I've found lambda helpful for adding bits of code in other languages to your stack. Want to use a NodeJS library from your Python app? Jam the NodeJS in a lambda and don't worry about maintaining/scaling it.

Started a new job working on a company's API team. The API had out of memory issues and had processes crashing all the time.

The code was PHP. All API calls ended like this:

echo json_encode($data) . "\n";

Changed just one character, the period to a comma so the string wasn't duplicated before being output. Problem solved. Felt like a hero.

You probably found a co-worker's underhanded speed-bump meant to be taken out before the next annual performance review.

And Amazon is pretty aggressive and proactive about spam - if the bounce rate is high (<10%) the SES account gets suspended or shut down, so Amazon servers are not likely to end up on any ISPs black lists.

I think the point the author was trying to make was that you shouldn't split CSS files because the import order on a page influences how its all interpreted; that CSS files are not independent modules and you are kidding yourself in a sense by using multiple files. HTTP/2 will not fix the problem the author was trying to call out, it will just remove the speed penalty.

> CSS files are not independent modules

I wholeheartedly disagree. Using Bootstrap, for example, I'm able to remove rules that aren't related to each other by commenting out the import. In fact, I use only 5 of Bootstrap's 15+ LESS files for most projects.

Of course, for the custom CSS for any site that sits on top of Bootstrap, I put that all into one file. But for someone writing all their CSS from scratch, multiple files makes sense. What if you have a huge project that needs everything styled down to the radio buttons, and then you also have a one-pager that only needs a few styles? You'd want to be able to take your existing CSS with you and disable/enable as necessary.

I use Quill on my site to allow trusted but non-technical users to write rich text. It was easy to configure so it only allows a strict subset of tags. My users have been using it for a few months and haven't managed to slip in any disallowed tags, attributes, or styles.

I did the same. But those non-technical users still ask why they can't paint their text red, right-align paragraphs and insert as many line breaks as their good taste suggests. So it can't really work unless they agree to get a bit technical and understand what semantic markup and CSS are. And then, I'd really prefer to teach them some basic markdown and have them use a markdown editor, only so they can stop believing that "what they see is they get".

Having worked with MySQL for years, my mind was blown using Postgres for the first time this year (mainly due to HStore, CTEs, and transactional DDL statements). However, one constant pain point for me was the lack of an upsert. Glad to read Postgres will be getting it in 9.5!

I wrote an upsert generator a long time ago. It was one of the easier things to work around.

I have seen quite many broken home-rolled UPSERT implementations, so it is apparently not that easy to get it right. Still not very hard though once you have understood the potential problems involved.

Alot of the difficulty was explaining to others that there wasn't an easy way to upsert, and trying to ensure everyone did it the proper way.

In OSS communities it's a serious problem. At work, it was routine: this is yet another thing that can be more easily screwed up if you don't use a library solution we've provided you.

Striking a balance between shipping and perfecting has always been a struggle for me. The only thing that helped me get a handle on it was writing alot of code. Eventually, I gained a bit of intuition about what to skimp on, so I can usually do things fast while still delivering something that will not need to be thrown out in the immediate future. Mostly this amounts to coding things in a simple, straightforward manner and applying abstraction only when it's really necessary.

Yeah that's a good point. As time goes on your ability to pick what to skimp on definitely gets better.

Thanks for sharing. I've always just reflexively setup paid Google for Business accounts for my projects. Nice to know there are free options out there. Zoho Mail looks attractive for those side projects where you're paying out of pocket and you're not too sure how serious you're gonna take things :)

Glad you liked it. I have been using zoho mail for last 2 years and I must say it's recommended for startups :)

> Glad you liked it. I have been using zoho mail for last 2 years and I must say it's recommended for startups :)

I am not sure about "recommending for Startups" part. I have a paid version and I am not impressed. When there is a problem, I can't get to talk to anyone. You have to put support ticket in and they get back to you in 24 hours. Why not have option for live support when people are paying money? Just baffles me a bit.

Getting support for paid Google accounts is also pretty bad. At times, I've had things broken in my account for months.