Decidel
Decidel was inspired by a lifehhacker article I read describing the 5-3-1 method. I thought it was a great way to make a decision among a group of friends and I wanted to create a web app that encapsulated the idea.
I started by modeling a "Decidel" as a simple JSON structure that would store the set of choices remaining along with a history of actions. I created a Redis-backed Flask API with a set basic of CRUD methods for manipulating the Decidel which I then consumed on the front-end into a Redux powered store. The UI was then built on top of the store using React.
I based the UI flow on Doodle. In particular I liked its simplicity of being able to send people a link and have them immediately participate without requiring a sign up/login sequence. This allowed Decidel to be used in a number of ways, even by people sitting around the same computer.
Development Recipes
Development Recipes is a set of documentation I put together and hosted on Read the Docs. They are an attempt to record sets of best practices I've come across for tackling various types of projects.
Like version controlling my dotfiles I found that writing this information down in one place, rather than always reading through the same discussions and lists of pros and cons, allows me to bootstrap new projects quickly but also in a way that sets them up for long-term extension and maintenance.
The docs themselves are written using reStructuredText and then built using Sphinx and the Read the Docs theme.
Continuing Education
I genuinely enjoy learning new things, whether about software or a completely unrelated field. I'll read non-fiction books, articles, or listen to audiobooks and podcasts on topics that I find interesting as well as keeping an eye out for courses offered by Coursera or Masterclass that allow me to take a deeper dive into new subjects.
One of my most rewarding experiences was a 5-part specialization in Creative Writing offered by Wesleyan University. I wrote several short stories throughout the courses that I'm proud of and hope to self-publish my first Science Fiction novel soon.