Two posts in a day! Even though it's not a novel, using NaNoWriMo as a motivator to get some of my ideas down. I hope you're interested in nullability in Java and Kotlin plus a preview of nullability in Project Valhalla: albendz.github.io/albendz-code... #Java #Kotlin #JVM

Quick post on how to prepare for an impactful behavioral interview by making your personal project cheat sheet: albendz.github.io/albendz-code... I keep mine posted on my monitor for quick and easy recall of key data to support my work experience. #starinterview #behavioralinterview #techinterview

Check out the trends AI trends I learned about at LWT + WWCode Tech Futures Summit here: albendz.github.io/albendz-code... I've included the speaker profiles and the talks that inspired this post if you're looking for some awesome women in tech #WomenInTech #AI #LWTSUMMIT #TechFutures

Looking forward to heading to Women Who Code Tech Futures this week in NYC! www.linkedin.com/posts/women-... #womenwhocode #lwt

Women Who Code Summit @ TechFutures | Women Who Code

⚡️Join us at the Women Who Code @ TechFutures Summit October 7-9 in NY!⚡️ Together, Women Who Code, in partnership with LWT and TechFutures, we are a network of 500K strong. Our collective power is a...

linkedin.com

I like learning about the creative ways software vulnerabilities are introduced - like slopsquatting: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slopsqu... Typosquatting + gen AI hallucinating NPM package names that attackers have conveniently created with malicious code

Slopsquatting - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I've started writing down my thoughts about how I've been learning to use AI effectively at work. My first and favorite use so far is code exploration: albendz.github.io/albendz-code... It's really made a difference learning the codebase after starting my new role.

flipping through browser tabs and open spreadsheets trying to piece together what i was working on before the long weekend like i'm guy pearce in memento

TIL: Redis is named after Remote Dictionary Server courtesy of this Keys to #AWS Optimization episode: www.youtube.com/live/_zuRJSW...

Optimize your ElastiCache costs by moving to Valkey | The Keys to AWS Optimization | S14 E1

YouTube video by AWS Events

youtube.com

A major problem with using LLMs to learn things: Me: "A is true, therefore B is false, right?" LLM: "Right! Here's a ton of detail to confirm your belief." Me: "Actually, A is false; B is true." LLM: "Exactly right! Here's more detail to confirm that belief."

Thank you to @virtualcoffee.io for hosting me at their lunch and learn last month where I talked about the surprisingly stressful team matching process in interviews. Extra thanks to @meg-gutshall.bsky.social for being a great host! You can check out the recording here: youtu.be/VlEdzAAIDK8?...

Navigating Team Matching After Passing Technical Interview Rounds with Alicia Bendz

YouTube video by Virtual Coffee

youtu.be

We're counting down the days to Moar Serverless! The speakers and schedule are set including talks from Cloudflare, Netlify, Honeycomb, Sentry, LocalStack and more. Plus, it's all 100% virtual and 100% free. Grab your ticket today and join us live on May 22! cfe.dev/events/moar-...

Videos up from @virtualcoffee.io conf! www.youtube.com/playlist?lis... My work hobbies talk: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfei... Other speakers: @nickyt.online @meg-gutshall.bsky.social @eyram.me @mikestreety.co.uk @trillium.is @notmichaella.bsky.social @danott.dev @justinnoel.dev @neha.bsky.social

Virtual Coffee Conf - YouTube

youtube.com

Nice talk on idiomatic #Kotlin: youtu.be/qNAWWuY22Mg?... I didn't know Kotlin UInts are used for colors 🌈 kotlinlang.org/docs/unsigne...

Dissecting Kotlin: Unsealing the Sealed, the SAM, and Other Syntax by Huyen Tue Dao

YouTube video by Kotlin by JetBrains

youtu.be

Pulled from my optimistic "Watch Later" list: an approachable introduction to hacking from Dane Sherrets talking at Chariot ETE youtu.be/12TDD5JBWTw?... Poking around in the web dev tools and manipulating URLs is a great way to get started finding vulnerabilities in websites

How Developers Can Ethically Hack for Fun and Profit - Dane Sherrets

YouTube video by ChariotSolutions

youtu.be

Happening today. 11a ET. All Day. Amazing Insights. cfe.dev/events/virtu...

Code & Coffee: A Virtual Coffee Conference

The Virtual Coffee community has been supporting developers at all stages of their career for 5 years. Join their first ever conference for sessions about code, careers and community.

cfe.dev

BekahHW@bekahhw.com · last yr.

5 years went into this conference and we’ve had a wonderful conference week. Come support these amazing speakers. I hear the MC isn’t too bad either 😉 www.youtube.com/live/EvDJpN-...

The @virtualcoffee.io conference is happening now! Check it out: cfe.dev/events/virtu...

Code & Coffee: A Virtual Coffee Conference

The Virtual Coffee community has been supporting developers at all stages of their career for 5 years. Join their first ever conference for sessions about code, careers and community.

cfe.dev

I got #Github pages working with #11ty despite making things more complicated than they needed to be. The result needs work but it exists now! albendz.github.io/albendz-code... Here are the resources I used to make it happen: - github.com/11ty/elevent... - www.11ty.dev/docs/deploym...

Deployment

A docs page for Eleventy, a simpler static site generator.

11ty.dev

Vibe coding is fun...until you expose API keys on the client side. Before you vibe code with Goose, do your future self a favor: ✅ .gooseignore your sensitive files ✅ Turn on Smart Approval ✅ Commit early, commit often ✅ Stay curious block.github.io/goose/blog/2...

How to Vibe Code Responsibly (with Goose)

Vibe coding feels magical until it isn't. Learn how to flow with Goose while protecting your code, your team, and your future self.

block.github.io

At Block, we're all in on MCP! Learn how our InfoSec team is addressing security considerations like agent communication, tool connectivity, and supply chain risk. block.github.io/goose/blog/2...

Securing the Model Context Protocol

Building secure and capable AI integrations with Model Context Protocol (MCP) at Block.

block.github.io

Excellent writeup on how MCP future-proofs API integrations ~ @stevemanuel.bsky.social docs.mcp.run/blog/2025/03...

Awkward interview story: My Block interview process was cut short by the layoffs this week, which included my recruiter. While that's not a great candidate experience, I think it's a worse experience to be a new hire on a team that just lost people. techcrunch.com/2025/03/25/r...

Read the email Jack Dorsey sent when he cut 931 of Block's staff | TechCrunch

Fintech Block laid off 931 people Tuesday, according to a leaked message from the company seen by TechCrunch.

techcrunch.com

Check out this conference next month from @virtualcoffee.io where I'll be giving a lightning talk on work hobbies: cfe.dev/events/virtu...

Code & Coffee: A Virtual Coffee Conference

The Virtual Coffee community has been supporting developers at all stages of their career for 5 years. Join their first ever conference for sessions about code, careers and community.

cfe.dev