Rachael Wright-Munn
LightNews LightNews
chael.codes
Rachael Wright-Munn
@chael.codes
150 followers 88 following 230 posts
Software Engineer since 2012 | Live coding on Twitch since 2019 | open-source contributor | Programming Game Enthusiast | Featured in "One Dreamer" video game! ✨
Posts Replies Media Videos
chael.codes
I can't wait to see everyone at @sfruby.com !

These cloud cards were a fun little surprise in my inbox, and I'm really curious about everything else the organizers have in store.

Tickets are $350 until tomorrow. luma.com/sfrubyconf2025
AI-generated image of Chael playing with a Ruby and a train in the clouds. Join Rachal Wright-Munn at the San Francisco Ruby Conference on November 19-21 sfruby.com
October 22, 2025 at 2:53 PM
chael.codes
We visited the National Gallery of Victoria. These were a few of my favorites!
Apple logo apple made out of porcelain covered in the "one hundred flowers" motif. Porcelain N95 mask with kitsugi. Ancestor of the poäng, made by Ubunji Kidokoro. Gallery with red walls, completely covered in paintings from floor to ceiling.
October 15, 2025 at 7:21 PM
chael.codes
Good morning
Succulent covered in cone-shaped bunches of yellow flowers. The original post's photo features small tufty yellow flowers on grass. Photo taken by Chael at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne.
October 15, 2025 at 5:21 PM
chael.codes
Good morning
White azalea with pink spots, evoking the white petals and pink base of the flower from the original post - photo taken by Chael at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne today.
October 15, 2025 at 4:24 AM
chael.codes
Good morning!

Some photos from the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne for you!
Beautiful tropical flowers in vivid yellows and reds. An Australasian swamp hen and it's baby!! The baby is a tiny black fluff with the biggest feet. Gorgeous succulents in pastel blue, green, and pink. Stunning tiny yellow blooms.
October 15, 2025 at 4:20 AM
chael.codes
TFW you go to write a sassy BlueSky post about GitHub's contribution graph widget, but then you remember that you have friends at GitHub, and maybe they know the people who built it, and ask yourself, "How would they feel reading this post?" and you have to write one about self-reflection instead.
An image of the GitHub contribution graph widget, GitHub's only widget, that honestly, no one asked for, and isn't particularly helpful on a mobile phone screen because it only updates once a day, and no one ever urgently needs this information in an easily accessible way. But it might've been a hackathon project, or an experiment with making widgets for Android on an easy target. It was someone's project and they built it, and useful or not, it works.
October 14, 2025 at 2:32 PM
chael.codes
Guess I'll have to go get some more.
Snow-capped mountains in Victoria. Photo taken from the sky with a plane wing. Neon sun sits on the horizon with dark clouds below. Rachael and Ken (my husband) on the plane. Rachael is smiling and Ken looks like he'd prefer to go to sleep. Beautiful pre-dawn photo from the sky.
October 13, 2025 at 11:51 PM
chael.codes
Awww... I'm out of vegemite. :(
Empty jar of vegemite, scraped clean.
October 12, 2025 at 9:07 PM
chael.codes
Thus far, you've been level-headed, empathetic, and transparent. I appreciate that.

I think it's important that users of gem.coop know:

- Were you aware of André's proposal to RC of selling PII associated with gem usage data?
- Did you know he talked to Mike Perham about buying it?
Reddit comment from mperham: Andre has always been exploring ideas for sustaining rubygems maintenance and paying the team a fair wage. That was the ethos behind Ruby Together. In this case I have first hand knowledge since he pitched me on the idea: would Sidekiq, being a big sponsor of Ruby Central in the past, be interested if rubygems could somehow use the remote IP to identify the companies downloading the `sidekiq` gem so I could use that to upsell those companies to Sidekiq Pro, i.e. send them a cold email? Lead generation tools are common and valuable to literally every company. I pay $1000/mo and get a set of leads every month. Seems reasonable. I can see how your worst case scenarios might paint this in a bad light. We never discussed edge cases or privacy concerns as he was just spitballing this idea. That's as far as it got and you can see the same level of thought in his email they published. Hope that clarifies the intent. Email from andre@arko.net, sent on Aug 3, 2025 Subject: Secondary on-call proposal Hi Marty, here's a written up version of the proposal that I mentioned on Friday. Let me know what you think. ### In Brief I'd like to offer Ruby Central a contract to cover secondary on-call in exchange for a copy of the gem download access logs. ### Background Since Ruby Central has run out of funds for a secondary on-call, and maintenance budget has been so limited, I've been brainstorming options. Yesterday I met someone who has had some success building a system to analyze download logs from a package registry and using those kids to determine which companies are installing the packages. From our conversations, the market overall isn't enough to run a company and hire employees, but seems like it could cover the costs of paying for secondary on-call. If it's more successful than expected, I would be open to potentially using it to pay the costs of primary on-call as well. I believe this is a win-win because Ruby Central will get secondary on-call coverage that it needs but currently can't afford, and my consultancy will have a project to build that could bring us revenue in the future while we are still getting set up and are low on client work. ### Detailed proposal My consultancy would sign a contact with Ruby Central to provide secondary on-call coverage, with rotations and shifts coverage handled by us internally. We could offer to respond to escalated alerts (from the primary on-call to us as the secondary) within 30 minutes, any time of day or night. In exchange, we would receive access to a copy of the RubyGems.org HTTP access logs. If we are successful at turning download logs into companies using packages and versions, we would be happy to report back what we're able to determine, and make an agreement to provide that information for future RubyGems.org paid organizations customers.
October 10, 2025 at 5:07 AM
chael.codes
During Hacktoberfest, I normally like to explore, push myself, and contribute to other people's projects.

Today on stream, we added a "Mutual Events" tab to a profile on RubyEvents.org, so you can see which events you and someone else are both attending!!

Super special thanks to @marcoroth.dev. ✨
October 9, 2025 at 7:50 PM
chael.codes
They have this map.

Obviously I'm looking forward to getting my Ruby passport, and I'm sure the lounges will be interesting.

But what is this secret experience?
Map of SF Ruby Conference's venue. There are food trucks. 2 theaters - Blackbox and Main Stage. 2 lounges - Zero Gravity and Spacesuits. A workshop studio. There's a Ruby Embassy room. Then there's a room labeled "Secret Experience".
October 9, 2025 at 10:25 AM
chael.codes
Good morning!
Photo of giant lily pads like the ones from the original post. Smaller lily pads and flowers surround them. Photo credit: Rachael (me)
October 8, 2025 at 3:09 PM
chael.codes
I'm talking about this screenshot.
AWS Page showing the rubygems-production-14 database. The actions panel is open and "Stop temporarily" is highlighted.
September 30, 2025 at 8:53 PM
chael.codes
In January, his role expanded to leadership of RubyGems and Bundler.

rubycentral.org/news/alpha-o...
Marty Haught’s Expanded Leadership Role as Director of Open Source As our Interim Open Source Lead since August 2024, Marty Haught has been instrumental in guiding our open source efforts. We are thrilled for Marty to transition from a part-time to a full-time role as Director of Open Source, where he will provide dedicated leadership for Ruby Central’s Open Source Program. Specifically, Marty will focus on: Leadership of RubyGems and Bundler teams: Marty will continue to provide leadership for the RubyGems and Bundler teams, overseeing their operations and ensuring that the core infrastructure remains secure, reliable, and adaptable to developer needs. This includes managing day-to-day operations and ensuring the health and sustainability of RubyGems.org. Operationalizing security for RubyGems: Marty will build a robust security strategy, starting by overseeing the completion of a security inventory of RubyGems’ policies, systems, and services, building on the Trail of Bits security audit. Building a security-minded community: Marty will spearhead the creation of a security-focused community within the Ruby ecosystem. This includes forming a security working group of Ruby committers, key gem maintainers, and enterprise customers to engage in dialogue around best practices and address security gaps.
September 28, 2025 at 11:56 PM
chael.codes
Today's stream over at twitch.tv/ChaelCodes went well, despite some issues with connectivity. I added PgSearch to MeetAnother.day, and it was shockingly smooth and easy! You can now search for profiles by name or handle.

PR: github.com/ChaelCodes/M...
September 25, 2025 at 8:52 PM
chael.codes
We just gathered everyone who was left at the end of the conference and headed over to Six Feet Under.

Then we played post-conference mini-golf at Puttshack!

It was a fantastic way to end a very full day of conferencing!
A table of 12 Rubyists in a seafood-focused pub. Thomas, Matt, Chael, Thomas, Kat, and Jeremy all smiling under a glowing neon Ruby sign.
September 15, 2025 at 7:26 PM
chael.codes
Kylie's overview of SAST in Ruby applications was so helpful!

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about security on meetanother.day. This talk let me confidently close one issue and focus on the CodeQL workflows that are available for free for open-source apps on GitHub!
Kylie speaks to the audience. Kylie smiles delightedly as she describes: Sensibility of Ruby Tools (often gems) are: - easy to use - fast to set up - naturally fit into workflow Kylie describes a common vulnerability in Ruby. Ruby Vulnerability - Mass Assignment code sample demonstrating a mass assignment vulnerability Kylie breaks down exactly which vulnerabilities each SAST tool covers. It's a table showing what each tool sees or misses. - All tools caught Insecure Deserialization - CodeQL caught all listed vulnerabilities - Brakeman and Opengrep caught everything except cross file data flows - Code QL is the only one that caught cross file data flows
September 15, 2025 at 7:26 PM
chael.codes
Javier Zon talked about issues he sees as a DBA and how to resolve them on the application side.
Javier dramatically gestures in front of the title slide. FROM Expensive Queries TO Smart Caching A DBA's Guide for Rails Javier addressing the audience. Javier highlights a giant uptick in connections, starting in August.
September 15, 2025 at 7:26 PM
chael.codes
I loved this talk by @jeremysmith.co about ViewComponents. It has valuable insights, even if you're not using it. His insights about view complexity, volatility, and churn are spot-on!

www.rubyevents.org/talks/refact...
Jeremy Smith behind the podium, microphone in hand. Jeremy addresses the audience next to a slide: Dimensions of View Complexity Browsers/Clients Viewports Device Features Theming/Whitelabeling Dark/Light Mode Accessibility Internationalization SEO/Open Graph Authorization Entitlements Feature Flags Framework/Version Changes Execution Context Testing Affordances Design Systems/Tokens Jeremy describes how views become complex and volatile. Churn Changed seven times, might not be done Accumulation Icon, counter, dropdown, non-tabs, etc. Variation Tab type, selected state, authorization, etc Proliferation Team wants to use this in another section Summary 1. Implement designs in traditional templates 2. Watch for volatility (high churn & complexity) 3. Extract view components and regain stability
September 15, 2025 at 7:26 PM
chael.codes
Igor Aleksandrov talked through why they moved from react to hotwire and stimulus and how it made it easier to ship code faster!
Igor gestures at the screen. React was becoming our bottleneck Each new feature required: - Backend developer (Rails API) - Frontend developer (React) - Manager coordination - API contract design - State management planning - Integration testing Team bandwidth: Limited developers, unlimited ambition Timeline pressure: 4 major features, 1 year deadline Igor speaks to the audience beside the slide: When AI changed the development game 2024 context: AI goes mainstream - GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude become standard tools - Stakeholders' expectations shifted dramatically New requirements: higher efficiency expected - "If AI can write code, why is development still slow?" - Pressure to deliver features faster than ever Zero tolerance for bugs - "AI should help prevent errors, not create complexity" - Quality expectations increased alongside speed demands
September 15, 2025 at 3:59 PM
chael.codes
This talk started so much conversation and dialog, because we all know we need junior developers to keep our community alive, but no one wants to pay for them.

"People need food and housing to learn."

"Juniors are an asset, not a liability."

www.rubyevents.org/talks/empty-...
Thomas face is full of heart as he connects with the audience. "People need food and housing to learn" Thomas stands next to this absolute banger of a quote. "Juniors are an asset, not a charity case or liability" Thomas next to another incredible quote. Thomas ended his talk with a quote from his mentee. "In my experience, companies have basically pivoted away from creating an onboarding process or junior to senior pipeline. I'm not sure if it's due to AI or that the senior devs aren't equipped with the skills necessary to develop such programs. However, I can say that if you don't want to future proof your company that is a phenomenal approach to take. Senior devs retire. Junior devs who are brought up within your ranks will become senior devs. You should prioritize junior devs and onboarding before you start slashing roles for budgets, because what might save you now will only hurt you (or your company) later." - Josh O'Halloran
September 15, 2025 at 3:47 PM
chael.codes
Kat talked about building empathy for hidden disabilities.

I felt a little called out by "Anxiety: I have to do something, right now" so I knew she was hitting something real. ❤️
Kat looks seriously over the audience from the podium. Kat describes the body feel of ARFID from behind the podium. Slide: ARFID: "I can't eat this" "Come on, stop being a picky eater" "Ahh, that sucks... Let's go eat somewhere else" "What do you mean" "Tell me more" "What's it like?" "Can you give me an example?" "Woah, is it kind of like when X happens? Did I get that right?" "Can you help me understand what you're experiencing?"
September 15, 2025 at 3:12 PM
chael.codes
I did a talk on the developer experience of programming games!

I really appreciate everyone who came up afterwards to tell me they liked it.

I've gotten some good feedback, and I'm looking forward to bringing a remixed version to SF Ruby!

www.rubyevents.org/talks/play-w...
Chael behind the podium, the slide says "What is a programming game?" Chael smiling and gesturing to the audience. Photo of the audience, Chael, and slide, "What is a programming game?" Photo of Chael and the audience, taken from the wings. The slide says "Color adds clarity" and has a photo of RSpec output.
September 15, 2025 at 2:58 PM
chael.codes
"Scaling Postgres Beyond Query Optimization" was really good! Alex Yarotsky talked about debugging the "curse of August" which plagued db performance at HubStaff. He covered postgres configs that have inefficient defaults, how autovacuum works, and more!

www.rubyevents.org/talks/scalin...
The slide is "Scaling Postgres Beyond Query Optimization" by Alex Yarotsky, and Alex stands beside it at the podium, pointing at it and looking intense. Alex stands behind the podium, making eye contact with the audience. Alex stands behind the podium, staring at his slide, eyes wide, and looking genuinely alarmed. Alex points intensely at a slide that reads, Why do we need autovacuum? - Reclaims disk space for reuse - Prevents bloat in tables and index - Updates visibility maps to optimize index-only scans - Mitigates transaction ID wraparound risks
September 15, 2025 at 2:58 PM
chael.codes
I went to dinner at Ponce City Market the night before with a few locals, and people traveling in from out of town. It was great to see my Blue Ridge Ruby Friends again!
Thomas, Jeremy, Chael, Kat, Paul, and Jim taking a selfie at a massive wooden table. Thomas, Jeremy, and Chael - my Blue Ridge Ruby peeps!
September 15, 2025 at 2:09 PM