feat: edit & publish article.

Author: missionmike

src/content/posts/career/most-intense-debugging-experience.mdx

@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 ---
 title: 'A Most Intense Debugging Experience'
 date: '2025-06-26'
-updated: '2025-06-26'
-draft: true
+updated: '2025-08-03'
+draft: false
 tags: ['Career']
 featuredImage: blog/career-debugging-nightmare.jpeg
+featured: true
 summary: >
   I'd been contracting with the company for 3 weeks. Production had an issue, and I was asked to
   help.
@@ -35,8 +36,8 @@ the lead engineer.
 ## The Call
 
 One day, I was plugging along, exploring the codebase and learning about the product. I received a
-Zoom call from the Product Manager. He mentioned that they were having some issues with the app, and
-was wondering if I could help to debug it. He mentioned that the Lead Engineer was out of the
+Zoom call from the product manager. He mentioned that they were having some issues with the app, and
+was wondering if I could help to debug it. He mentioned that the lead engineer was out of the
 office, so they're checking in with me to see if I could help.
 
 "Sure!" I said. I like to help out, and this seemed like a good opportunity to get to know the
@@ -45,66 +46,83 @@ product better.
 At first, I thought it might be a simple issue, nothing too serious. I thought perhaps they were
 giving me a chance to learn more as well as to understand how I approach problems.
 
-I quickly realized that this was not the case.
+I quickly realized that **this was not the case.**
 
 Soon, the Chief Technology Officer joined the call. Then the Chief Operating Officer. Then others...
 people I hadn't really met yet.
 
-I learned that the issue was that users were unable to login.
+I learned more about the issue: **users were unable to sign in.**
 
 At that point in time, I wasn't too familiar with the company's user base. I didn't know how many
 users were struggling to sign in, and I didn't know how many companies or businesses that the issue
-impacted. I honestly didn't want to know.
+impacted... and honestly, I _didn't want_ to know.
 
-A big part of staying calm and collected in these situations is to not let the situation get to you.
-Whether the bug or issue is affecting one customer, one thousand, or one million, the root cause is
-the same.
+An useful strategy to remain calm and collected during these situations is this: **do not let the
+situation get to you.** Whether the bug or issue is affecting _one_ customer, _one thousand_, or
+_one million_, **the root cause is the same.** The potential complexity of the solution **does not
+increase** with the number of users affected! This should be good news.
 
-I was able to help them debug the issue, and we were able to get the users back up and running...
-but wow, what an experience!
+Spoiler: I was able to help them debug the issue, and we were able to get the users back up and
+running... but wow, what an experience!
 
-## The Debugging
+## The Debugging Process
 
-To debug, I was told where the login page was located in the repository, so I could start there. I
-was guided to a line in the mid-500s where the Product Manager thought the issue might be ocurring.
+To debug, I was told where the login page was located in the repository, so I could start there.
+
+I was guided to a line in the **mid-500s** where the product manager thought the issue might be
+ocurring.
 
 I began by adding some server-side logs to see if I could get any more information. I checked out a
-hotfix branch, committed the log statements and pushed, and the Product Manager was able to deploy
-this branch to a specific environment for testing. Thank goodness he was able to do that, because I
-was so fresh in the system that there was no way I'd be deploying anything!
+hotfix branch, committed the log statements and pushed, and the PM was able to deploy this branch to
+a specific environment for testing. Thank goodness he was able to do that, because I was so fresh in
+the system that there was no way I'd be deploying anything!
+
+> **Learning Opportunity #1: Awareness.** When onboarding engineers, review the app from top to
+> bottom. Keep it to a high level if necessary, but always cover all the points _from local setup
+> through deployment and hosting._ There's no need to hide facets of an application from your team!
+> Sharing abundantly could save you in the future. If I understood how this application was normally
+> deployed, I could have more quickly understood the fastest path to debugging it.
 
 After deploying, the CTO was able to see the logs on production (which I didn't have access to yet),
 and would paste the log results into our Zoom chat.
 
+> **Learning Opportunity #2: Transparency.** Every engineer on your team should have immediate
+> access to the logging system. This should not be difficult to find.
+
 I realized we weren't seeing anything meaningful, and most of the logs weren't even showing up, so
 the problem must be higher up in the file.
 
 I added more logs starting at the very beginning of the file, and we deployed again.
 
 There! Data. We started to see some details.
 
-The login page itself was lacking in error handling, and there were some linear queries that were
-being made to the database when the page loads and users attempt to log in.
+The login page itself was lacking in error handling, and there were some linear SQL queries that
+were being made to the database when the page initially loads and then when users attempt to log in.
 
 One of the log results after a query showed us that the query was returning an empty result set for
 a specific field... this empty set wasn't accounted for via error handling, and an empty value broke
-everything down the line!
+everything _else_ down the line!
 
 The COO was able to pinpoint the specific data issue in the database, and we were able to fix it.
 
-Voila!
+**Voila!**
+
+> **Learning Opportunity #3: Test, test, test... automatically.** Proper error handling and
+> automated tests would have caught this error long before it became a production issue. Defensive
+> programming is a must... always expect the worst-case scenario, and account for it in code. Then,
+> automate some tests to replicate those scenarios and ensure they pass regularly.
 
-Overall, this process took about an hour. It was intense, there was about a dozen people on the call
-at one point... but my blinders were on. I was focused on the code, getting answers, and finding a
-fix.
+Overall, this debugging process took about an hour. **It was intense,** there was about a dozen
+people on the call at one point... but my blinders were on. I was focused on the _code, getting
+answers, and finding a fix._
 
 ## The Aftermath
 
 After the fix, I was able to get a better understanding of the codebase, and I learned more about
-the actual impact of the outage that I helped troubleshoot. Apparently, this issue was a major one,
-and the company was grateful for my help.
+the actual impact of the outage that I helped troubleshoot. Apparently, this issue was a _major
+problem_, and the fix was met with relief. The company was grateful for my help.
 
-I found out the next day that the reason the Lead Engineer was out of the office was because he quit
-without notice after over a decade with the company.
+I found out the next day that the reason the lead engineer was out of the office was because he
+quit, without notice.
 
 The next chapter is to be written...

src/content/posts/career/new-venture-legacy-code.mdx

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: 'New Venture, Old Code'
 date: '2025-06-09'
-updated: '2025-06-26'
+updated: '2025-08-03'
 draft: false
 tags: ['Career']
 featuredImage: blog/career-house-of-cards.jpeg
@@ -10,32 +10,23 @@ summary: >
   first tech role... Serving customer needs. Driving revenue.
 ---
 
-I've been working in some old software lately.
+I've been working in some old software lately. Software that's been _running well since before I
+landed my first tech role_... Serving customer needs. Driving revenue.
 
-Software that's been running well since before I landed my first tech role... Serving customer
-needs. Driving revenue.
+Vanilla JavaScript and jQuery abound. There's no package manager or 3rd-party dependencies bundled
+up. There's very little automation. Formatting is inconsistent, there's no linting.
 
-Vanilla JavaScript and jQuery abound.
+I feel the compulsive desire to just jump in, and... change things. Format code, remove dead code,
+apply consistency and rules to keep things tidy moving forward.
 
-Little automation.
+Do you know what would happen if I do this, though?
 
-Inconsistent formatting.
+Collapse. Breakage. Errors. Implosion. Stress. Broken trust. Failed deployments.
 
-No linting.
+It's brittle, fragile.
 
-I want to jump in and just... change things... format code, remove dead code, apply consistency and
-rules to keep things tidy moving forward.
-
-Do you know what would happen if I do this though?
-
-Collapse. Breakage. Errors. Implosion. Stress. Broken trust.
-
-It's fragile.
-
-Also, smart people built it.
-
-People with business objectives, who had deadlines, plans... people who love to code, who love their
-craft.
+Yet also: **smart people built it.** People with business objectives, who had deadlines, plans...
+people who love to code, who love their craft.
 
 How would you feel if you welcomed someone into your shop, and the first thing they did was try to
 rearrange the furniture and reorganize the tools?? It wouldn't be well-received.
@@ -47,15 +38,10 @@ I'm there... deciphering decisions. Analyzing structure. Trying to gain understa
 It's been an exercise in practicing restraint. I'm being observant, asking tons of questions,
 learning the history. Learning the "why."
 
-Before I can help drive impactful change... first comes understanding.
-
-Then planning.
+Before I can help drive impactful change... first comes understanding. Then planning. Then pitching
+solutions, and perhaps getting some adoption.
 
-Then pitching solutions, and maybe some adoption.
-
-Then execution. As a team. Everyone leveling up together.
+Then finally: execution. As a team. Everyone leveling up together.
 
 It's been a refreshing change from working on greenfield tech! I feel like I'm learning and growing,
 and it's been fun... and even a little nostalgic to encounter legacy code.
-
-Onward!

src/styles/global.scss

@@ -248,3 +248,8 @@ section {
   position: relative;
   aspect-ratio: 9 / 16;
 }
+
+blockquote {
+  border-left: 4px solid var(--color-accent);
+  padding: 1rem 1rem 0.3rem 1rem;
+}