Cesar Aguirre, Xataka México Journalist Profile

Articles

You Don't Need Markdown to Blog-But It Makes It Easier

1 week ago | dev.to | Cesar Aguirre

I originally posted this post on my blog. These days, Ben, one of my email subscribers, asked me a question about blogging using Markdown. Here's an edited version of his email:I have been on a journey to start a coding blog over the past couple of months but just cannot get behind Markdown blogging in an IDE, which seems to be the most common or popular way to create a blog. I find it far easier to use some web service that essentially amounts to a rich text editor.
There's Nothing Wrong With Coding Just to Pay the Bills

1 week ago | dev.to | Cesar Aguirre

I originally posted this post on my blog. I hate seeing "passionate" listed as a requirement in job postings. How can we measure passion? Is there a quiz, like those magazine questionnaires? "Find out if you're a passionate coder in less than 5 minutes with 10 easy-to-answer questions."The best coders I've met at past jobs weren't what we'd call passionate. By passionate, I mean making open source contributions, speaking at conferences, and writing posts. They were busy enough making money.
10 Simple And Practical Ways to Calm Your Mind in Stressful Moments

1 week ago | medium.com | Cesar Aguirre

“Readers Club” is a reader-centered publication that delivers valuable insights across diverse topics. With a seamless, rule-free submission process, writers can share content without delays, creating a dynamic space for genuine, impactful stories. Follow publication#4. — Listen to Dark Side of the MoonThese days, it took me nearly half an hour to calm down. I had just rushed to the ER with a loved one. And I simply couldn’t switch off my brain’s fight response.
Re: Will AI Take My Job? A Coder's Reality Check

2 weeks ago | dev.to | Cesar Aguirre

I originally posted this post on my blog. Anita asked if AI, given all the hype, will take her job. Here: Short answer: Not yet. Sure, we code daily and AI shines at spitting out code. But most of our work is balancing expectations and handling risk.
Active Reading Is Your Cheat Code to Better Writing

2 weeks ago | medium.com | Cesar Aguirre

A simple hack to improve your writingLast year, I challenged myself to revive my LinkedIn account by writing 100 posts. I didn’t know what to write or how to write it. I only had good intentions. My first LinkedIn posts were crap. Of course, 90% of everything is crap. I made every sin possible in my first posts: emojis, a big wall of text, external links…I’m embarrassed by those first posts. I started to notice the posts I opened and read. I collected the opening lines of the posts I opened.
9 Lessons from Writing 10 (Bad) Ideas Daily to Become an Idea Machine

3 weeks ago | medium.com | Cesar Aguirre

If you want to become a better writer, you have to hit the publish button. Notes and drafts don’t count. Practice in public helps writers get off the sidelines and turn pro. Follow publicationHere’s what I’ve noticed after writing thousands of bad ideasSince October 2024, I’ve written 10 bad ideas every single day and it has transformed my creativity. I started this practice inspired by James Altucher. I found it on his blog and books. He calls this habit: becoming an idea machine.
12 Hard Truths About Coding I Learned the Hard Way After 10 Years

3 weeks ago | medium.com | Cesar Aguirre

Coding tutorials and news. The developer homepage gitconnected.com && skilled.dev && levelup.devFollow publication#1. — Estimates are just guessesI got fired from my first job, took down a database server with a badly written query, and was rejected from a FAANG. That all happened over the past 10 years. But I’ve learned a lesson or two about coding along the way:1. Estimates are just guesses. The problem is when your guesses don’t overlap with everybody else’s guesses. 2.
The Day I Realized I Needed to Raise My Rates as a Coder

3 weeks ago | dev.to | Cesar Aguirre

I originally posted this post on my blog. Hourly billing is nuts. I learned that from Jonathan Stark, from Ditching Hourly. Charging by the hour doesn't encourage productivity. To make more money, you have to work slowly or pad your time sheet. In either case, you're not being honest. Even knowing that, I agreed to work as a contractor for a small software agency charging by the hour.
Don't be afraid of asking too many questions at work. Always ask why: 1) Why this task? 2) What's the real problem? 3) And why solve it now? It's better if you annoy people with questions than with mistakes from not asking.

3 weeks ago | dev.to | Cesar Aguirre

Don't be afraid of asking too many questions at work. Always ask why: 1) Why this task? 2) What's the real problem? 3) And why solve it now? It's better if you annoy people with questions than with mistakes from not asking.
How to Better Organize Your Program.cs File in ASP.NET Core Apps

1 month ago | dev.to | Cesar Aguirre

I originally posted this post on my blog. If you're not careful, your Program.cs file can become a mess. It can turn into a long class full of methods and conditionals for every dependency to configure. We focus on the rest of our code, but often forget about the Program.cs file. We could try extension methods to keep our configurations clean and organized. But, these days, while working with a client, I learned an alternative to extension methods for keeping our Program.cs file tidy.