I coalesce the vapor of human experience into a viable and logical comprehension.
PHP developer, author, speaker, and podcast host. Senior developer relations @ Vonage. My posts and opinions are my own, and are hot garbage. Pretty sure a raccoon writes these things.
| Website | https://ctankersley.com |
| Github | https://github.com/dragonmantank |
I fully endorse getting a hot dog as the solution to all of life’s problems.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DL-6DIEu0pv/?igsh=MWE2dnFxYmt3c3U5cg==
31K likes, 171 comments - el.chunky.sa on July 11, 2025: "No matter what, just get a Hotdog and chill. Send this to your friends to remind them to be happy. #hotdog #funny #noworries #sanantoniofood #sanantoniotexas".
11 years ago I gave my first conference talk at ZendCon in Santa Clara. Now I’m back but helping run a hackathon for #apiword. If you are also here, stop by the Vonage booth and say hi, and feel free to enter to win some prizes!
“Today, we optimise for ‘DX’ – developer experience. Not user experience. Not performance. Not outcomes. Today’s popular frameworks are sold on their DX. The docs are slick. The onboarding is smooth. The tooling is smart, integrated, clever. You can spin up a new app with a CLI command and feel productive before you’ve even written a line of content. But good DX doesn’t guarantee good UX. In fact, it’s often the opposite. Because the more comfortable we make things for developers, the more abstraction we add. And every abstraction creates distance between the thing being built and the people it’s for.” https://www.jonoalderson.com/conjecture/javascript-broke-the-web-and-called-it-progress/
Internet Archive is looking for engineering managers with a rare set of experiences, and we could use your help.
Do you know someone with extensive experience using PHP as a systems language? Someone who has gardened a petabyte-scale system under high load? Is this person a player/coach engineering manager who enjoys helping other people succeed?
If you do know someone like this, or someone close, I would love to talk to them.
Apply at this link and drop me a line:
https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/default/mdf/recruitment/recruitment.html?cid=12261ced-819c-4d6d-af85-ffea690b6521&ccId=9201102651278_3&lang=en_US&jobId=544659&jwId=9201102651278_1
Also, I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but I'll say it again:
Part of your job as a senior is to tell your juniors about your fuckups. The embarrassing cringe reckless and lazy bullshit that you did when you were new, and the various times you brought down Prod. We ALL did it sometime. And then tell them: the moment you realized you fucked up, I know, the impulse is to try and cover it up, but don't do it. Come to the seniors you trust, and they'll help you unfuck it, and fight management tooth and claw like mamma and pappa bears to defend you from any shitheads in management. Because that's what our seniors did to us.
Had a great roadtrip to #phptek this year with @stevegrunwell. Couldn’t ask for a better car mate.
Here’s to next year.
Wurstcon
Alex Dempsey
Jess👾
🥧 asgrim 🇺🇦