Ray

Join Ray Cameron at CascadiaJS 2025! Don't miss CascadiaJS 2025, Sept 18 - 19 in Seattle, WA!

Just nabbed a $50 no-frills ticket for @cascadiajs.com. I was waffling a bit, but when the registration asked about childcare & disability accommodations I knew I'd found not just js nerds, but thoughtful js nerds, & I'm looking forward to meeting folks. Come join me! cascadiajs.com/2025/ticket/...

I complain all the time that dev interviews are nothing like regular dev work, but then today mid data structures and algorithms studying I suddenly found myself having fun and enjoying what I was doing, in part because it was nothing like regular dev work 😬

Data Structures and Algorithms, which (while heavily weaponized for bad) are morally neutral

<bell curve meme about how DSA are fun at first, then frustrating cause they're nothing like work, then fun cause they're nothing like work>

I love a good gif as much as the next millennial, but I want them to play like, three times an then stop so I can focus on whatever else is in your newsletter/discord/blogpost/slack without my brain yelling "look a motion! look, look!"

tl;dr: If you're in WA state and filing unemployment but want to be focusing on building your business instead, check out the SEAP program. If you're looking for business training check out SCORE. If you've read this far follow me causing I'm posting regular business build updates.

Randy Gardiner | Business Coach | Strategic Planning | Seattle, WA Get on the fast track to growth and secure the win with strategic advisor and leadership coach, Randy Gardiner.

I met with my mentor Randy yesterday for the first time. Randy does business coaching professionally, but also volunteers with SCORE. He gave me great feedback on my early planning steps, connected me with another tech entrepreneur, and had me set goals for our next check-in in three weeks.

There are many SEAP approved courses. I'm doing my training courses with SCORE. I picked them because they have a mentorship program. There are so many people with vast business experience who volunteer to mentor with SCORE. www.score.org/search-mentors

While filing with ESD you have to complete 3 job-search activities per month. With SEAP you don't have to do job-search anymore, but you still need to keep track of the hours you're working, just now on your business & training.

Until today I was doing both job-search & training/business building.

Got SEAP approval today!

If you're in WA & filing unemployment you might qualify for it too. SEAP (Self-Employment Assistance Program) is an alternative to traditional unemployment, where you take entrepreneurial training courses, work on your business, & still get to collect unemployment pay.

I’ve been on a mending and alterations kick: some Swiss darning for sock repair, hemmed a few pairs of pants, and some Sashiko-inspired visible mending. I’m also trying to teach myself how to alter dress shirts to bring up the arm length at the shoulder seam.
What have you been working on?

horse motorhome called a whinnybago

Maybe it's because we have the life-long skills to handle disruption?
Probably it's because we need urgency to get things done.

My inclination is to hide it away until I've added the proper email form, but in true #buildinpublic fashion, here it is: myrvmanual.com is live!

Tomorrow I've got meetings and business paperwork on the calendar, but Thursday I'll be back to the site to replace the mail:to with a proper form.

I've decided to go with Mail Chimp, but I've got to get a PO Box setup first, so I've pulled the text box in favor of a mail:to. I personally *loathe* mail:to on sites, so replacing it with a form will be priority, but I wanted to get deployment unblocked, and I did!

This is so cool! I'll be following along for sure. I'm a big user of music/background noise when I'm in focus mode. The directional sound is very fun to move around and hear shift.

Just threw open the deck door and rushed out to chase a squirrel and shout “these are my plants and you’re the fucker who’s been digging them up!” How’s your morning going?

Sorry I can’t come to the door right now I’m playing expired-leftovers-Tetris in my fridge to see if I can get tonight’s leftovers in and eek out another night before the day of reconnecting with the snap-ware and the compost bin begins

Screenshot from a website. The text says "All Your RV Manuals, Right in Your Pocket. Ask your RV questions. Get instant answers. Even off-grid." Then there is a text field for entering email addresses. A "Join Beta Waitlist" button. "Launching soon. Unsubscribe anytime." then three icons: no wifi with "No internet? No problem." a robot face with "Powered by custom AI" and a shield with "Custom fit. Privacy First." To the right is image of an RV with this text overlayed: "The AC isn't working! The most common issue is the inverter not being powered on. The inverter automatically turns off after 24 hours. Try turning the inverter on again at the control panel first, then on the AC unit."

Working on my landing page for MyRvManual! Here's a sneak-peek 😁 Next is wiring up the email form. What are ya #buildInpublic folks using?

a hand holds postcards and ballots as they are being placed into a blue USPS box

Ballots (and postcards for @postcrossing.com and grandma) have been sent!

Currently I'm using Notes/ChatGPT for research tasks, so I'm going to give Dia a shot with that this week and I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

Trying out @diabrowser.com this morning. So far I'm finding that it doesn't work well with my admin workflow, which is heavily based in the Apple apps: Mail, Calendar, and Reminders. Look, I know! They're not the best apps! But they're also just fine and I've got a good system with them.

I accidentally made curry-flavored pecans (stored them in the container that had been storing curry powder by accident). I’ve been eating them as snacks, but today I put them in my oatmeal with apples and maple syrup, and the sweet flavors are really good with the curry pecans.

#Seattle friends - the time has come to pause whinging about DC politics and take some local action! Ballots are due Tuesday, so take the time this weekend to fill yours out and get it in the box. Mine is sitting by the door and I promise to update you once it's posted.

Awesome tool! Did you use Lovable to do the design? Asking cause I just learned about Lovable so I noticed that your favicon looks like their logo.

Just finished 4 hours of Financial Basics for New Small Businesses with SCORE. I'm feeling a little bogged down in numbers-talk, but I'm feeling so much more prepared to do my financing projections.

AI SDK by Vercel The AI SDK is the TypeScript toolkit for building AI applications and agents with React, Next.js, Vue, Svelte, Node.js, and more.

Today I'm not going to get much coding done because I'm in SCORE meetings most of the day. This morning it's a SBA loans webinar, and this afternoon it's a Financial Basics for New Small Businesses workshop.

Between and around I'm reading the Vercel AI SDK docs: ai-sdk.dev/docs/introdu...

Hand holding a cluster of cherry tomatoes

cherry tomato plant. Some fruits are red and ripe, some are still green.

Tomatoes from my deck garden! I didn’t think I’d have enough light or heat cause I’m on a north-west facing deck. I these as starts, so maybe from seed won’t work, but I’m going to try next year. #PNWgardening

Soooo, we’re not going to M2 right?

Some more special mentions in this one:
@graze.social
@iame.li
@stream.place

#skylightsocial

I'm on book 4? 5? right now and I've gotten them all from the library short or no hold times!