Steve Song

Sanity's Winter Release is here! The team has been working so hard on these updates, we can’t wait for you to try them out. One of the best things about Sanity is that our engineers are always trying to make the product better—and our Winter Release is such an example of that. Oh, and we have lots of fun along the way. 🤠 Check out the not-so-boring release video below to get a taste of what we're shipping, why it's a game-changer, and why are co-founders are so much fun to work with. https://lnkd.in/g2GEm9Md

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Conferences, conferences everywhere! March through June was packed, so many things were happening in our BC space... I ended up flying to 6 different events in this period. Three events from the Days of Knowledge tour, Directions North America, DynamicsMinds, and finally BC TechDays. Before I ease into the summer, I want to write a recap of the fun parts of these events, and a quick introduction, in case you don’t know any of them. It really is hard to make up my mind which one people should “look out for”. I think all of them. But since I know not everyone can go to every event, I’ve included my view of who’s the best fit for what event. And now, time to enjoy summer! ☀️🏖️🌊 #BusinessCentral #Conference #Dynamics365 https://lnkd.in/g4qg-3dd

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Does anyone else remember sitting in class thinking, "Am I ever going to actually use this?" 🤦‍♂️ I still ask myself this weekly when reading blog posts, listening to podcasts, catching up on massive Slack threads, or diving into documentation and feature listings. I don't always use the info, but it feels great when a memory from six months ago suddenly becomes relevant. I always think of that original Jurassic Park Unix scene. This often happens when discussing DevOps and Serverless, where boundaries blur already. Trying to keep all of the AWS documentation in my head while discussing the design of new features and optimizations feels like a superhuman task. What are some things you wish you had remembered when solving an issue or problem? For me, we designed a Lambda function to fail purposefully instead of attempting to recover for efficiency. Unfortunately, the Lambda control plane self-throttles a function once a failure threshold is reached... slowing our processing to a crawl and forcing some quick code changes. 😅 #AWS #lambda #serverless #learninginpublic #hugops

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When I first heard the term "Quality Engineer" getting popular a couple years ago, I was a bit skeptical. I know my Canadian friends do not like the term "engineer" for those of us in software development. And I'm hesitant to label anyone so that they sound like they're "in charge" of quality. I was persuaded to embrace the term by João Proença in his talk at ATD USA about it. And this post from Katja Obring also makes a great case for it. https://lnkd.in/eZP4XVKF I do think this is a big part of our future as testing specialists. (and hello, Alan Page and Brent Jensen, I like your "testing coach" term, and personally, I also like "testing consultant"). When I introduce myself, I still say I'm a tester by trade. And, I do think we need a term that conveys the huge contributions QEs/testing coaches/testing consultants/quality advocates make to their organizations. #HolisticTesting #AgileTesting

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Justin's career journey did not always go as expected, but that did not stop his momentum. He had a strong 💪 desire to learn and optimize, which influenced his 9-year journey at #Twilio. Read more about the hurdles he overcame, from engineering manager to vice president of engineering, in our "Career Journeys @ Twilio" series. #careerjourney #engineering #leadership #mobility

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The October Montreal.rb talk will be on how to "Tame Complex Queries with Database Views", given by David Cornu, a Staff Software Developer at Patch. Date/Time: Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 7pm Location: Anticafe Montreal (294 Saint-Catherine St W, Montreal, Quebec, Canada) RSVP link: https://lnkd.in/er8Hz24N Description: PostgreSQL views are a useful tool to make query logic reusable and maintainable. This talk will cover their pros and cons, a couple of real-world use cases, and how to use them in Rails apps using the Scenic gem. Speaker: David is a staff software developer at Patch (a climate tech startup). He cracked open Why’s Poignant Guide to Ruby in 2009 and has been in and out of Rails apps since. #montrealrb #montreal #ruby #rails #talk #presentation #softwareengineering #softwaredevelopment #programming #community

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This is a final reminder for the October 2024 Montreal.rb Ruby Meetup, "Tame Complex Queries with Database Views", taking place tonight at 7pm at Anticafe, Montreal: https://lnkd.in/dXhQ6k2G Please remember to follow these instructions when you arrive at Anticafe by 7pm (294 Saint-Catherine St W, 3rd floor, Montreal, Quebec):  - Upon entry, please check in on Anticafe's computer in the 2nd floor (free coffee and snacks are available in the 2nd floor).  - After checking in, please head to the 3rd floor to attend the Montreal.rb event  - When the talk ends (around 8pm), please leave immediately to the Networking Event location next door: NYKS Bar (1250 Rue de Bleury, Montréal, QC) - Upon leaving, please mention that you are with Andy to have your fee covered by Montreal.rb. The event is maxed out already, so if you haven't RSVP'd, you can RSVP for the next month's event instead, before the topic is chosen (if you are a Software Developer with 6 years of experience, you are welcome to present; just submit a title, description, and bio to get your talk booked): https://lnkd.in/d7RrRnQW See you all tonight! #ruby #montreal #meetup #talk #rails #db #sql #database #databaseviews

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"I left this presentation with no better understanding of what an SDET is than what I came in with. There were some good recommendations of what NOT to do (ex: converting QA, using "failed" software devs), but I'm still not clear what an SDET is actually *doing* in their role." What an interesting comment after my presentation the other day. How would you have answered? https://lnkd.in/eTs8utSJ

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My #1 management rule that I’ve seen even very senior people get wrong - people’s actions will mostly mirror how you treat them: If you treat devs like children with blinders on they will act like children. If you hide costs from devs they won’t care what things cost. If you don’t have devs on the hook for when things break they won’t care so much about when they break. If you treat office workers as untrustworthy they will act untrustworthy. If you force RTO to keep an eye on people they will waste more time in the office. The tighter you squeeze your fist the more falls through. Thats not to say there aren’t exceptions to this but it’s true in the general case.

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My First Computer… You Are Likely to Be Eaten by a Grue In the holiday season of 1982, I faced a choice that would alter the course of my life. My father asked if I wanted a ColecoVision or a Commodore 64. At that moment, the ColecoVision seemed like the obvious choice for a kid. But something about the Commodore 64 called to me—an irresistible pull towards the unknown world of computing. My father’s good friend Chris played a significant role in this decision. Chris used to take me to computer shows where enthusiasts would discuss parts, systems, and a curious new thing called online bulletin boards, accessed through a device known as a modem. The modem was an exciting concept—this “dial-up” technology allowed us to connect to distant computer systems through our single phone line at home. Back then, the modem was very slow by today’s standards, creating a busy signal on the phone line whenever it was in use. It was a time when call waiting didn’t exist, and our rotary dial phone is a relic of the past in this iPhone world. At school, we had several Apple IIs, and I would often get in trouble in class just to earn lunchtime detention, which allowed me to use the computers. During those lunchtime sessions, I learned to program in BASIC and fell in love with text adventure games. The text on the screen, which required me to imagine the worlds described, captivated me completely—just like my comic books. When I finally got my Commodore 64, along with a modem and a disk drive, I was ready to dive into this new world. The first game I played was Zork. I was instantly immersed in the game’s world, navigating through commands like N, S, E, W, and Up and Down. Exploring the dungeon, discovering hidden passages, and reading messages like “It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue” was both thrilling and terrifying. This simple text message, more than any other, intrigued and scared me, pulling me deeper into the game. Venturing into the Unknown Choosing the Commodore 64 marked the beginning of a journey that would profoundly shape my future. The computer opened doors to new experiences, from programming to exploring online communities. That early fascination with technology and exploration grew into a career dedicated to solving complex problems and innovating with cutting-edge technologies. Just as the Commodore 64 was my gateway to a new world, each technological challenge and opportunity has become an adventure in its own right. Conclusion Reflecting on that pivotal moment, I realize how those early experiences with technology and curiosity have guided my career path. The Commodore 64 was more than just a choice; it was the start of a lifelong journey into the world of computing and beyond. Every challenge has been an opportunity to explore and grow. As I have found throughout my life, around every corner and turn I take, there is always the chance I may get eaten by a grue.

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July has been an awesome month for our BigQuery team. We have a couple of things cooking in the kitchen that I was itching to write about independently. They just happened to somehow land very close together in the last half of the month. I'll do a post on each inshallah. Four in total, so follow along 😊. #First, from the July 22nd #BigQuery release notes: Continuous Queries are now in preview! 🎉🎉🎉 This is one of the coolest capabilities we are working on. It builds upon the best natively managed streaming engine in the world (BigQuery) to provide near real time insights for a number of critical use cases. It seamlessly integrates different sources and destinations of your enterprise application data with the DW warehouse of record. And, more importantly, it democratizes the creation of these applications by extending them to the wider base of SQL users. We had a sneak peak about this in NEXT`24 with great enthusiasm (reference to the post in the first comment). We are very happy and excited to have it now open to our wider user base. This is just the start of a very long journey. Things will only get easier, better, and faster from here 😊. Start here: https://lnkd.in/gbQwSj6Z Shout out to our awesome team: Luis Alonso, Haochuan Fan, Alexander Balikov, Nick Orlove cc: Pavan Edara, Tomas Talius

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QuotaPath just leveled up with features that make us the most adaptable commission software for high-growth teams. I have a special place in my heart for the sleek new Mapping Manager, which was a tricky project but SO needed! Shout out to Kevin Denny, Coby Burckard, Zoe Wolfe, Nancy Chen, and Ryan Weaver - I'm so proud to work with such INCREDIBLE people. 💖 No more fearing disruption from revenue leaders weary to make a change mid-year. Our updates streamline payout approval processes, enable data logic templates to save and re-use anytime you need to connect a data source to automate commission tracking, and enable quick edits to automatically account for team shifts. Plus, we added a few more integrations (including a spot on Salesforce AppExchange) to fit in the tech stacks you’re accustomed to using. Check it out below & congrats to our QuotaPath team! #RevOps #commissions #software #adaptability https://lnkd.in/ghQwnx3U

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𝗔 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗙 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗚𝗘𝗢-𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 (post 1 of 4) a week ago, I posted the problem of address shortening, that requires us to shorten an arbitrary address (currently, Canada only) to 40 char, or else the shipping carrier would get confused and would refuse to ship. to clarify, Fedex seems like the most restrictive shipping carrier, who accepts the following target address: (the following limitations are via API; the address length that Fedex can accept via UI/UX seems even lower) - street address: 35 char - address line #1 (apt, floor, suite, etc.): 25 char - address line #2: 25 char the total address length is 35+25+25 = 85, but it seems that, in order for Fedex to accept the address and properly deliver, the street no. and street name must go to the street address (1st) field, while the other info pcs can go to address lines #1 or #2. a brief research and proof-of-concept (POC), using the following free text address, shows that: 𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦:  (some possible real-life addresses, for us to sanity check the AI/ML inference, are:) - 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 2, 26 𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘋𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘬, 𝘊𝘈𝘚𝘊𝘈𝘗𝘌𝘋𝘐𝘈-𝘚𝘈𝘐𝘕𝘛-𝘑𝘜𝘓𝘌𝘚, 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘤, 𝘊𝘈𝘕𝘈𝘋𝘈 - 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 2, 26 𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘋𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘬, 𝘊𝘈𝘚𝘊𝘈𝘗𝘌𝘋𝘐𝘈-𝘚𝘈𝘐𝘕𝘛-𝘑𝘜𝘓𝘌𝘚, 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘤, 𝘊𝘈𝘕𝘈𝘋𝘈 - 5642 𝘈𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘳-𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳-𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘺, 𝘈𝘭𝘮𝘢, 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘤, 𝘊𝘈𝘕𝘈𝘋𝘈 𝗪𝗘𝗕𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗦:  or API, that may provide training or inference data: - 𝙝𝙩𝙩𝙥𝙨://𝙜𝙚𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙘.𝙤𝙧𝙜/𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬/𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙖/ : an hierarchy view of provinces, places (cities), and streets - 𝙝𝙩𝙩𝙥𝙨://𝙜𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨.𝙣𝙧𝙘𝙖𝙣.𝙜𝙘.𝙘𝙖/𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝-𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚-𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨/𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 : the Government of Canada provides a Canadian Geographical Names Database (CGNDB), that contains almost all offical locations in Canada, but it only sometimes provide an alternative shorter name for the location, e.g. Cape St. George-Petit Jardin-Grand Jardin-De Grau-Marches Point-Loretto -> Cape St. George - 𝙝𝙩𝙩𝙥𝙨://𝙬𝙬𝙬.𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩-𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙖.𝙘𝙖/𝙘𝙥𝙘/𝙚𝙣/𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩/𝙠𝙗/𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨/𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨-𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙮/𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮-𝙖𝙗𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨-𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙗𝙚𝙘 : Canada Post abbreviations for Quebec municipalities - 𝙝𝙩𝙩𝙥𝙨://𝙬𝙬𝙬.𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩-𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙖.𝙘𝙖/𝙘𝙥𝙘/𝙚𝙣/𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩/𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙨/𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜-𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨/𝙨𝙮𝙢𝙗𝙤𝙡𝙨-𝙖𝙣𝙙-𝙖𝙗𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨.𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚#𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣-𝙥𝙩 : Addressing guidelines, that provides abbreviations on street types, directions, units, provinces, territories, and other types - 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙂𝙋𝙏 (of course) - 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙤𝙘𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘼𝙋𝙄 (of course)

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It's been just a month for me at Ascenda, but already I'm amazed by the caliber of our Engineering team, our great company culture, and the exciting roadmap we have ahead of us! I wanted to take some time to share some things I’ve really been impressed by so far. 1) Building Engineering systems in an opinionated and intentional way Even though we have a jam-packed roadmap, we take the time to write RFCs, have in-depth discussions over system design, and place an emphasis on the non-functional requirements of each project. This intentionality drives us to prioritize quality, maintainability, and performance in our work. Of course, we are realistic: there are times when the ideal design simply cannot be implemented due to time constraints; no problem, we make that trade-off, and document it well to revisit in the future. 2) Strong Engineering-Product-Design collaboration Our engineers work closely with product managers and designers from the early stages of a project to its final delivery. This cross-functional collaboration ensures that every product we build is not only technically sound, but also user-centric and aligned with business goals. Joint planning meetings, collaborative reviews, and regular retros are integral to our workflow. And of course, we have cross-functional team bonding! 3) A busy team that cares about sharing knowledge I’m impressed by the various methods of knowledge sharing that we have: some teams have their own regular sync where engineers volunteer to share a topic of interest, while others contribute more on our tech blog (https://loyalty.dev/). We also have a weekly company-wide townhall where teams rotate sharing their recent work. It's awesome that busy teams still take the time to prepare this content to share with everyone; it's well worth it, as it gives all team members good visibility into the surrounding teams! -- Want to learn more about what we do at Ascenda? ascenda.com/careers. We're hiring! #AscendaEngineering #AscendaTech #AscendYourCareer

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Here in performance review writing season (it's just like the holiday season, except with Lattice and not Santa), I saw a great article about bias in performance reviews - I'll link that in the comments - that referenced this study: https://lnkd.in/eV-Cg_-g . It's full of amazing data about actual performance reviews. The data shows that people are spoken of very differently in their reviews based on their gender and race. For instance: "Both men and women received feedback about the quality of their work. However, the women were also more likely to receive feedback about their personality. Language like abrasive, difficult, friendly, and helpful showed up in the majority of women’s reviews, but in very few of the men’s." My experience is those sorts of comments are often brought up in performance calibration and promotion discussions too. So look, everyone has some amount of unconscious bias and that doesn't make you a bad person; that just makes you human. What I am asking you to do is reread your performance reviews or promotion/calibration comments, and watch out for this stuff. Call other people on it when you see it in theirs. It will help to move the needle on this if we all keep an eye out for it.

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Crisis communications got you feeling frazzled? You’re not alone! 😅 When a natural disaster struck, Hydro-Quebec turned a potential crisis into an opportunity, staying ahead of the storm with a powerful combination of social listening and smart strategy. In this can't-miss session, you'll uncover: 🔒 How to craft a crisis plan that withstands the storm 👂 The power of social listening (you’ve got 4.7 billion ears tuned in!) ⚡ Strategies for rapid, effective responses that keep audiences engaged 💬 Tips for crafting clear, empathetic messages and using social data to gauge sentiment Don’t let your next “oops” moment catch you off guard—register now and learn how to transform into a reputation superhero! 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️ 👉 https://ow.ly/k0aC50TZmOw

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