as we have first time guest, Jesse Carter, a talented developer here at Vehikl, talk about his vast experience working with serverless architecture.

Links and Resources:

• Jesse Carter on LinkedIn: https://goo.gl/ujj3PV
• Amazon Aurora: https://goo.gl/qF7MSc
• AWS Lambda: https://goo.gl/gsJLjv
• Cosmo DB: https://goo.gl/2xUdDk
• Docker: https://blog.docker.com/
• EVault: https://goo.gl/4N8auP
• Express: https://goo.gl/VEP2qZ
• Google Functions: https://goo.gl/cnfsqX
• Laravel Forge: https://goo.gl/tuh74H
• Kubeless: https://goo.gl/crQNsA
• Microsoft Azure: https://goo.gl/JYiMUn
• Serverless Framework: https://goo.gl/XB8fVU
• Twilio: https://goo.gl/yVGVp7
• Vehikl on Twitter: https://goo.gl/RxfNMD
• Yan Cui: https://goo.gl/hSZGXR
• Zeit Now: https://goo.gl/6wK6Y3
• Zeit Now 2.0: https://goo.gl/3MQKsc

Contributions:

• Guest: Jesse Carter
• Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares
• Music and show art: Adam Frank
• Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo)

Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://goo.gl/DGS78p

We take a look at Uncle Bob’s (Bob Martin) book The Clean Coder and discuss the topic of software professionalism. We have varying degrees of experience that we share with each other and the audience. We walk chapter by chapter through the book and give some general impressions of what we took away from it. We discuss work/life balance, time management, client communication, and many other aspects of the coding lifestyle.

No matter if you are a beginner or a veteran of the software industry, The Clean Coder is key for personal professionalism.

Links and Resources:

• Lucas Gladding on LinkedIn: https://goo.gl/dPdWZo
• Brian Hogg on GitHub: https://goo.gl/7ZiX4T
• The Clean Coder - by Robert (Bob) C. Martin: https://goo.gl/67EmWV
• Exercism: https://goo.gl/TcGyow
• Vehikl on Twitter: https://goo.gl/PgrYof

Contributions:

• Guests: Lucas Gladding and Brian Hogg
• Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares
• Music and show art: Adam Frank
• Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo)

Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://goo.gl/8LGjAU

React Native is a framework that builds applications for both IOS and Android systems. We have some curiosity about React Native and Lucas and Alex join us to tell us about their experience with React and React Native.

• How does React Native compare to the original React?
• What sort of workflow can you expect?
• What languages can you use with React Native?
• How long does a build take?

Lucas and Alex answer all these questions and offer their opinions on the tool. We also discuss the alternative to React and how a newbie could get their feet wet.

Links and Resources:

• Lucas Gladding on LinkedIn: https://goo.gl/1n8u7v
• Alex Barry on LinkedIn: https://goo.gl/59Wsye
• React: https://goo.gl/3Vcbkd
• React Native: https://goo.gl/bJdz48
• Learn JavaScript: https://goo.gl/3kHo89
• Learn HTML: https://goo.gl/PkChzE
• Learn CSS: https://goo.gl/apytuV
• Firebug: https://goo.gl/o6wvc1
• Chrome Dev Tools: https://goo.gl/zZv31q
• Vue Dev Tools: https://goo.gl/gkwgvc
• Flutter: https://goo.gl/xihwPk
• Xamarin.IOS: https://goo.gl/s3EHqk
• Apache Cordova: https://goo.gl/6eUJc8

Contributions:

• Guests: Lucas Gladding and Alex Barry
• Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares
• Music and show art: Adam Frank
• Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo)

Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://goo.gl/MCYHbx

So how do you like to work? Are you a multi-monitor user? Do you prefer the lights on or off? Dan and Margaret sit down with Adam Frank and Brian Hogg and compare preferences, quirks, and techniques when they want to get down to work and have a productive time.

We discuss strategies and tips we’ve collected over time. We share tools we find work for us and what doesn’t work for us. Productivity is a personal experience and there is no right way to do it. Here at Vehikl we welcome all work styles and try to accommodate our team as much as possible.

Tune in to learn about some really helpful productivity tools!

Links and Resources:

• Adam Frank on GitHub: https://goo.gl/wu8PtR
• Brian Hogg’s website: https://goo.gl/6Rfnh2
• The 4-Hour Workweek: https://goo.gl/CHzGj7
• GitHub: https://goo.gl/zNcKXP
• Waffle.io: https://goo.gl/m912rm
• Jira: https://goo.gl/h5m57f
• Trello: https://goo.gl/fCT3Pc
• GitLab: https://goo.gl/ocvNDC
• Focus@Will: https://goo.gl/Vi6gdK
• Spectacle: https://goo.gl/5w4fF8
• MacBook Pro: https://goo.gl/U3V5eC
• Magic Mouse: https://goo.gl/ftzwFz
• Roost Laptop Stand: https://goo.gl/ub8WfC
• Logitech G-Force Mouse: https://goo.gl/bL5JSH
• Pomodoro Technique: https://goo.gl/XiSpTZ
• Slack: https://goo.gl/uBSJuz
• Unity: https://goo.gl/1RkD7Y
• Gunnar Glasses: https://goo.gl/FfqD12
• F.lux: https://goo.gl/xoT6fN

Contributions:

• Guests: Brian Hogg and Adam Frank
• Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares
• Music and show art: Adam Frank
• Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo)

Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://goo.gl/MCYHbx

Are you heading to Laracon US 2018 in Chicago? We’ll see you there! Brian Hogg and Justin Buchanan join Dan and Margaret to talk baseball, food, museums, and the conference we’re all excited to check out.

Rumour has it, the first 50 people to attend Colin DeCarlo’s “Design Patterns with Laravel” talk will get something special.

Bonus: Come meet the Vehikl team and grab a t-shirt and Torqd sticker at our Laracon booth!

Links and resources:

• Brian Hogg on Twitter: https://goo.gl/DRm2fA
• Justin Buchanan on Twitter: https://goo.gl/di7P24
• Laracon US 2018 in Chicago, IL: https://goo.gl/B8S96G
• Museum of Science and Industry: https://goo.gl/wfFj23
• Pequod’s Pizza: https://goo.gl/YBPu6i
• Thrilllist Chicago: https://goo.gl/gPBkfY
• The Original Rainbow Cone: https://goo.gl/CXgQuF
• The Tamale Guy (via Yelp): https://goo.gl/at2bZK
• Diamondbacks v. Cubs at Wrigley field (July 24): https://goo.gl/urhazP
• Laracon conference schedule: https://goo.gl/A478Bs
• Laracon speakers: https://goo.gl/1eMq4p
• Wes Bos: https://goo.gl/b5atjz
• Jason Fried (Basecamp founder) on Twitter: https://goo.gl/VMUQwN
• Jocelyn Glei’s Hurry Slowly podcast: https://goo.gl/MWFMiW
• Colin DeCarlo on Twitter: https://goo.gl/tYRaDF

Contributions:

• Guests: Brian Hogg and Just Buchanan
• Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares
• Production and editing: Stephen Belyea
• Music and show art: Adam Frank
• Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo)

Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://goo.gl/TdJjR7

Moving to Laravel from an existing application doesn’t have to hurt! Adapting Laravel to fit your team’s needs doesn’t either. Colin DeCarlo and Lucas Gladding join Dan and Margaret to talk strategies and experience in shuffling Laravel components between applications.

Links and resources:

• Colin DeCarlo on Twitter: https://goo.gl/tYRaDF
• Lucas Gladding on Twitter: https://goo.gl/bAXU5P
• Laravel PHP framework: https://goo.gl/M6X1kP
• Illuminate database package on Packagist: https://goo.gl/tNQvon
• Laravel Doctrine database object graph entity annotation: https://goo.gl/Rtu5zS
• Laravel TwigBridge: https://goo.gl/r2qYpH
• Stand Alone Blade Package: https://goo.gl/SKfrCn
• Blade Package By Spatie: https://goo.gl/avPpfZ
• Packagist: https://goo.gl/f5W5nE
• Custom Auth Drivers in Laravel: https://goo.gl/hSDpXo
• Respect validation: https://goo.gl/Yjc5oH
• PSR-11 Container interface: https://goo.gl/xZvNdA
• September 2016 issue of php[architect]: https://goo.gl/KVKKrL

Contributions:

• Guests: Colin DeCarlo and Lucas Gladding
• Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares
• Production and editing: Stephen Belyea
• Music and show art: Adam Frank
• Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo)

Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://goo.gl/TdJjR7