Code with Jason

In this episode I talk with Julien Danjou, CEO of Mergify, about merge queues: why PRs that pass CI separately can still break main together, and how testing changes in a queue keeps main green. We discuss how Mergify grew out of OpenStack and open-source networks, why a "book a call" link beat a Stripe checkout for sales, selling on ROI after the 2022 budget cuts, and how AI-driven code volume is making merge queues more necessary.

Links:
- Mergify
- Julien Danjou's Blog
- The Origin Story of Merge Queues
- SaturnCI
- Nonsense Monthly

In this episode, I talk with Kevin Dias about his journey from investment banking to programming in Japan, building Ambiki for speech language pathologists, and tackling feature requests with a problem-first mindset.

Links:
- Ambiki
- Kevin's Personal Site
- The Problem-First Method (book)
- Kevin on LinkedIn
- ProZ.com
- Nonsense Monthly

In this episode I talk with Roy Tomeij, co-founder of AppSignal, about how AppSignal started in 2012 as a Rails-only APM tool when everyone used New Relic, and how it grew to support Elixir and other languages. Roy explains how its first customers came from co-founder Thijs biking around Amsterdam, why usability was the big selling point, and why aiming for "80% of what competitors have" works. We also talk about brand marketing for small companies: sponsoring conferences like Rails World, handing out stroopwafels, and investing in community without measurable ROI.

Links:
- AppSignal
- Roy Tomeij's Website
- Roy Tomeij on LinkedIn
- Nonsense Monthly

In this episode I talk with Eleni Arvanitis Konior, returning to the show, about the downsides of AI: people using it to reinvent the wheel, AI slop in code and on social media, the hype, and rising costs. We also discuss why proven practices like TDD still matter, and how to guide AI toward writing better tests.

Links:
- Eleni's personal website
- Martin Fowler's testing resources
- Nonsense Monthly

In this episode I talk with Irina Nazarova, CEO of Evil Martians and organizer of SF Ruby, about the 2026 San Francisco Ruby Conference. We get into her plan to make structured networking half the program: intros on stage, matching people into small groups, and sessions that connect startup founders with engineers. We also talk about why Ruby hiring feels broken for both employers and job seekers, the conference's free startup job board, and why San Francisco has more Ruby companies than anywhere else.

Links:
- Evil Martians
- SF Ruby Conference
- San Francisco Ruby Meetup
- Nonsense Monthly