TIL: How to Fix the Missing Deps File in Visual Studio

11 May 2026 #todayilearned #visualstudio

After updating Visual Studio last week, I woke up with this error message: The local resource “C:/Some/Path/Somefile.Deps” doesn’t not exist.

None of the projects inside my solution compiled. I cleaned it, recompiled it, and even restarted Visual Studio. None of that worked.

The problem was a broken NuGet source left behind after running my digital decluttering plan.

To honor the 20-min rule, buried in this StackOverflow answer was the solution:

1. List all the Nuget sources with dotnet nuget list source
2. Remove the broken source with dotnet nuget remove source <source-name>

Et voilà!

Mastering your IDE is just one of the 30 lessons in Street-Smart Coding—the roadmap I wish I had on my journey from junior to senior.

Do What You Don't Feel Like Doing

10 May 2026 #selfgrowth

The right time to do something is when you don’t feel like doing it.

If you don’t feel like going to the gym, that’s when you should go. Don’t feel like getting out of bed? That’s when you should count up to 3 and get up. Don’t feel like writing? That’s when you should do it.

Today I didn’t feel like writing my daily post. To spice things up, I challenged myself to write this draft without looking at the text. I opened LibreOffice Writer, set the font to white, and wrote blindly.

A small, imperfect repetition is better than a broken habit.

Do what you don’t feel like doing today.

If you don’t want to get out of bed and want a change, check out these 10 ideas that changed my life and could change yours.

Kangaroos And The Road Sign (A 100-Word Fiction Story Inspired By a Photo)

09 May 2026 #misc

Here’s May photo prompt from 100 word story and my story.

When some friends came over and you had some beers…

Every five minutes I asked, “Dad, when are we going to see kangaroos?”

I was 5 or 6. I had read every kangaroo book in the library.

My dad had rented a car. I didn’t care about Sydney and the Opera House. I only wanted to see kangaroos.

I don’t remember where we were, but we heard, puff!…and the car stopped. OMG! Smoke everywhere, hot as hell. “And the kangaroos?” I started to cry.

My dad crossed the road and took this picture. That was the only kangaroo I saw in Australia.

I’ll never rent a car. Ever.

Friday Links: Coding sucks, inverse laws of robotics, and Chrome surprises

08 May 2026 #mondaylinks

Hey there.

Here are 4 links I thought were worth sharing this week:

#1. Coding sucks (9min) It’s not like building a house, but like jumping into a ship, nobody knows where it goes…And no, AI didn’t take our jobs. It was something else.

#2. Isaac Asimov created three laws for robots to interact with humans. If you’ve watched I Robot, you already know them. And here are three inverse laws for humans to interact with AI (9min).

#3. Did you know that Chrome installs a 4GB AI model (30min) without asking you?…And if you delete it, it installs it again. Surprise!

#4. I already knew about robots.txt, but there’s a whole folder to host those files (2min).

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And in case you missed it, I wrote on my blog about why Star Wars is the best saga (3min) and 7 interesting but random ideas I found (2min).

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(Bzzz…Radio voice) This email was brought to you by… Street-Smart Coding, 30 lessons to help you code like a pro. From Googling to clear communication, it shares the lessons to help you stand out in the age of AI.

May the Force be with you,

Cesar

10 Lessons I Wish I Knew When I Was 25

07 May 2026 #selfgrowth

#1. Buy a domain and choose a professional handle. And no, a hacker-like handle isn’t cool.

#2. Start that blog. Seriously! Write anywhere. You’re going to like it.

#3. Open a brokerage account and start investing. Go with a broad market index fund and don’t worry about ups and downs.

#4. Take care of your body. Go to bed early. Exercise. Eat the right food, in the right amount.

#5. Don’t try to fit in. If you feel alone, there’s nothing wrong with you. Build a place where you fit in.

#6. Don’t force people into your life. That applies to friends and relationships.

#7. Ask for help. Figuring out things on your own is satisfying. But with help, you’ll get results faster.

#8. You can’t fix the world or people around you. And that’s OK. Often, they don’t want to be saved.

#9. Be present for your family. And being around and providing for them isn’t enough.

#10. If something feels off about work and life, you’re most likely right. Come up with your plan or work on somebody else’s plan—you’re not going to like it.

If any of my lessons resonated, check out these 10 ideas that changed my life and could change yours.