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Atomic Spin

Atomic Object’s blog on everything we find fascinating.

All Episodes

The Art of the Nerd Snipe: Ask Questions People Want...

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/20

Have you ever struggled to get answers to what should have been simple questions? Have you ever had a forum post had its requests completely ignored? There is a subtle art to asking for help in a way that grabs people’s interest and makes them want to get involved in what you’re working on, and […] The post The Art of the Nerd Snipe: Ask Questions People Want to Answer appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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Side Projects Don’t Need to Be a Grind – Let AI Do...

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/19

Most side projects fizzle out for me before they even start. Between work, family, and other social obligations, the last thing I usually want is another commitment. But this one was different. It combined one of my favorite hobbies with the chance to build something alongside a friend. That was enough to get me on […] The post Side Projects Don’t Need to Be a Grind – Let AI Do the Heavy Lifting appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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.NET Feature Spotlight: User-Defined Implicit Type...

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/18

Like many other developers who cut their teeth during the .NET doldrums before it went open source and cross-platform, I had written off C# as a language that could be described as “necessary annoyance” at best. No matter how many times another developer told me, “.NET is actually good now! You should check it out! […] The post .NET Feature Spotlight: User-Defined Implicit Type Conversion appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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Prototyping Apps with AI: Why Replit Handled My Big...

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/17

I recently had one of those “holy crap” moments with a tool — the kind where you close your laptop, take a walk, and come back grinning. The tool? Replit. Yes, that Replit. The one that’s been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons lately. And yes, I still think you should give it […] The post Prototyping Apps with AI: Why Replit Handled My Big Idea Better Than Cursor appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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Beyond Code: Using Cursor IDE for Knowledge Management

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/16

At Atomic, we’re always looking for tools that can improve how we work with clients and manage our internal processes. While most people think of Cursor as a coding tool, it’s one of the most effective knowledge management platforms I’ve used. A lot of my work involves drafting documents and parsing dense information (especially in […] The post Beyond Code: Using Cursor IDE for Knowledge Management appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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An AI-Powered Development Workflow for Solo Builders

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/15

If you’ve ever started a side project with grand ambitions only to watch it slowly die in a graveyard of half-finished Git repositories, you’re not alone. The solo developer experience is uniquely brutal. One moment you’re the product manager sketching out user flows, and the next you’re the backend engineer debugging database queries. Then, suddenly, […] The post An AI-Powered Development Workflow for Solo Builders appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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Working With Me 101: The Power of Human READMEs

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/14

If you’ve worked in software, you’ve likely run across a README file. README files are an easy-to-read document that typically serve as the first point of reference for anyone interacting with a project, software, or dataset. Their main purpose is to explain what the project is, how it works, and how to use it. Turns […]The post Working With Me 101: The Power of Human READMEs appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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From Experiment to Investment: Prove Generative AI...

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/13

Over the past year, I have watched client after client experiment with large language models (LLMs). They tweak prompts. They assemble data pipelines and fine-tune custom variants. Yet almost every team hits a brick wall when it comes to justifying the next phase of investment. It is common to hear, “The proof of concept was […] The post From Experiment to Investment: Prove Generative AI ROI in Your Business Processes appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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Create a Current Location Map for Mobile Devices with...

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/12

I’ve recently been working on developing a geofencing app, with the core focus on defining zones and triggering actions when a user enters them. However, I thought it would also be nice to show people where they currently are so they can easily navigate to other geofences in the area. A small, live-updating map tucked […] The post Create a Current Location Map for Mobile Devices with Expo and React Native appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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Talking AI, Culture, and Change on RioT Underground

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/11

I recently joined a live-audience episode of the RioT Underground podcast to share my perspective on AI and how Atomic Object is approaching it. We covered a range of topics, from the hype and reality of today’s tools to how company culture can adapt when the way we work changes quickly. Our Approach to AI […] The post Talking AI, Culture, and Change on RioT Underground appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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Designing in the Age of AI: How Our Process Is...

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/10

Over the past few years, the Atomic design team has been defining our role on project teams—understanding where we add the most value and how we can better support other disciplines. We take a practical, hands-on approach to influencing and guiding the “human lens” of a software product. That means advocating for users, learning from […] The post Designing in the Age of AI: How Our Process Is Evolving at Atomic appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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Why I Always Check Out and Test PR Branches Locally

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/09

Automated tests are a powerful safety net. They are fast, repeatable, and protect against regressions. But they are not a substitute for actually running the code locally yourself. Before I approve a pull request, I always check out the branch locally and test the code manually. It’s often the first thing I do as part […] The post Why I Always Check Out and Test PR Branches Locally appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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UI Automation with (AX)Swift (and AI)

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/08

I recently found myself wanting to automate a tedious task in a UI application. Working on a Mac, I started out looking at AppleScript and HammerSpoon, but eventually settled on writing a small Swift app. Here’s what I learned! What The task I was looking to automate is really simple – click a few buttons, […] The post UI Automation with (AX)Swift (and AI) appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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Why Using Software Is Like Eating at a Brazilian...

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/07

Imagine walking into a high-end Brazilian steakhouse. You sit down, ready for a mouthwatering parade of grilled meats, expertly carved at your table. But something’s… off. The servers are hesitant. They don’t seem to know the difference between flank steak and filet mignon. The chef recommends the vegan house dressing for your ribeye. And when […] The post Why Using Software Is Like Eating at a Brazilian Steakhouse Run by Vegans appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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Two Years Designing with AI: How My Process...

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/06

Over the past two years, I’ve been building tools with AI and for AI (agents, automation, machine learning, computer vision, data labeling for model training)—sometimes for companies, sometimes for internal products, sometimes for experiments that are never meant to see the light of day. And somewhere along the way, my entire approach to product design […] The post Two Years Designing with AI: How My Process Completely Changed appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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The Entity Framework: WHERE IN vs. OPENJSON Problem

Atomic Spin ·

2025/09/05

I’ve been investigating a performance issue with a slow query that is generated by Entity Framework (9.x) running on a v15 SQL Server database. The query is pretty simple. It’s just selecting rows based on one or more values that are in an indexed string column. But when executed, it doesn’t appear that the index […] The post The Entity Framework: WHERE IN vs. OPENJSON Problem appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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Why Programmers Should Do Their Own Taxes

Atomic Spin ·

2025/08/31

Every year, millions of programmers hand over their tax documents to accountants, paying hundreds of dollars for something they could easily do themselves. While the complexity of tax law might seem daunting, programmers possess exactly the skills needed to navigate tax preparation software and understand the logic behind tax calculations. Use the skills you already […]The post Why Programmers Should Do Their Own Taxes appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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Make Remote Work Human: Building Culture from a Distance

Atomic Spin ·

2025/08/30

One of the fundamental differences Atomic Object brings to the table is our appetite and preference for working collaboratively, in person. It’s core to our business model and a defining part of our brand. But daily in-person collaboration isn’t always an option. Many projects today are predominantly remote or hybrid, and that reality calls for […] The post Make Remote Work Human: Building Culture from a Distance appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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3 Reasons Celebrating Wins is More Than Just Fun

Atomic Spin ·

2025/08/29

Last quarter, our team reached a major milestone we’ve been working on all year. This will save our client time, reduce repetitive work, and improve accuracy. It was also the quarter I joined this team — along with two other new developers. Part of my early work was getting myself oriented while helping the others […] The post 3 Reasons Celebrating Wins is More Than Just Fun appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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Disposable vs. Durable Code: You Can’t Build Rome...

Atomic Spin ·

2025/08/28

There’s a time for trash-bin code—quick, dirty, utterly disposable. And then there’s the “write once, cry never” durable code you build when you know it’s sticking around. This post is your cheat sheet for deciding which is which, how to avoid gold-plating prototypes, why KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) is still your best friend, and […] The post Disposable vs. Durable Code: You Can’t Build Rome with Sticky Notes appeared first on Atomic Spin.

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487 results