TaB: Ring buffers, LLM ethics, Rust lifetimes, and legal names
Hello and happy Friday!
Four blog posts this month, and an announcement about my coaching services after that! This month has been an okay one for me. Writing is my anchor and my outlet, and it has kept me grounded. And another positive is finally publicly offering my coaching services! On the negative side, I had hernia surgery—it's routine, but the recovery is non-trivial, and it's requiring me to rest more than I'd like.
I'm hoping you have had a great month. Enjoy these posts!
Blog updates
- What's in a ring buffer? And using them in Rust: A recent project needed a ring buffer, and I was telling a friend about them. I figured, may as well tell you all about them, too! Ring buffers are a really cool data structure that are great for streaming data and performance-sensitive applications.
- Can I ethically use LLMs?: I'm not giving you an answer to the title question, because all I have are questions and concerns. I don't use LLMs today, but have in the past, and have become uneasy doing so. All of us as technologists ought to be thinking about these things and working in line with our values.
- Your product shouldn't require showing my legal name: I got verified on LinkedIn recently, and by their own marketing they give many more views to people who are verified than not. The problem is, there are lots of people who cannot get verified—and only because the platform require that you display your legal name if you get verified. This is harmful, this is problematic, and products should not be designed this way.
- Some things that make Rust lifetimes hard to learn: Rust is notoriously hard to learn, with lifetimes and the borrow checker being a big part of it. A friend of mine took Rust for a spin, and these are some of the things that he found made lifetimes particularly tough to grok.
Coaching services
I have had mentors and coaches that have helped me a lot throughout my career, so I know how important and impactful a good coach can be. I've also had the opportunity to help a lot of my colleagues through coaching at work, and my friends informally.
If you're looking for someone to help you get through challenges you're facing as a software engineer—whether that's how to navigate a sticky situation at work, how to find the perfect job for you, or figuring out how to break into a staff engineer role—I can help you with that. You can see more information on my website, and email me to explore working together.
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I hope you have a great month!
❤️ Nicole