DEV Community: Kenny Whyte

What is the best industry practices when it come to conditionally loading website data?

Kenny Whyte — Tue, 25 May 2021 18:50:04 +0000

Hello everyone,

I need some advice on the best industry practices when it comes to loading data to ensure that my website is performant.

I am currently working on a Travel blog that has a video in the Hero section. I only want this to load for large screens (desktop) and individuals with a fast internet connection. I want to make sure that the site experience can be accessible and enjoyable for everyone, no matter what internet speed they have.

Here is the blog - https://mtwblog.vercel.app/

Tech Stack
NextJS
Sanity CMS

What is the best solution to achieve this?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Kenny ✌🏽 + ❤️

Website feedback

Kenny Whyte — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 19:49:08 +0000

Hello everyone,

I am working on a website "Exploring Race & Racism" that is a repository of books, movies etc about race.

I am almost done with the structure of the site, so I am looking for feedback on what I can improve/add to make it better.

Tech: Gatsby/React, Tailwinds css
CMS: Airtable
Deployed: Netlify
Link: https://equality.netlify.app/

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Kenny ✌🏽 + ❤️

I'm a Software Engineer, wearing a mask, but it’s not COVID-19 related…

Kenny Whyte — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 16:58:50 +0000

I joined Dev.to about a year ago because it was a very welcoming space. As a black man, I thought it was a safe space where I could be 60% me. Why not 100%? Well, I was hesitant to bring my whole self because I was fearful that someone would make assumptions about me solely based on the color of my skin. That's why when I joined, I decided not to add a profile photo. I thought, "If I don't put up a profile photo, maybe they will be nice to me and see what I offer without judgment"

I took a chance and moved from "Lurker" to "Participant"

I am changing my Dev.to status from "Lurker" to "Participant"

Kenny Whyte ・ Nov 4 '19

#lurkers #beginners #webdev

Now, I feel somewhat comfortable sharing how I feel. I was going to write a post about Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matter protest but a friend (Damion) already summed up.

Original post by Damion Wright on Linkedin - Link

I’m wearing a mask, but it’s not COVID-19 related ...This is
exactly how I felt last week at work. There is a real fine balance
between talking about social issues with your team, peers, and
executives for fear of you saying something wrong, someone else saying something wrong, or something being said and taken out of
context. Fortunately, I work for a company where this is encouraged
(through my experience) to bring diverse thoughts to the table and as we say internally, “bring your whole self to work.”

For the first time in my 4.5 years, I felt like I couldn’t bring my
whole self to work. To be clear, it wasn’t because of the actions of anyone at work, it was because I felt completely smothered by the
events that have happened over the past several weeks. Ahmaud Arbery, Central Park 'Karen', Patricia Ripely, Breonna Taylor, and most
recently George Floyd all have a common denominator, they directly
impact the Black Community and people who look just like me.

I had to wear a mask… because I had work to do! I had one of my largest projects kick off on Tuesday and I needed to show up for my team. There is no way I could leave them hanging. Behind the scenes, I was hurt, I was angry, I was frustrated, I was terrified, there were several times I had to turn off video on Zoom because I was literally in tears. But I had to put my mask on and step up for the team, as I mentioned before, there was no way I was going to let them down. Very few people within my internal teams knew I was fighting these feelings, but the few who did, showed a ton of support.

As we moved into the latter part of the week, several peers reached out and asked how I was doing, if I was okay, lending an ear if I needed to talk, etc. Through these conversations, I had an epiphany, I learned the majority of people want to reach out in times of crisis, but a lot of the times, they just don’t know how to approach the situation, they don’t know what to say, they don’t know if is the right time and they don’t know how to say it. In addition, they don’t know what your response is going to be. So I thought I would share with some ways we, as leaders, can reach out to our peers, team members, or leadership in times of crisis.

Don’t wonder, just ask. I learned this principle from one of my peers Simon Pass. If you are thinking about it, it won’t hurt to ask.
Be genuine. “I don’t know if this has an impact on you or not, but I want you to know I am here for you if you want to talk.”
Show empathy and acknowledge their pain. “I want to understand how you are feeling and how I can help.”
Be ready to listen. Some people may open the flood gates, others may not be ready to have the discussion. Everyone processes things differently
Let them know you are an ally. Allies come in all forms, decide what role you want to play. Support and comfort, educate yourself and others, listen for understanding, and lastly STAND UP (silence is acceptance)

In conclusion, for those of you who know me well, you know I am an eternal optimist. This week my optimism was definitely challenged. The mask I wore carried me through the week and gave me the fortitude to share my thoughts, feelings, and be vulnerable with my network. My family, friends, co-workers, and network are definitely a pillar of strength. I appreciate every single one of you.

✌🏽+ ❤️

What is the best (free) way to monitor twitter hashtags/posts?

Kenny Whyte — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 16:45:00 +0000

Hello everyone,

I am looking for a free tool that can monitor twitter post for particular users

For example, lets say want to monitor @PlayStation, @NintendoAmerica @xbox, etc.. and be notified ( via email or some other way) every time they mention "Resident Evil remake" or #Overcooked.

Is there a simple tool to do that and have it send me a notification?

Thanks!

What is the best alternative to Azure?

Kenny Whyte — Sun, 26 Jan 2020 18:45:02 +0000

Hello everyone,

I want to deploy a .NET application. What is the best (free) alternative to Azure?

Thanks!

Is there a way to deploy Node app with Netlify?

Kenny Whyte — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 14:54:15 +0000

Quick question.

Is there a way to deploy a Node/express app (with public static files/folders) using Netlify?

Please let me know.

Thanks!

My Top 3 Non-Software Development Books For Productivity, Motivation & Well-being

Kenny Whyte — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 18:05:22 +0000

Sometimes we get lost in the software development/tech bubble and have to remember to take a step back from the computer screen and look at the bigger picture of life.

Don’t get me wrong, making a beautiful, well optimized, scalable, disruptive, innovative software that will leverage the market (did I use enough tech buzzwords here? 😁) is great but a person’s mental health and well-being are more important.

I try to read or listen to a few non-software development books every year. These books usually give me perspective about life. I may not agree with all the views in these books and that’s OK. I view reading these self-help books as a turkey dinner. I may like eating the drumsticks and thighs but dislike the wings. However, it does not mean it should hate the whole bird, I just take the part I like and move on.

These are my Top 3 non-software development books for 2019:

Title: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
Author: Mark Manson
My favorite quote: “Being wrong opens us up to the possibility of change. Being wrong brings the opportunity for growth.”

I guess the name of the book gave it away. If the crude language doesn’t bother you, you can learn a few things that will help you take charge of your life.

Title: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Author: James Clear
My favorite quote: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

This book will give a step by step process on how to implement good habits and eliminate the bad ones; creating great habits is essential in every area of your life.

Title: The Fall of Freddie the Leaf: A Story of Life for All Ages
Author: Leo Buscaglia
My favorite quote: “Every moment spent in unhappiness is a moment of happiness lost.”

This is by far the BEST book I’ve read this year. Ironically, it is the shortest. It is a must-read as it will take about 5-10 minutes to complete. It talks about the seasons of life and shows that we need to cherish every moment.

Do you have any book suggestions for my 2020 reading list? Please let me know.

Kenny out!

Oh, the dilemma! Should you learn React or Angular or Vue or “Another framework”.js

Kenny Whyte — Sun, 08 Dec 2019 06:29:59 +0000

What framework or library is best to learn first? Is it React.js or Angular or Vue.js or "who the hell knows”.js. or should you know all of them?

On your software journey, I am sure you will see this debate several times on the internet. If you are new to software development, this question can be very overwhelming. To make matters more complicated, there are many strongly opinionated developers who will quickly tell you why the framework you finally picked was wrong and not worth your time.

If you can identify with this dilemma, just close your eyes and take a deep breath. Just know that you are not the only Developer stuck in this quagmire. Heck, I was in your shoes a few months ago. I was constantly chasing the new and shiny thing, just to have it fizzle in popularity in a few months. Then I was back at square one. It was frustrating and I also discovered that it was the perfect formula to fail.

How did I turn things around? Well, in retrospect, it was obvious but it is hard to see when my mind was clouded. I’ve discovered that there is more to my Developer life than always looking for the next BIG thing to learn. There will always be something new. The truth is that almost all of these new frameworks are built on the software fundamentals that have been around for over 30 years. If you take a deeper look at the Gang of Four (GOF) book and other design patterns, you may notice that these are the foundation of most of these new fancy frameworks.

Let's sum it all up...
Stop chasing those new items and just focus on the old, dusty, tried and true software development fundamentals. Make sure that you understand vanilla JavaScript, this will be the core language of most of these frameworks. Then, pick a framework to play around (React, Angular, Vue or something else), and see if you can identify the fundamental patterns. There is always going to be a new kid on the block so focus on the core ideas. Oh, and remember to have FUN.

Kenny out!

Any Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) suggestions?

Kenny Whyte — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 16:00:03 +0000

I had a massive power surge at my home last night (all my equipment survived)🙂. So, now, I need to buy an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) and would like some suggestions.

Requirement

Budget <= $100
Built-in surge protector.
Battery runtime > 1 hour (with one computer plugged in).

Nice to have but optional

Monitoring via the app or webpage
Ethernet port
LCD Display

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Cheers!

I did it! I attended my first Dev Conference and I didn't die.

Kenny Whyte — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 18:44:12 +0000

I attended my first software developer conference(s) last week: Blavity's AfroTech and Google's Chrome Dev Summit.

In theory, two back-to-back 2-day conferences seemed like a good idea. In reality, it was an exhausting awesome experience: l met so many people & got great tips.

I won't go into details about what I learned, I'll just describe it with four hashtags: #insightful, #pivotal, #motivational and #worthIt

PS. Shout out to @tvanblargan for sharing this post (it really helped) - "The Introvert's Guide to Tech Conferences" https://dev.to/geekgalgroks/the-introverts-guide-to-tech-conferences-22nf

Cheers!

Software conference newbie needs some advice from the community

Kenny Whyte — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 17:10:33 +0000

Hello everyone, I am heading to my first Software conference this week.

AfroTech (November 7 - 10) - https://experience.afrotech.com/
Chrome Dev Summit (November 11-12) - https://developer.chrome.com/devsummit/

Well, I am actually going to two back to back conferences in San Francisco/Oakland. I know, I know, I’m crazy... but as they say, “Go big or go home”! I need some advice from the community so that I can maximize this experience.

Questions:

What was the name of the conference(s) you attended?
What are some of the things you wish you knew before attending?
Is there something you learned or experienced at a conference that has had a positive influence on your life or career?
Is anyone here attending these (AfroTech or Chrome Dev Summit) conferences this year?
Any other random tips you can offer?

Thanks in advance.

Cheers!

I am changing my Dev.to status from "Lurker" to "Participant"

Kenny Whyte — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 18:38:28 +0000

This is my first post here on Dev.to. I've been lurking for a few months but never contributed. Over time I've found this community to be a breath of fresh air. The Dev.to members are very helpful, knowledgeable and accepting.

So, for all my fellow lurkers out there, it is safe to participate here without fear of judgment and rejection. 😊