Gratitude Mode

No work this week. I took the whole week off, and it was a much needed break from all the project planning happening lately.

I haven't been on the computer much either, which is a nice change. My sister-in-law and niece were here for Thanksgiving. We had a great time with them and ate way too much.

It was nice to slow down and think about what I'm grateful for this year: health, family, career, and friends. It's easy to get caught up in the day to day. Taking a step back reminded me how much I've got around me.

I hope you have a lot to be grateful for too.

This Week on Slightly Caffeinated

No new episode this week because of the holiday. We'll be back next week with fresh content.

If you're looking for something to listen to, check out the back catalog at slightlycaffeinated.fm. We've covered AI coding tools, developer workflows, and plenty of questionable coffee opinions.

Links & Resources

Crafting Engineering Strategy - Will Larson walks through his process for writing his new book. What stood out: he offers an LLM-friendly version of the book. You can add it to your AI tool of choice, ask questions, and have it help create a strategy for you. I bought the book and plan to test both the traditional read and the AI companion. I'll report back.

PHPStorm Plugins You Might Not Know - A solid collection of plugins for PHPStorm and other JetBrains IDEs. Worth scanning even if you've been using these tools for years.

Skills for Building with AI - Brian Casel covers skills (new and old) that developers need in the current world of building with AI. Good framing for how to think about what's changing and what isn't.

How to Stop Scrolling and Write Instead - I found this BulletJournal video about writing in a notebook instead of scrolling. While scrolling through YouTube. The irony was not lost on me. I've done digital journaling in the past, and recently picked up a physical notebook and some pens. It hasn't landed with me yet. The tips in this video might push me more toward analog.

2026 401k and IRA Limits - IRS? In a dev newsletter? I love finances and sharing about it. Next year the limits increase for both 401k and IRA accounts: $24,500 and $7,500 respectively. I know this year has been tough for lots of people. But if you can, even a 1% increase into your retirement accounts yields huge gains over time. Future you will thank present you.

That's it for this week. I hope you had a relaxing holiday if you celebrated. Reply with any tools or resources you think I should check out.

-Chris