🎱 Josh Branchaud ✨
@jbranchaud.bsky.social
Free-Range Software Dev and Consultant ✨ PostgreSQL • Ruby on Rails • TypeScript • React ✨ 🏃🐈🍹🎱 (he/him) | Chicago | Work with me: visualmode.dev
I finally got on the "Use Raycast's Emoji Picker" train and it is soooo superior to the built-in macOS one.
It toggles open with the same keybinding, but search is always in focus. Keyboard or mouse navigation to quickly select recently used emojis or ones filtered by search.
It toggles open with the same keybinding, but search is always in focus. Keyboard or mouse navigation to quickly select recently used emojis or ones filtered by search.
November 21, 2025 at 5:52 PM
I finally got on the "Use Raycast's Emoji Picker" train and it is soooo superior to the built-in macOS one.
It toggles open with the same keybinding, but search is always in focus. Keyboard or mouse navigation to quickly select recently used emojis or ones filtered by search.
It toggles open with the same keybinding, but search is always in focus. Keyboard or mouse navigation to quickly select recently used emojis or ones filtered by search.
MacOS calculator has a "programmer" mode.
November 19, 2025 at 4:45 PM
MacOS calculator has a "programmer" mode.
I’ve got this special bottle of Maker’s that I consider an anniversary bottle. I open it once a year and have a pour to celebrate the anniversary of starting my freelance business.
Celebrating 5 years as of this month 🥳
Celebrating 5 years as of this month 🥳
November 17, 2025 at 3:11 AM
I’ve got this special bottle of Maker’s that I consider an anniversary bottle. I open it once a year and have a pour to celebrate the anniversary of starting my freelance business.
Celebrating 5 years as of this month 🥳
Celebrating 5 years as of this month 🥳
LLMs, especially Claude Code, write a *lot*.
Left to their own devices they'll write a 2000-line planning doc instead of a 200-line one.
Nice tip from @mattpocock.com here to add a top-level "be more concise" rule to the CLAUDE rules file.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ-z...
Left to their own devices they'll write a 2000-line planning doc instead of a 200-line one.
Nice tip from @mattpocock.com here to add a top-level "be more concise" rule to the CLAUDE rules file.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ-z...
November 17, 2025 at 2:20 AM
LLMs, especially Claude Code, write a *lot*.
Left to their own devices they'll write a 2000-line planning doc instead of a 200-line one.
Nice tip from @mattpocock.com here to add a top-level "be more concise" rule to the CLAUDE rules file.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ-z...
Left to their own devices they'll write a 2000-line planning doc instead of a 200-line one.
Nice tip from @mattpocock.com here to add a top-level "be more concise" rule to the CLAUDE rules file.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ-z...
We're really enjoying Tim Robinson's The Chair Company so far.
It is fantastically bizarre. At any given moment I'm never sure how seriously to take it. It's deeply infused with Robinson's humor yet unlike any of his previous projects.
It is fantastically bizarre. At any given moment I'm never sure how seriously to take it. It's deeply infused with Robinson's humor yet unlike any of his previous projects.
November 15, 2025 at 5:55 PM
We're really enjoying Tim Robinson's The Chair Company so far.
It is fantastically bizarre. At any given moment I'm never sure how seriously to take it. It's deeply infused with Robinson's humor yet unlike any of his previous projects.
It is fantastically bizarre. At any given moment I'm never sure how seriously to take it. It's deeply infused with Robinson's humor yet unlike any of his previous projects.
This summer I read Keigo Higashino’s The Devotion of Suspect X while in Tokyo. It was an excellent murder mystery.
Now I’m reading the next in the series — Salvation of a Saint.
Now I’m reading the next in the series — Salvation of a Saint.
November 15, 2025 at 3:34 AM
This summer I read Keigo Higashino’s The Devotion of Suspect X while in Tokyo. It was an excellent murder mystery.
Now I’m reading the next in the series — Salvation of a Saint.
Now I’m reading the next in the series — Salvation of a Saint.
I decided to go with the fancier version of their top pick for ceramic heater, instead of a more expensive oil-filled radiator.
Me and the cats are loving it so far.
Me and the cats are loving it so far.
November 14, 2025 at 4:22 PM
I decided to go with the fancier version of their top pick for ceramic heater, instead of a more expensive oil-filled radiator.
Me and the cats are loving it so far.
Me and the cats are loving it so far.
It is weirdly easy in basecamp to get into a situation where there are several different "Submit" CTAs active at once.
November 14, 2025 at 12:17 AM
It is weirdly easy in basecamp to get into a situation where there are several different "Submit" CTAs active at once.
Incredible — I would have never imagined @chess.com doing a brand collab with old school RuneScape.
November 10, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Incredible — I would have never imagined @chess.com doing a brand collab with old school RuneScape.
“Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start”
November 6, 2025 at 9:19 PM
“Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start”
One of my all-time favorite albums — Daft Punk’s Alive 2007
November 2, 2025 at 10:43 PM
One of my all-time favorite albums — Daft Punk’s Alive 2007
I finally figured out that in VSCode/Cursor, if I hit cmd+p and type out the name of a file I want to create, I'll eventually filter everything else out and have a single option to create that file and the intervening directories if necessary.
October 30, 2025 at 6:42 PM
I finally figured out that in VSCode/Cursor, if I hit cmd+p and type out the name of a file I want to create, I'll eventually filter everything else out and have a single option to create that file and the intervening directories if necessary.
Saw this one today on the NW side of Chicago: “Everyone is welcome here *except ICE*”
October 26, 2025 at 4:41 AM
Saw this one today on the NW side of Chicago: “Everyone is welcome here *except ICE*”
this was only kind of a joke -- this is what erb-format does in this really narrow situation
October 24, 2025 at 8:50 PM
this was only kind of a joke -- this is what erb-format does in this really narrow situation
My newest @scriptkit.com script is a simple snippet helper for pasting the GitHub Styled Blockquote syntax into the focused text area, because I can never remember the syntax when I need it.
gist.github.com/jbranchaud/c...
gist.github.com/jbranchaud/c...
October 24, 2025 at 4:13 PM
My newest @scriptkit.com script is a simple snippet helper for pasting the GitHub Styled Blockquote syntax into the focused text area, because I can never remember the syntax when I need it.
gist.github.com/jbranchaud/c...
gist.github.com/jbranchaud/c...
My next October spooky read is Ainslie Hogarth’s Motherthing 🧟♀️
October 21, 2025 at 3:15 AM
My next October spooky read is Ainslie Hogarth’s Motherthing 🧟♀️
“All Systems Down”
It’s surreal going on a walk over the lunch break and seeing entire storefront businesses closed due to the AWS outage.
It’s surreal going on a walk over the lunch break and seeing entire storefront businesses closed due to the AWS outage.
October 20, 2025 at 7:01 PM
“All Systems Down”
It’s surreal going on a walk over the lunch break and seeing entire storefront businesses closed due to the AWS outage.
It’s surreal going on a walk over the lunch break and seeing entire storefront businesses closed due to the AWS outage.
Chuffed to be finally migrating to a machine with an Apple Silicon chip
October 16, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Chuffed to be finally migrating to a machine with an Apple Silicon chip
You can configure `man` to use `(n)vim` as its default viewer (via the MANPAGER env var).
www.visualmode.dev/a-better-man...
www.visualmode.dev/a-better-man...
October 15, 2025 at 5:50 PM
You can configure `man` to use `(n)vim` as its default viewer (via the MANPAGER env var).
www.visualmode.dev/a-better-man...
www.visualmode.dev/a-better-man...
I went to the used bookstore yesterday to pick up a few more spooky reads.
October 15, 2025 at 5:08 PM
I went to the used bookstore yesterday to pick up a few more spooky reads.
Hyped for the Chicago Marathon tomorrow!
I’ve been carbo-loading all week. Packet pickup went well this morning. I’ve got my race nutrition all lined up. Heading to the start line at 5am.
Let’s go 💪🏃💨
I’ve been carbo-loading all week. Packet pickup went well this morning. I’ve got my race nutrition all lined up. Heading to the start line at 5am.
Let’s go 💪🏃💨
October 11, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Hyped for the Chicago Marathon tomorrow!
I’ve been carbo-loading all week. Packet pickup went well this morning. I’ve got my race nutrition all lined up. Heading to the start line at 5am.
Let’s go 💪🏃💨
I’ve been carbo-loading all week. Packet pickup went well this morning. I’ve got my race nutrition all lined up. Heading to the start line at 5am.
Let’s go 💪🏃💨
alright, I've set up Cloudflare Turnstile on this form. Let's see if that keeps the bots at bay.
If you're a human though, I'd love to work with you, so please reach out -- www.visualmode.dev/contact
If you're a human though, I'd love to work with you, so please reach out -- www.visualmode.dev/contact
October 11, 2025 at 9:35 PM
alright, I've set up Cloudflare Turnstile on this form. Let's see if that keeps the bots at bay.
If you're a human though, I'd love to work with you, so please reach out -- www.visualmode.dev/contact
If you're a human though, I'd love to work with you, so please reach out -- www.visualmode.dev/contact
Listen-maxing with Shokz and AirPods
October 10, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Listen-maxing with Shokz and AirPods
It's green. Marathon weather on point. Let's go! 🏃💨
October 10, 2025 at 4:17 PM
It's green. Marathon weather on point. Let's go! 🏃💨