Recently I started to use a more minimally-responsive CSS framework called Neat, since I was unhappy with the total offerings of so many others. This article will explain how to start using the basics of Neat in order to better understand how the framework works before using it in projects....

Graphing is a great way to visualize a bunch of data. In this article we will talk about a simple way to make graphs for modern web browsers. We will be using dimple.js that is powered by D3. Here I will explain everything that you need to know in order...

I convinced a partner to upgrade the computers we were using for software development. Maybe this article will help you convince your manager to do the same! Old Computers When I started at the partner, we were using standard issued corporate Dell laptops. Specifically, we had Dell Latitude E6520 laptops....

Now that you have already learned jQuery, let’s unlearn it and get back to the basics. In this article, we will quickly go over the most common things that jQuery is currently used for and convert them to pure javascript. jQuery is a great tool and contains polyfills that are...

Why should any developer learn more than one programming language? This is an interesting question. Let’s think of it this way: Does a carpenter only use one type of saw? Does a mechanic only have one type of wrench? No. In short the answer is, as craftsmen of code, we...

In the everyday world, it’s usually a good thing to have what you need ahead of time, even if there’s a possibility of never using it: I’m going to school, better pack my books; I’m taking a flight this afternoon, better bring some earplugs; I’m going to a meeting, better...

As we start to build websites with mobile first in mind, our stylesheets can get messy really quick. In this article, we’ll talk about making your stylesheets more functional and easier to read at the same time. We will take a quick peek into SASS, and the benefits that it...

ActiveMQ is a great messaging broker. However, using the default configuration is not recommended. This article will explain how I determined the appropriate ActiveMQ memory settings for one of our partners. I recently helped a partner with a production issue involving a large java web application that used ActiveMQ as...

Gulp is quickly becoming the the leading task runner over grunt. If you are currently using Grunt or even worse, an ant task, then I highly recommend this topic for you. In this write up, we will quickly discuss Grunt, Gulp, and Gulp syntax. Grunt When Grunt first came out,...

After years of being immersed in Java development, I must admit that I got spoiled by its strong and mature ecosystem. Hence, whenever I want to pick up a new technology or programming language the following must be there: Support by my favorite IDE (Eclipse or IntelliJ IDEA) Mature building...