01 Nov 2026 #selfgrowth
Fame isn’t the same as success.
Fame is public spotlight.
Success is quiet.
It’s feeling good with what you do,
Feeling you’ve found a purpose,
Finding out what you’re here for and doing it every day.
It’s working every day,
Putting bread in your table,
Having a family,
Liking what you do, getting paid for some money for it, and feeling at ease with it.
That’s a true successful person.
A lesson I heard in a Sunday sermon that made me nod in agreement and realize I’m not that far to being successful.
31 Oct 2026 #coding
#1. A huge table, a bad query, and no indexes. Those are the characters of the scariest lines of code I’ve ever written.
#2. What’s worse than spending all day in meetings? Well, here are 12 nightmares every coder faces. Be careful it any of them makes you wake up.
#3. You spent two days preparing for your next interview, just to find out your interviewer, who never asks your name, wants to test your IQ and have your brain scanned to see if you’re smart to work with him.
#4. Do you have a minute? When your boss texts you that, you don’t know if it’s going to be a new priority or your turn to leave.
Booo! Happy Halloween.
Don’t worry Street-Smart Coding won’t scare you at all. That’s the roadmap I wish I had on my journey to become senior
30 Oct 2026 #mondaylinks
Hey there. Before today’s links, a quick victory and a small announcement.
Victory: This week, Street-Smart Coding turned 1 year old.
One year ago, it felt like a distant goal. Today, over 90 devs are coding smarter. You’ve probably started getting these emails after grabbing your copy.
If you’ve read the book, I’d appreciate a quick review on Gumroad, Amazon, or Goodreads. That’d help more devs code smartly.
Maybe it’s time to start thinking about a new edition.
Announcement: After 1 year, Street-Smart Coding became a 4-part series.
I’m working on the third book. A short and actionable guide to help you leverage AI without becoming dependent on it. I’m calling it: Street-Smart Coding in the Age of AI. You can preorder your copy starting at just $1.
As usual, here are 4 links I thought were worth sharing this week:
#1. In the age of AI, it’s time to revisit Brook’s law (3min).
#2. Just this week, I spent more hours testing an AI-generated feature for a client. I complained for a while. But software may be getting worse, but it used to be horrible (14min).
#3. Like any other tech breakthrough, AI promised less work, but we’re working more (8min).
#4. It’s hard to avoid reading about AI (OK, I’m guilty. I just realized all 4 links are about AI), but you don’t need to use AI (3min).
And in case you missed it, I wrote on my blog about gratitude toward the people who’ve helped you in your career (2min).
(Bzzz…Radio voice) This email was brought to you by… Preorder your copy of Street-Smart Coding in the Age of AI. A short and actionable guide to leverage AI without losing your skills.
See you next time,
Cesar
29 Oct 2026 #misc
Yesterday, Street-Smart Coding, my first book, turned one year.
It isn’t a New York Times best-seller… yet?
It doesn’t pay my rent… yet?
It’s just another tiny piece of content filling the Internet ether.
But it’s a big small win for me.
That’s why I broke my weekly routine and went out to eat a slice of pizza or two.
To make it more symbolic, I paid for it with the book sales.
By the way, I ate some salad and protein before, to control the glucose spikes.
Even I took some pictures to remember it.
Some say, happiness is about the journey, not the destination.
Just make sure to celebrate those small moments along it.
I’m doing nothing the rest of the day off to keep celebrating.
If you’re curious, you’ll find Street-Smart Coding and the rest of my books here.
28 Oct 2026 #coding #bookwriting
One year ago, writing a book felt like a distant goal.
Today, Street-Smart Coding turns 1 year old.
It’s the book I wish I had when starting out as a coder.
A roadmap with 30 lessons to build skills that last a career.
From the most conventional to the most unexpected.
I wrote it for my younger self Googling “how to get better at coding.”
Street-Smart Coding became a book series
After one year, Street-Smart Coding became the second book in a 4-part series.
I wrote a prequel, Street-Smart Coding Manifesto, and I’m working on a sequel, Street-Smart Coding in the Age of AI.
I already have plans for a final career guide.
Those four will be my attempt to pass on everything I’ve learned about coding, and nobody taught me.
What I would do differently
Street-Smart Coding made me learn to write a book the hard way.
I missed some steps writing it.
And, of course, today I’d do a couple of things differently:
- I’d write a shorter introduction.
- I’d rewrite Chapter 1 to make it timeless. The principle is there: find your own answers. But I framed it using Google, which is not as relevant in these days of AI as it was years ago.
- I’d start writing it backwards.
Writing a book taught me a whole lot about writing, publishing, and marketing.
But more importantly, it gave me the confidence to call myself a writer.
Some random numbers
Unless you write a New York Times best-seller, you won’t live off a single book.
But if someone outside your circle buys your books, it’s already a success.
Street-Smart Coding is a huge success.
In the last year, it’s sold 92 ebook copies via Gumroad, and 9 Kindle and 2 paperback copies via Amazon.
It passed 100 copies in its first year.
Apart from sales, it earned me my first hater.
Someone called me “b*tch” for promoting it.
And it helped me define my category of one.
Someone called me the “Street-Smart Coding guy” in a comment.
Since then, I’ve made it my bio everywhere online.
Apart from my daily blog, Street-Smart Coding is the project I’m the most proud of.
One year later, I’d still recommend it to my younger self. If you want to code smarter and build real-world skills that last a career, grab your copy of Street-Smart Coding today.