I am by no means a database guy. I am barely even a server guy. But, recently, I was tasked with exporting a sizeable database from Amazon RDS for use with local development servers.
After running the following mysqldump command:
mysqldump --host hostname -u username -p dbname > dbdump.sql I am asked for the database password and then proceed to get an error complaining about an unknown table called COLUMN_STATISTICS. Unknown indeed, I had no idea what this table was even for or why mysqldump was trying to query it.
There’s been a lot of talk about the metaverse over the last year. According to its advocates, it will be a revolutionary new platform that will let us interact with each other in ways we never could before. But is the metaverse all it’s cracked up to be? I’m not so sure.
Admittedly, I don’t really know what the metaverse is supposed to be. Is it a virtual world, or is it a social network for VR headsets? Is it a term to describe a bunch of different futuristic concepts? There doesn’t seem to be a clear definition as to what it is even supposed to be. But, everyone is excited nonetheless.
In my LinkedIn feed of late, I see a lot of layoffs. Most of those layoffs are talent acquisition roles, some development and design, but largely talent acquisition.
If you’re not familiar with the role of talent acquisition, it’s a fancy way to describe an internal recruiter, someone who seeks out candidates for a company.
Well, Twitter just laid off 30% of its talent acquisition team. While the exact number isn’t known, 30% is quite a sizeable percentage of people to layoff as Twitter is amidst a hiring freeze and cutting back on new hires.
In recent years, there has been an explosion of front-end development frameworks and libraries. While this has made development more manageable and efficient, it has also led developers to become increasingly reliant on these tools. As a result, when something goes wrong with the library or framework, it can be difficult to determine the source of the problem and fix it.
You can cross your fingers and hope someone in a comment on a GitHub issue has a workaround or there is a pull request with a fix. But, I’ve seen how fragile the front-end ecosystem can be when a single library lags behind the updates of other packages it depends on and things can quickly fall apart.
Bitcoin was created as a way to bypass the traditional banking system. But can it survive a financial crisis?
Cryptocurrencies are still relatively new and haven’t been tested in a significant financial crisis. If a global recession arose and banks started to fail, would people still trust Bitcoin? Would Bitcoin prove its independence from fiat?
Bitcoin is not backed by any government or central bank, which means it is not subject to the same regulations as traditional currencies. This also makes it vulnerable to wild fluctuations in value. In 2013, the price of a Bitcoin went from $13 to over $1,000 in just a few months. And then, just as quickly, the price crashed to $200.
As everyone predicted and expected, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) just announced a July 2022 rate hike of 0.5%. Taking the official cash rate to 1.3%.
In the official statement, Philip Lowe details the decision and an insight into what the RBA believes is causing Australia’s inflation.
I’ve bolded some important parts of the announcement we’ll explore.
At its meeting today, the Board decided to increase the cash rate target by 50 basis points to 1.35 per cent. It also increased the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances by 50 basis points to 1.25 per cent.
If you had asked me for my opinion on GraphQL in 2019, I would have told you it was the future of working with data. Like many developers, I got caught up in the hype and believed that GraphQL would kill REST and other forms of data endpoint representation.
Fast-forwarding to 2022, my opinion has changed on GraphQL. REST is still very much alive and the preferred approach for API design.
After two years of pandemic restrictions and mandates, things finally started opening up in late 2021. By early 2022, most countries with the most aggressive restrictions started to ease things.
It felt like we were returning to normality, and there was hope.
Some companies allowed their employees to take a hybrid approach of a few days in the office and at home. Then some companies started forcing employees back into the office. And some companies threatened their employees to return.
First, let me preface this with the fact that I am not an economist. I am an avid armchair researcher who delves into topics like monetary policy and other facets of life that may affect or interest me.
Around the world, central banks are hiking interest rates. The United States recently saw interest rates increase by .75 basis points. Canada, Australia and New Zealand saw .50 basis point increases. With more increases planned for most countries, things will get worse before they get better.
Update: September 2025 I’m still a member of The Whisky Club and it continues to be excellent. The curation is strong, the monthly bottles regularly introduce interesting and well-priced releases, and the community and member events add real value. I still use it to discover new favourites and to buy standout gifts.
The Challenge of Choosing Whisky Unbeknownst to some, I’m an avid brewer and whisky enthusiast in addition to working in programming and music. Finding the right whisky can be a challenge. The world of whisky is intricate and exciting, and it can be intimidating for newcomers.