Welcome to the CoderJourney resources section. This page is a curated list of real-world items (books, recording equipment, etc.) and software. Everything on this list is something that I’ve used and found to be beneficial in my life, whether that’s recreational or professional.
I receive a lot of questions about the things that I use and like, and this page exists to allow me to showcase those items and keep people up to date on software/hardware that I’m using and recommending.
Everything that is linked here is something that I’ve used and would recommend, but here’s an important disclosure:
Some of these links are affiliate links. If you purchase after clicking some of these links, then I will receive a commission. This commission will come at no additional cost to you. I have experience with all of these products and recommend based on that experience, not because of the small commissions. Please don’t spend money on these products if you don’t think it will help you learn, grow, or help you achieve your goals.
Hosting Provider
Digital Ocean
Whether I'm working on a side-project, or just wanting to test something on a server. I opt to use Digital Ocean because they are affordable and so easy to use.
Recording Equipment
One of the most common questions that I receive is “What do you use to record your screencasts?”. Here’s the equipment that I use:
Rode Procaster
For recording screencasts, you need a dynamic mic. My microphone of choice right now is the Rode Procaster.
Mackie Onyx Producer
The Rode Procaster needs an XLR audio interface, and the one that I use for all of my videos is the Mackie Onyx Blackjack, but it has been replaced by the Mackie Onyx Producer 2x2.
Rode PSA1 Boom Arm
Having a boom arm is a necessity for keeping a nice microphone on your desk. This boom arm has been working great for me.
Current Preferred Web Development Stack
Being as I’m always learning something new, I bounce from one technology to another pretty quickly. This section showcases the technologies that have my eye at the moment.
Elixir
I've been loving functional programming lately, and having a background in Ruby has made picking up Elixir surprisingly easy.
Phoenix
Phoenix is a fantastic backend web framework. While becoming less and less "Rails" like, the framework provides a lot of functionality to make you productive fast.
Recommended Tech Reading
I’ve read a lot of technology books, but most of the time they only serve me for a moment, or I use the book as reference material. Occasionally though, a programming book will impact the way that I think and carry out my development. Here are some of my favorites:
Recommended Non-Tech Reading
One of the best ways to grow as a person and a professional is to keep on learning. That doesn’t just mean learning about developer related topics either. I would guess that the majority of the biggest breakthroughs that I’ve had came while reading non-programming materials. Here are my favorite non-tech books.