Josh Claxton

My Method for Practicing Soft Skills

So you want to learn soft skills now, but don't know where to start. Thankfully, you don't have to start over. The same learning techniques that apply to hard skills, apply to soft skills. It's important to think of soft skills just like anything else you want to learn. What works for me is...

Career

Why I Returned to My Previous Employer

After being away for 2 years, I went back to my previous employer. What a crazy thing to do! (Not really.) Before going back, I rightfully had plenty of reservations ranging from my wants/needs, company changes, and even the effect it would have on my reputation. Several years ago,

Career

Being Unemployed Refocused My Life

I suddenly decided to quit my job without having another one lined up so I could take a few months off. Of course, my timing couldn't have been any more ridiculous. Who would quit their job in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic? I was surrounded by risk...

Career

Coding != Problem Solving: A Visual

In June I'll begin my 7th year at DriveTime and who-knows-how-many years developing. Do we count college? What about my years in middle school with GameMaker and VB? (Thankfully I didn't know about source control back then so I'll never have look that code in the face. Phew!) Anyway, one

Cat

It's My Fault: My Cat's Surgery

I am working on a lightweight technical article that targets new devs, but before I finish that I need to address something more serious. My cat, Rorschach, recently had surgery to remove a cat toy from his intestines. It was a bell attached to a cylindrical piece of plastic connected

Career

Podcast Famous!

A friend of mine recently invited me to do a podcast with her; it was a first for both of us! She's a very opinionated recruiter and blogger focusing on the troubles with recruitment, interviews, and more. Also, she has the most adorable cats. The goal of this podcast was

API

Save Time with Design Time REST APIs

We've all been guilty of thinking we know what's best for somebody else, whether it's our political opinion on abortion or suggesting that others really shouldn't watch that new Star Wars movie. We do this all the time when we design software, particularly with APIs. We will get the requirements

Cat

My Human Writes Code: A Cat's Perspective

Hi! I'm Rorschach (aka Ror Ror), and I have been living with a human who goes by the name, Josh. (Yes, it's a boring name, but it's from before I adopted him.) I have spent the last few years of my life (all of it) watching my human give more