Rachael Wright-Munn
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chael.codes
Rachael Wright-Munn
@chael.codes
160 followers 98 following 250 posts
Software Engineer since 2012 | Live coding on Twitch since 2019 | open-source contributor | Programming Game Enthusiast | Featured in "One Dreamer" video game! ✨
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chael.codes
Sarah Mei is back!! I really loved how she addressed that some AI hesitancy is based on personal fears expressed as societal fears. I also completely agree with her vision of the future. But I think we'll see more small-scale niche projects too.

www.rubyevents.org/talks/the-ro...
#sfruby
Sarah Mei on stage - the slide next to her says "The Panic Discourse" and features a bunch of headlines panicking about AI. My favorites are "The AI coding apocalypse" and "'It's a bloodbath out there': Tech workers forced to take 'survival jobs' as AI cuts swath through workforce". Sarah Mei on stage, the slide next to her says: Current shift: AI Coding Assistants Speculation: - Applications can be written faster - More applications will be written - More ambitious applications - More types of people can write them Sarah Mei laughing at her own joke. Sarah Mei looking concerned and the slide next to her reads: Our Personal Fears - I'll lose my job - Software jobs will lose prestige or pay less - The hard-won skills I have are suddenly useless - The thing I like about this job is going away
November 23, 2025 at 9:42 PM
chael.codes
Tech is great, but you need people to buy into your product or project! @leenyburger.bsky.social's talk was a great overview of some different ways to get people interested in your project! I really liked the points about post quality and building trust.

www.rubyevents.org/talks/from-c...
#sfruby
Colleen on stage, gesturing, next to a slide showing a marketing cycle. There's a title "Marketing 101 by Colleen" and then 6 points in a circle. Identify Target Audience Who are you selling to, and where do they hang out? Create Create something for them Communicate Tell them about the thing Build Trust Make the thing useful/interesting/good Sell Product Upsell the product Do it again With a new thing Colleen on stage, gesturing to the audience. Colleen on stage with a camera pointed at her in front of a sign "2025 San Francisco Ruby Conference". The photo composition is particularly good. Next to her is a slide on an LED screen: None of this works if you don't Know who you're talking to Know how you're helping them (or if it's obviously AI-generated) Colleen on stage with a camera pointed at her in front of a sign "2025 San Francisco Ruby Conference". Next to her is a slide on an LED screen: The big three Social - Company Blog + Newsletter - YouTube
November 23, 2025 at 8:28 PM
chael.codes
This talk from @obiefernandez.bsky.social was a great explainer on how our understanding of the software development process needs to evolve with AI!

I loved the point about shared human and AI frustrations. New AI tools and docs are helping both!

www.rubyevents.org/talks/keynot...
#sfruby
Obie looks at the slide: Why does process exist again? Reduce uncertainty and coordinate humans - Create predictability in an inherently unpredictable activity - Manage risk (technical, timeline, communication, scope) - Align people so teams don't drift, duplicate work, or miss expectations - Ensure feedback happens before mistakes get expensive - Provide shared rituals that help groups make decisions and adapt Obie has updated the previous slide for AI Why does process exist again? **(2025)** Reduce uncertainty and coordinate humans **and their AI agents** - Create predictability in an inherently unpredictable activity - Manage risk (technical, timeline, communication, scope) - Align agents so they don't drift, duplicate work, or miss expectations - Ensure feedback happens before too many tokens get wasted - Provide shared rituals that help groups make decisions and adapt Everything that frustrates you in a codebase also frustrates your coding agents. Just in different ways. Humans get confused. AI gets unpredictable. Humans feel overwhelmed. AI loses coherence in its generation. Humans slow down. AI drifts, hallucinates, or contradicts itself. Obie stands on stage, pointing at the audience. He's wearing a black shirt with the words "dangerously skip permissions" printed in large letters on it.
November 23, 2025 at 7:19 PM
chael.codes
RubyLLM is such an incredibly clean interface for building apps that use AI! I appreciate @paolino.me's passion for simple interfaces and the philosophy behind it.
Carmine points at a slide: This is Ruby's time to shine in AI Carmine staring out at the audience. Carmine on stage. Slide says: The RubyLLM Philosophy 1. Simple should be simple, complex should be possible 2. Models and providers are commodities 3. Convention over configuration 4. Progressive disclosure 5. One API, for One Person, in One Machine Carmine pointing at a slide demoing RubyLLM. Track usage with RubyLLM ``` response = RubyLLM.chat(model: "gemini-2.5-flash").ask("What's the oldest known example of conifers?") response.input_tokens # => 12 response.output_tokens # => 1279 ```
November 22, 2025 at 10:11 PM
chael.codes
I was really excited about @josevalim.bsky.social's talk because I'd heard good things about Tidewave, but now I'm more excited by some of the suggestions he made.

The idea of a runtime API for fetching documentation is fascinating to me!

www.rubyevents.org/talks/naviga...
#sfruby
José pointing at the slides, face serious. José addressing the crowd, the slide next to him says: Integrate coding agents into what you are building - Writing scripts, libraries, frameworks => EDITOR - Building web applications => BROWSER - Running data analysis and reports => NOTEBOOKS - Crafting a game => GAME EDITOR Unified documentation - Hard to access, no metaprogramming, no doctests - Proposal: runtime API to fetch documentation (see Python, Elixir, Clojure, PHP) - Proposal: unified documentation website José addresses the audience, next to him is the slide: Structured templates - ERB builds HTML using string interpolation - No structure, no validations - HERB(HTML+ERB) to the rescue?
November 22, 2025 at 8:56 PM
chael.codes
Congratulations to @miss-tia.bsky.social on her first conference talk!!🎉

She's been working on pom, an app that brings together journaling, gardening, and recipes to promote peace of mind.

www.rubyevents.org/talks/peace-...
Tia standing beneath her slide: Peace, Love, and CRUD: Finding Calm in the Chaos–With Ruby, AI, and a Little Garden Magic Tia Anderson - Newish Rubyist and creator of: pom
November 22, 2025 at 3:35 PM
chael.codes
I GOT MY RUBY PASSPORT!!!! ❤️🛂

Thank you to @sfruby.com and @therubypassport.com for organizing an embassy!! ❤️❤️❤️
An open Ruby Passport in front of a window overlooking the tarmac at SFO. An attempt has been made to make block letters and emulate a real passport, but it has failed. The ink is smudged and dates have been scratched out and updated. The photo is a stiff, dead-eyed smileless stare like a real passport. First name: RACHAEL Last name: WRIGHT-MUNN Date of birth: (left blank) Nationality: UNITED STATES Signature: (squiggly ChaelCodes signature) Date and event of issue: 19 Nov 2025 SF Ruby Date and version when you started using Ruby: 10 Jul 2014, 2.1 Date and version when you started using Rails: 03 Mar 2015, 4.2.0 Colorful flag pennants adorn the wall as two volunteers help someone with their first Ruby Passport. Colorful flag pennants adorn the wall, and props cover the table. The photographer stands by, waiting for the next Rubyist. A screenshot from RubyEvents.org of Chael's profile. There are now 3 icons next to her name - verified, **Ruby Passport**, and contributor.
November 22, 2025 at 2:42 PM
chael.codes
I really liked @adrianthedev.com's talk about the asset pipeline. The historical perspective and comparison of different ways to handle js and assets was interesting. Especially how to include assets in gems (like Avo)!

www.rubyevents.org/talks/master...
Adrian smiling and laughing on stage. Adrian on stage emoting with the audience. Adrian on stage next to a slide: What did we learn? - The asset pipeline is powerful - importmaps is low-hanging fruit - esbuild is powerful and easy to integrate - we can create gems with perfectly delivered assets Adrian introduces a summary of the talk. Summary 1. What are assets? 2. How it was in the ol' days 3. Why do we have an asset pipeline? 4. Where are we now 5. How can we leverage it to build effective Rails plugins
November 21, 2025 at 6:19 PM
chael.codes
Learning about building MCP tooling to better understand your application with @baweaver.bsky.social was fascinating!! The questions AI is able to answer when it has access to introspection from Packwerk and Rails is really cool!
Packed Blackbox Theatre - standing room only. Brandon stands at the podium, the slide says "...but What if AI? MCP Tools" Brandon addressing the audience Brandon addresses the audience. The slide is slightly washed out from sunlight. Macro Tools QueryPackwerkTool Comprehensive Packwerk query with multiple query types: - packages - List all packs - violations - Basic violation counts - ownership - Who owns what - patterns - Most violated code with usage patterns - consumers - Who uses a pack - producers - What a pack uses - graph - Full architecture analysis (dependencies, circular deps, team coupling) - suggestions - Refactoring ideas Brandon addresses the crowd and slide (slightly washed out from sunlight) says: The Actual Value - "What does my team own?" -> 2 seconds instead of 20 minutes - "Where is this used?" -> instant instead of grepping - "What breaks if I change this?" -> analysis instead of guessing - "What's blocking the sprint?" -> instant instead of opening Jira - "Find the deployment docs?" -> instant instead of searching confluence For onboarding: Instead of 3 months to understand the codebase + tools + processes, maybe 3 weeks. For daily work: Less context switching between tools.
November 20, 2025 at 6:54 PM
chael.codes
Herb continues to enable incredible advances in the developer experience of html+erb thanks to @marcoroth.dev's work. There was a spontaneous round of applause for the new error page of ReActionView.

Even as I was getting my mic, I was on tiptoe trying to see what the latest is.

reactionview.dev
Marco on stage. The slide "Herb to ReActionView: A New Foundation for the View Layer" Marco on stage next to a slide "Ruby is elegant. Ruby is expressive. Ruby is a joy." Marco on stage looking serious. Terribly distorted slide from the camera angle and sun hitting the screen of the Herb logo and parsed output of a template.
November 20, 2025 at 3:05 PM
chael.codes
To start off the conference @inazarova.bsky.social thanked everyone who was involved in making this conference happen and reminded us why we're here–to learn how to build the future in Ruby!
Irina on stage, flanked by a screen that says "Welcome to" and the SF Ruby Conference logo. Irina speaking on stage, gesturing with a serious expression in an iconic orange vinyl off-shoulder dress with a white mesh long sleeve shirt under it. Irina on stage flanked by a slide that says "How to build the future in Ruby". Irina smiling mischievously as she prepares to announce the mystery host of the conference.
November 20, 2025 at 2:46 PM
chael.codes
Never change SF.
Fancy Bevi water machines with colorful led lights. Fancy Bevi water machines with colorful led lights. A display of the beverage menu with a bunch of flavored waters, electrolyte add-ins, and sparkling water.
November 20, 2025 at 2:03 PM
chael.codes
I love how cool and zen the zero gravity lounge is. This and the Ruby Warrior room are my go-to places to hide and be comfy.
Evil Martians socks hidden in the end tables. A sign saying "ATTENTION ZERO GRAVITY" painted on the wall, and a flashing alarm light above the door. A dim room with red lighting and modern curved angular couches. Imagine an octagon but with 3 segments missing.
November 20, 2025 at 2:00 PM
chael.codes
This venue is absolutely gorgeous!! I'm loving the transparent chairs and conference spaces!
Open main stage seating with transparent red chairs. The San Francisco Ruby Conference banner is flanked by two led screens with the logo on them. Long modern tables with transparent chairs in rows for the workshop studio. A moody theater with the walls painted black and the wall has a video of the SF Ruby Conference logo projected on it. A crowded sponsor room with a screen printing setup for the t-shirts.
November 20, 2025 at 12:59 AM
chael.codes
Let's go to @sfruby.com !!

This time I'm trying something new and all talks and posts will be replies to this post.
A view of the bay flying into SF. The sun is shining. The water glitters. Clouds hover delicately over the horizon. No trip to SF is complete without In-N-Out! Me and Max Tiu with burgers and fries. A view of the water from the walk to the venue. A gnarled tree overhangs the sidewalk. A view of the venue, the bay, and the bridge. The venue is a low, industrial building that sits on a pier above the water. A sign - San Francisco Ruby Conference - hangs over the door.
November 19, 2025 at 11:11 PM
chael.codes
I can't wait to see everyone at @sfruby.com !

These cloud cards were a fun little surprise in my inbox, and I'm really curious about everything else the organizers have in store.

Tickets are $350 until tomorrow. luma.com/sfrubyconf2025
AI-generated image of Chael playing with a Ruby and a train in the clouds. Join Rachal Wright-Munn at the San Francisco Ruby Conference on November 19-21 sfruby.com
October 22, 2025 at 2:53 PM
chael.codes
We visited the National Gallery of Victoria. These were a few of my favorites!
Apple logo apple made out of porcelain covered in the "one hundred flowers" motif. Porcelain N95 mask with kitsugi. Ancestor of the poäng, made by Ubunji Kidokoro. Gallery with red walls, completely covered in paintings from floor to ceiling.
October 15, 2025 at 7:21 PM
chael.codes
Good morning
Succulent covered in cone-shaped bunches of yellow flowers. The original post's photo features small tufty yellow flowers on grass. Photo taken by Chael at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne.
October 15, 2025 at 5:21 PM
chael.codes
Good morning
White azalea with pink spots, evoking the white petals and pink base of the flower from the original post - photo taken by Chael at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne today.
October 15, 2025 at 4:24 AM
chael.codes
Good morning!

Some photos from the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne for you!
Beautiful tropical flowers in vivid yellows and reds. An Australasian swamp hen and it's baby!! The baby is a tiny black fluff with the biggest feet. Gorgeous succulents in pastel blue, green, and pink. Stunning tiny yellow blooms.
October 15, 2025 at 4:20 AM
chael.codes
TFW you go to write a sassy BlueSky post about GitHub's contribution graph widget, but then you remember that you have friends at GitHub, and maybe they know the people who built it, and ask yourself, "How would they feel reading this post?" and you have to write one about self-reflection instead.
An image of the GitHub contribution graph widget, GitHub's only widget, that honestly, no one asked for, and isn't particularly helpful on a mobile phone screen because it only updates once a day, and no one ever urgently needs this information in an easily accessible way. But it might've been a hackathon project, or an experiment with making widgets for Android on an easy target. It was someone's project and they built it, and useful or not, it works.
October 14, 2025 at 2:32 PM
chael.codes
Guess I'll have to go get some more.
Snow-capped mountains in Victoria. Photo taken from the sky with a plane wing. Neon sun sits on the horizon with dark clouds below. Rachael and Ken (my husband) on the plane. Rachael is smiling and Ken looks like he'd prefer to go to sleep. Beautiful pre-dawn photo from the sky.
October 13, 2025 at 11:51 PM
chael.codes
Awww... I'm out of vegemite. :(
Empty jar of vegemite, scraped clean.
October 12, 2025 at 9:07 PM
chael.codes
Thus far, you've been level-headed, empathetic, and transparent. I appreciate that.

I think it's important that users of gem.coop know:

- Were you aware of André's proposal to RC of selling PII associated with gem usage data?
- Did you know he talked to Mike Perham about buying it?
Reddit comment from mperham: Andre has always been exploring ideas for sustaining rubygems maintenance and paying the team a fair wage. That was the ethos behind Ruby Together. In this case I have first hand knowledge since he pitched me on the idea: would Sidekiq, being a big sponsor of Ruby Central in the past, be interested if rubygems could somehow use the remote IP to identify the companies downloading the `sidekiq` gem so I could use that to upsell those companies to Sidekiq Pro, i.e. send them a cold email? Lead generation tools are common and valuable to literally every company. I pay $1000/mo and get a set of leads every month. Seems reasonable. I can see how your worst case scenarios might paint this in a bad light. We never discussed edge cases or privacy concerns as he was just spitballing this idea. That's as far as it got and you can see the same level of thought in his email they published. Hope that clarifies the intent. Email from andre@arko.net, sent on Aug 3, 2025 Subject: Secondary on-call proposal Hi Marty, here's a written up version of the proposal that I mentioned on Friday. Let me know what you think. ### In Brief I'd like to offer Ruby Central a contract to cover secondary on-call in exchange for a copy of the gem download access logs. ### Background Since Ruby Central has run out of funds for a secondary on-call, and maintenance budget has been so limited, I've been brainstorming options. Yesterday I met someone who has had some success building a system to analyze download logs from a package registry and using those kids to determine which companies are installing the packages. From our conversations, the market overall isn't enough to run a company and hire employees, but seems like it could cover the costs of paying for secondary on-call. If it's more successful than expected, I would be open to potentially using it to pay the costs of primary on-call as well. I believe this is a win-win because Ruby Central will get secondary on-call coverage that it needs but currently can't afford, and my consultancy will have a project to build that could bring us revenue in the future while we are still getting set up and are low on client work. ### Detailed proposal My consultancy would sign a contact with Ruby Central to provide secondary on-call coverage, with rotations and shifts coverage handled by us internally. We could offer to respond to escalated alerts (from the primary on-call to us as the secondary) within 30 minutes, any time of day or night. In exchange, we would receive access to a copy of the RubyGems.org HTTP access logs. If we are successful at turning download logs into companies using packages and versions, we would be happy to report back what we're able to determine, and make an agreement to provide that information for future RubyGems.org paid organizations customers.
October 10, 2025 at 5:07 AM
chael.codes
During Hacktoberfest, I normally like to explore, push myself, and contribute to other people's projects.

Today on stream, we added a "Mutual Events" tab to a profile on RubyEvents.org, so you can see which events you and someone else are both attending!!

Super special thanks to @marcoroth.dev. ✨
October 9, 2025 at 7:50 PM