JC Smiley

Tips for learning how to code: My advice is to start with small projects that you estimate will take days or a single week. Then do another and another. Over time you will have the experience and knowledge to build bigger and more visionary projects.

15 blogs that will help you become a better engineer: 1. Uber Engineering: uber.com/blog/engineeri… 2. Airbnb Tech Blog: airbnb.tech/blog 3. OpenAI Engineering: openai.com/news/engineeri… 4. AWS Architecture: aws.amazon.com/blogs/architec… 5. Netflix TechBlog: netflixtechblog.com 6. Discord Engineering: discord.com/category/engin… 7. Anthropic Engineering: anthropic.com/engineering 8. NVIDIA Developer: developer.nvidia.com/blog 9. Slack Engineering: slack.engineering 10. Cloudflare Blog: blog.cloudflare.com/tag/engineering 11. Figma Tech Blog: figma.com/blog/engineeri… 12. Shopify Engineering: shopify.engineering 13. Stripe Engineering: stripe.com/blog/engineeri… 14. Microsoft Engineering: devblogs.microsoft.com/engineering-at… 15. GitHub Engineering: github.blog/engineering Bonus (system design deep dives) Level Up Coding: lucode.co/luc-system-des… Bonus two: Get our 𝟭𝟰𝟮-𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 covering 𝟱𝟭 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝘀 for 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 when you join our newsletter. Join 30,001+ engineers: lucode.co/system-design-… What other blogs should be on this list? 🔖 Save for later. ♻️ Repost to help other engineers learn and grow.

So, pricing AI architecture by the token is a trap. Who knew? This Sitepoint article gives a much accurate means of comparison - honestly surprised me in a few areas. Link below 👇🏾👇🏾

@JRaynovic Darn those kids. Always tricking us dads into cooking cookies against our will.

I was going to work on the bus but I was bullied into making cookies by a 9yo.

Periodic reminder to not be gaslit regarding the value of computer science education. It is only increasing, you just have to be strategic.

“Transparency isn’t trust. Clarity is.” Coriano Harris learned this building SpeciNate. Why simplicity beats dashboards → Part 2 of our Q&A digs into the mistake most founders make. memphistechscene.beehiiv.com/p/specinate-pa… #Memphis #memTech #StartupLife

Most people think zoos lose donors because “fundraising is hard.” A Memphis founder saw the real issue: impact no one can see. So he built SpeciNate — a platform that makes conservation work visible in real time. And the tech goes way beyond zoos. 🔗 memphistechscene.beehiiv.com/p/when-zoos-an…

@toboreeee Same. Its like I cant recall simple resume items, work experiences, and stories that show I've done what they are asking for. My mind just goes blank.

Am I the only one who gets really nervous during interviews? I feel like d moment they start asking me questions I freeze and my brain just wipes. I answer what I can but I know it'd be way better if I sounded really confident. I've lost a job because of communication skills.

Projects don't have to be perfect to be useful. They just have to exist." @codeconnector_'s February session put that principle to work. Recap → memphistechscene.beehiiv.com/p/experimentat… #memtech #Memphis #DigitalDelta

@JRaynovic Dude, you are on your hustle. Loving the progress.

Long night but the routings are done.

I wrote words lawrencedcodes.blogspot.com/2026/02/stayin…

@JRaynovic Boss level eating

There's just no valid reason to not be an AI-native developer at this point. More roles are asking for it, the resources are free and plentiful and the price point is "CURRENTLY" low enough to tool around and see what fits. That combination of factors is not going to last forever.

If you're the type to make goals, plans, targets and such for the new year, congrats! Please retro 2025 first. It's popular to opine about the type of people we're leaving behind. Equally useful is an honest assessment of you: 1. what did i do for too long 2. what did i not give enough time towards 3. what did i avoid out of fear 4. where did i shortchange myself 5. what persistent weakness persisted through 2025 Address those, then make your goals. Happy New Year (almost 😉)

@LawrenceDCodes Congrats

Going from ‘want to’ to ‘have to’ changes everything

Tons of free AI education from Microsoft aiskillsnavigator.microsoft.com/?UTM_Source=X&…

Great questions @itsthewealth4me ! I'll cover "would do differently" 1. The resistance and imagined doom from asking for help is a harmful illusion. Ask often and early 2. Everything can't be picked up intuitively however in the presence of a system, intuition can illiminate unique insights. HAVE A SYSTEM for everything 3. Self-sabotage is a protective psychological mechanism. Run from that protection. Be risky. Try more things knowing failure may happen. It's ok. 4. Isolate yourself to go deep, not to hide. There is a huge difference and ego will fool you. 5. Apparently I had ADHD traits and didn't know it so not sure what I would have done differently on that one 6. My parents were right all along, just follow their advice 7. Stay in church

@JRaynovic Those was delicious

This is why having little kids is the best. So many snacks you forgot about.

@JRaynovic Ive been eating turkey, dressing, and all the leftovers for breakfast. Start the day with good eating

I had to tone it done for breakfast.

@LawrenceDCodes Glad to hear it was a success

Successful surgery praise my almighty God 🙏🏾

Professionally, few context switches are as jarring as going from full on Super DevRel Conference mode to sitting at your desk back home writing the Confluence page about it 😭