Aaron Francis
@aarondfrancis
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3,119
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36,969
Co-founder . Sincere poster. No cynicism. Dad to two sets of twins! Cohost @MostlyTechPod . Teacher .
Dallas, Texas
Joined February 2009
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Pinned Tweet
If I could pin three tweets to my profile, it would be these three:
• The shed that I turned into an office:
• The giant handwriting robots I made:
• My personal Twitter guidelines:
My personal Twitter guidelines (absolutely not a 🧵):
• Encourage other people - if you like the work someone is doing, tell them!
• Be positive - a feed full of negativity is zero fun to follow.
• Share what you're working on - people are drawn to other people in motion.
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Y'all these monthly subscriptions are out of control! Actively looking for places to cut back.
Netflix: $16
Twitter: $16
Health insurance: $3,431
ChatGPT: $20
Spotify: $17
Anyone good with budgets please help
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🥳🥳🥳
I'm incredibly excited to share that my wife and I are expecting twins in the fall!
You may be thinking... but Aaron, you already have twins.
Yes. Yes, we do.
We're going to have another set of twins, somehow. Four kids under three years old.
Send help!
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I no longer have a job!
I was part of a big layoff at
@PlanetScale
today. I'll miss working there, it was a great experience.
Feeling bummed, kinda embarrassed, but also slightly optimistic?
Trying to figure out what's next. I'd love to hear any ideas ❤️
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It's Friday, so I want to share one of the most fun projects I've ever worked on.
A few years ago, I built four eight-foot-long handwriting robots.
We wrote many thousands and thousands of addresses on our direct mail, and wrote personal messages for high value prospects.
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It's Christmas break in the year 2000, and you're almost 12 years old.
Mom orders some pizza. You stay up all night playing Red Alert 2 with your brother.
Twenty-three years later, you'll still remember it and wish you could go back.
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A few weeks ago, I got laid off.
Here's what I'm doing next.
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Y'all I didn't realize the native HTML date picker had gotten so good!
Is there a reason to use one of the complicated JS libraries instead of this? The only things I can think of are ranges and custom styling. Anything else?
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Imagine knowing, in the moment, that these are the good old days.
Introducing Isaac and Virginia!
Everyone is happy and healthy. We're thankful beyond words.
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Wait is everyone really saying "my ess queue ell" instead of "my sequel?"
Suddenly feeling very self conscious
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🎉 The MySQL for Developers course is live! 🎉
It's over 7 hours long, split into 64 videos, across 4 different sections:
• Schema
• Indexes
• Queries
• Examples
It's everything a developer needs to know about MySQL.
It's also completely free!
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All 64 videos for the free MySQL course have been recorded, edited, reviewed for technical accuracy, packaged, and uploaded!
Attached is the final video list, I cannot wait for y'all to see this.
We're finalizing the website and launching soon 🚀👨🚀
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My daughter just said "thanks for going to work Daddy."
I could run through a wall right now
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One of the easiest ways to gain a relative advantage in your field is to read the docs. Not just reference them, read them straight through.
This gives you a massive edge because no one ever does it!
Same goes for technical books, they'll give you superpowers.
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If an athlete shows up to practice two hours early, they're a leader.
If an artist plays multiple crappy venues a week, they're just putting in the work.
If a developer builds a side project on nights and weekends, they're toxic and need balance.
What's the deal with that?
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The best part about being 90% done with a project is that you're almost halfway finished!
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I got laid off last week. This week I had ~40 calls, many with friends who pushed me to think bigger.
I can't explain how grateful I am to have people on my team that want to see me win.
Thank you all for your support. Much to consider, but feeling super optimistic!
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Being an authentic person has never been more valuable.
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The best part about being 90% done with a project is that you're halfway finished!
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Just had lunch with this delightful fellow. Apparently he's a developer too!
I told him all about PHP and he seemed really interested!
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"Oh sh*t, I think I like PHP" -
@ThePrimeagen
, watching my YouTube video 🥹
Y'all keep advocating for the things you like! It's ok to like things. Keep trying really hard. Keep publishing your work.
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Today is my 33rd birthday, so I want to share 33 hot tips about being a software developer:
1: Try to have fun
2-33: Store your data as UTC
Until next year! 👋
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I've done it, I've published a YouTube video!
It's called "PHP is the future."
Let me know what you think!
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This is my semi-regular encouragement to read the docs straight through. No one does it and it'll give you a massive advantage.
You don't even have to remember everything! Having a broad understanding will help you dive deep on specifics as needed.
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When you try to surprise your wife and your wife tries to surprise you... and then both items come on the same day ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I guess we're a good match!
@JenKfrancis
@dog_rates
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@thdxr
Unfortunately they're not identical or even the same gender, so we'd get found out pretty quick I think
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How come no one ever talks about Vue?
I love Vue. I find it delightful.
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When counting rows in MySQL, is it better to use COUNT(*) or COUNT(id)?
It may surprise you, but you should never use COUNT(id) if you're trying to count all the rows in the table.
How come? Well, that's kinda complicated...
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Underrated lifehack for marriage: 24/7 location sharing with Find My Friends!
It eliminates so many texts and makes coordination so much easier, especially with kids.
Still at the park? On your way? Have you left work? How close are you?
Just check the app! It's a lifesaver.
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PHP doesn't suck (anymore)
🎥 I made a new video for you! I cover some of the language advances since 2012 or so. There's some fun stuff you might have missed.
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The Aaron Francis Studio of Light and Sound is done and (mostly) dusted!
Ready to decorate, move all my stuff over, and get back on camera.
Maximum Effort, phase two, starts on Monday.
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I just finished seeing Dune in theaters, where I had enough chicken tenders and Diet Coke to incapacitate a medieval peasant.
I'm truly overwhelmed by all the support. I'll respond ASAP.
But right now, I'm gonna go hug my wife and our many small children.
Thank you all 🥹
I no longer have a job!
I was part of a big layoff at
@PlanetScale
today. I'll miss working there, it was a great experience.
Feeling bummed, kinda embarrassed, but also slightly optimistic?
Trying to figure out what's next. I'd love to hear any ideas ❤️
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📢 MySQL for Developers releases in its entirety on Tuesday, March 21st!
It's been a labor of love (and labor) to get to this point and I'm incredibly excited to push it live.
The entire
@planetscaledata
design team has been working nonstop to bring you this gorgeous site!
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Even as a dad to four kids under three, there is no excuse to not go to the gym.
This morning I went to the YMCA, checked the older twins into childcare, and then slept in a chair for an hour.
Follow me for more tips!
(My sister-in-law took this and texted it to my wife ☠️)
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🎉 I'm excited to announce that is live!
It's everything you need to know to create beautiful screencasts quickly.
• Content planning
• Gear recommendations
• Recording tips
• Editing workflows
I've poured so much into this, I hope you love it!
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Ok here it is: 3,500 words on Laravel's safety mechanisms!
This also includes my plea to enable the new strict mode everywhere, especially in production.
If you don't want to read the whole article, I'll lay out some of the arguments here.
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This weekend I wrote about 3,000 words on a more efficient pagination method that still uses offset / limit.
Here's the link to the full article, but I'll also explain the basic concept in the next few tweets.
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I wonder what would happen if you tried really hard.
What would happen if, as a little treat, you gave it all you had and even risked looking a little bit silly.
Man that'd be wild huh
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🚨 Code red: my wife just said "I would watch a space documentary with you if you want"
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!
What are we watching?
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I'm no longer working from home.
Introducing: The
@PlanetScale
Studio.
Let's make some videos!
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There's a weird stigma around trying hard, like it's cringe to actually try.
I'd rather try hard and risk being cringe than never try anything and regret it.
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People often say that you can't index JSON with MySQL, but that's not entirely accurate.
It's totally possible to index JSON columns with MySQL!
It's kinda tricky, but definitely worth it.
Let's take a look at how...
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The Laravel team continues to push the scope of what a "framework" can be. They just dropped another first-party, free offering that could be a million-dollar SaaS.
Pulse is basically a full-on, self-hosted APM tool.
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Filling out the content section of my site redesign and I've added a sticky year/month section on the left. I'm extremely pleased with it!
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"I hope this email finds you well"
How this email finds me
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POV when you just need a second to think but you also have four kids
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I made this cool masonry grid + hover interaction with zero lines of JS or custom CSS.
I used all those crazy Tailwind selectors... and I kinda love them. The descendant + hover stuff got a little wonky, but I made it work!
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Men only want one thing and it's for their wife to hug them and say "thanks for working so hard for our family."
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There you have it, the most fun project I've ever done.
I learned so much and got to solve lots of fun physical AND programming problems.
Someday after COVID, we'll pick it up again.
But until then, the robots quietly wait.
🤖
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I wonder if Peak React is behind us?
Other frontend frameworks are gaining traction. Complex frontend tooling is being questioned completely. Macro environment has changed. And now this Vercel thing.
Seems like a lot is happening recently! Vibe shift, or just me?
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I've now finished recording 30 (!) videos for the MySQL for Developers course.
I have two more sections to go, which is about 25 more videos. And I've got two weeks to do it.
I'm gonna make it!
It's free, pls sign up.
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Today is my 34th birthday so I want to share 34 indispensable tips on how to be a good developer:
1. Try to have fun
2-34: Build stuff
Until next year 🫡
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🎉 I've just released the first version of a new package for Laravel: Fast ⚡️ Paginate.
Fast Paginate provides you with a more efficient way of paginating while still using the traditional offset/limit method.
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Y'all why does everyone hate this girl?
I remember commuting 45 minutes each way to my first office job as a CPA and thinking "well, this is the worst."
Commuting sucks, I thought we all agreed on that! That's part of our schtick!
Is kindness (or silence) not an option here?
Oh princess… 😢 I’m sorry you had to commute and work and have a job and everything — it’s like so extra!
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📽️ Working with JSON columns in MySQL?
JSON columns are really flexible, but sometimes you want a few more safety features.
Fortunately, you can enforce a schema on that column to ensure that your JSON always has the right shape!
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Vue.js (with the options API) remains a joy for me to use.
Combine it with Headless UI, Tailwind, and Heroicons and we've got Stripe-like filters, all driven from the backend!
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"That was like the most based take of all time." -
@ThePrimeagen
So so fun watching the legend react to my video!
Also the way he compares and contrasts to like eight other languages just shows you how much he knows. It's wild.
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Your personal website is a big part of your luck surface area and I think it's ok to spend a lot of time working on it
(Just don't spend all your time redesigning it every two weeks)
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About a month ago, I got a 10x20 shed delivered so I could build out a shedquarters office in my backyard. It's been a ton of fun (and work) so far! I'm going to share a lot of it on this thread over the next couple of months until it's done. (Also at .)
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I'm crushing the job hunt so far.
Endorsements are rolling in 🥰
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The first programming job I got was because I blogged about how to automate Yii migrations on Heroku. A company saw it, reached out and hired me.
Every job I've had, save for one, I've gotten as a result of having work publicly available!
Write something. Build something!
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🎉🎉🎉 I'm super excited to announce that I'm joining the
@planetscaledata
team next week!
I'll be on the dev ed team, which means I get to do a lot of writing, teaching, making videos, and developing packages. All the stuff that I really love doing.
Not only am I joining...
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Perhaps instead of React on the backend you might consider... Laravel or Rails?
All of the problems are already solved!
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⛱️ We're sending three open source developers on vacation!
• Anywhere in the world
• All expenses paid
• Bring a plus one
We love OSS and wanted to give back to the community in a fun, unique, and tuple-y way.
Help us by nominating and voting!
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35 today! 🥳 Headed to Barnes and Noble to have a coffee and read a book.
Thriving, unbothered, in my lane.
Love you all!
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I'm a simple man with simple tastes.
I just need enough money to buy up an entire neighborhood and transform it into a walkable compound where I can hang out with my friends and build stuff and also our kids play together and it'd be nice if it was in a pretty location. Simple!
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I guess you could say the MySQL course launch went pretty well 😌
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Goblin mode is now complete!
I've got a bunch of videos banked for
@PlanetScale
, released a personal one today, and am all logged out of work Slack.
Tomorrow at 9am we're gonna finally get to meet our two new children! Wish us luck.
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Every success on the
@PlanetScale
YouTube channel is shared with Steve the Editor.
And he's much more than just an editor, his talents dwarf mine.
Hire this man!
I was laid off by
@PlanetScale
a few minutes ago.
My time there was short, but I enjoyed it very much. 🥺
I love creating technical videos and animated content. I would be open to any and all opportunities you can send my way. 🙌🙌
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Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with everything I want to do (or need to do) and the solution has always been the same: do literally anything.
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I have some news that I'm absolutely thrilled to share...
I'm joining the
@tuple
team as a marketing engineer! 🎉
What does a marketing engineer do? That's a good question!
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The boss is out to dinner with her friends and the kids are asleep.
Time to get emotionally wrecked.
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Do you love PHP so much that you want to write PHP on the frontend?
Same! And now you can!
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Can I just say something without everyone getting mad?
I'm more excited about my work than I have been in a long time.
@steve_tenuto
and I are having a blast!
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Nothing can top seeing these two at lunch every day. I'm never going back to an office.
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The Aaron Francis Studio of Light and Sound is looking 👌👌👌
Gotta hang some of that art and add the other decorations.
But for now, it's time to cook (respond to emails)
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Just wrapped up my first ever Laracon US and I really can't explain how wonderful it was.
Such a kind and generous community. It was great meeting everyone in person!
Thanks
@taylorotwell
for trusting me to MC and close out the show.
Until next year, Artisans ❤️
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This year I experienced both the deepest sorrow and the greatest joy of my life.
These pictures, taken at two of my happiest moments, tell both stories at once.
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As a founder ($100 MRR) I can't believe Figma is selling for only 20 billion dollars.
Here are the 10 things I would have done to make Figma a 50 billion dollar company 🧵👇
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My morning productivity routine:
• 2:30am: feed the two month olds
• 6:30: feed them again
• 7:15: wake up the two year olds, make them breakfast
• 7:45 - 8:30: try to convince them to wear shoes
• 8:30: go to work and absolutely crush it
Follow me for more tips!
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⚡ Just like in Excel, you can create "formula" or "computed" columns in MySQL!
It's a really powerful pattern, especially if you're trying to index something that is not easily indexable.
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👀👀👀
Coming soon: an official
@SingleStoreDB
driver for
@laravelphp
!
Insane SingleStore power and the developer experience you know and love from Laravel.
I still have a few weeks to go, but I can already tell y'all are going to love this.
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Presenting: 🎉
I've been making screencasts for a long time and I think I've got a good system for producing high-quality content quickly.
This course is everything that I know. Releasing soon!
Designed by
@mikemcalister
and built by
@jasonlbeggs
.
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Tomorrow is the big launch day for the MySQL course, I want to thank everyone for y'alls support and encouragement over the past many months!
I really, really appreciate it. Y'all are the best.
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Full stack devs: what are the database concepts you wish you understood better, or had the most trouble learning in the first place?
I'm going to be writing a lot about databases (cool) in the very near future!
Hit me with your q's.
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Being a dad is all about being a good role model (teaching them how to nap)
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My talk from Laracon is now available!
If you've ever wanted to share your work but you're held back by fear, this might be the one for you.
I put everything I had into this and am really proud of how it turned out.
I hope you enjoy it.
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