Welcome to my minimalist, digital home. My name is Jed Fonner and I am a technologist, manager, father, and soccer fan. https://jedfonner.com https://jedfonner.com/posts/2026-04-21-Effective-Presentations https://jedfonner.com/posts/2026-04-21-Effective-Presentations How many work presentations have you sat through that were so boring you could have fallen asleep? How often do you think people are immediately forgetting what you are presenting!? Let's change that. With just a few simple tips, you can make your work presentations more engaging and memorable for your audience, and hopefully others will follow suit and make their presentations more engaging as well. 4/21/2026 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2026-01-31-Better-Svelte-GAS https://jedfonner.com/posts/2026-01-31-Better-Svelte-GAS Last year I wrote about building single-page apps (SPAs) using Svelte on top of Google Apps Script. I've since improved my approach and I am continuing to find lots of new use cases for this approach. 1/31/2026 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-11-11-Stop-Decorative-Spreadsheets https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-11-11-Stop-Decorative-Spreadsheets Spreadsheets are arguably the best thing to come out of the computer age. Spreadsheets were the first killer app for computers. Good spreadsheets are powerful, well organized and, most importantly, useful. Decorative spreadsheets, on the other hand, give the appearance of being useful but in reality resist any kind of deeper analysis or utilization. Let me clarify what separates the two and help you avoid creating the latter. 11/11/2025 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-11-02-Svelte-GAS https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-11-02-Svelte-GAS Earlier this year I wrote about my love of Google Apps Script to automate Calendar, Docs and Sheets. I recently looked into taking Google Apps Script even farther, leveraging its ability to serve HTML. Specifically, though, I wanted to see if I could build single-page apps (SPAs) using Svelte, my preferred UI framework. Turns out, you can and it’s really easy! 11/2/2025 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-09-10-AI-Increases-Developer-ROI https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-09-10-AI-Increases-Developer-ROI The narrative that AI will replace developers is everywhere, but it's fundamentally wrong. AI makes developers more productive, which increases their ROI. Basic economics tells us you should invest more, not less, in high-return assets. Companies cutting developers because of AI are either admitting they lack vision or are just making excuses to cut costs. 9/10/2025 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-07-09-Rough-Consensus https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-07-09-Rough-Consensus Making tough technical decisions can be... tough. But what if you could avoid analysis paralysis and make decisions that everyone can live with? Learn how the IETF's "rough consensus" approach can help your team move forward. 7/9/2025 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-06-29-Apps-Scripts https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-06-29-Apps-Scripts If you use Google Workspace, you should know about the amazing Google Apps Script functionality that lets you automate tasks, create custom functions, and build web apps. Read on for examples and tips on how to get started. 6/29/2025 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-06-08-start-backup-on-drive-mount https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-06-08-start-backup-on-drive-mount I use an external drive to back up my files with Deja Dup, but I wanted it to start automatically when I mounted the drive. Here’s how I did it with a systemd service. 6/8/2025 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-04-20-Ghost-Meetings https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-04-20-Ghost-Meetings The conference room shows a meeting about to start, but the room is totally empty. Where are all the attendees? Is everyone just running late? Nope, they’re all working from home today, but no one thought to remove the conference room from the meeting invite! Google could fix this problem, or allow us to fix it ourselves, but we need to bring their attention to it! Read more to find out how. 4/20/2025 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-01-12-noaa-goes-dynamic-wallpaper https://jedfonner.com/posts/2025-01-12-noaa-goes-dynamic-wallpaper NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) takes full disc photos of the earth every hour. You can create your own auto-updating dynamic wallpaper with these images and a little scripting. It's a fun way to make your desktop a little more alive and I'll show you how to do it in KDE. 1/12/2025 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2024-10-03-focus-work-and-chronotypes https://jedfonner.com/posts/2024-10-03-focus-work-and-chronotypes Science on sleep patterns, productivity, and focus time encourages teams to avoid the morning standup. See why and how you can try this with your teams to help them boost their productivity. 10/3/2024 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2024-08-30-Google-Workspace-Tips-4-Slides https://jedfonner.com/posts/2024-08-30-Google-Workspace-Tips-4-Slides Google Slides may not have all the fancy graphical animations that Powerpoint supports, but the vast majority of business presentations we use it for, it's great. That said, it does have some power-user capabilities that aren't very widely known yet. Hopefully these tips will help 8/30/2024 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2024-08-28-Google-Workspace-Tips-3-Sheets https://jedfonner.com/posts/2024-08-28-Google-Workspace-Tips-3-Sheets A lot of hardcore Excel users scoff at Google Sheets, but I find it to be a fantastic and powerful spreadsheet app with superb collaboration tools. I often see people failing to take full advantage of the power of Google Sheets, or sometimes even the basic features, so hopefully these tips will help. 8/28/2024 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2024-08-27-Google-Workspace-Tips-2-Docs https://jedfonner.com/posts/2024-08-27-Google-Workspace-Tips-2-Docs Google Docs is the OG Google Workspace tool, and it's evolved a lot since its inception. In the past few years, Google has releaed some very handy capabilities that aren't very widely known yet. I also sometimes see some of the older features not being effectively utilized. So hopefully these tips, both new and old, will help you power up your Google Docs usage so you can make even better use of this awesome collaborative editor. 8/27/2024 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2024-08-26-Google-Workspace-Tips-1-Calendar https://jedfonner.com/posts/2024-08-26-Google-Workspace-Tips-1-Calendar This is the first in a series of posts on Google Workspace power tips. These Google Calendar tips will help you better use Google Calendar for yourself and make it easier for others to interact with your calendar. 8/26/2024 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2024-03-02-Appian-Treasure-Hunt https://jedfonner.com/posts/2024-03-02-Appian-Treasure-Hunt At the very end of 2023, I made the tough decision to leave Appian where I’d worked for 21 years. In January, I moved over to Capital One to expand my experience with big data and serverless technologies. Leaving Appian was incredibly emotional since so much of my adulthood was tied up with the company and I had tons of great relationships. So to bring a little levity into my departure, I decided to leave behind a fun challenge for my now ex-colleagues. This is the story of how I challenged my ex-colleagues to compete in a treasure hunt challenge on my last day. 3/2/2024 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2024-01-14-Great-Work https://jedfonner.com/posts/2024-01-14-Great-Work Coaching high performing, senior engineers is challenging because often there’s nothing they obviously need to improve. To coach them, you have to identify new opportunities which will challenge them and force them to continue growing. Oftentimes managers are able to identify these opportunities for their directs, but I’ve found it’s also possible to encourage high performing, senior engineers to work on identifying their own growth opportunities. This often leads to more exciting opportunities and more engaged engineers. 1/14/2024 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2023-11-20-DISC https://jedfonner.com/posts/2023-11-20-DISC Have you ever stopped to wonder why some people were easy to work with and why others annoyed you so much? The secret is that we all have different behavioral styles when it comes to work, and when we work with people who have similar styles, it’s easy-breasy, but when we work with people with diametrically opposite styles, it is very, very frustrating. DISC shines a light on those different styles and helps you work better with others and helps your team work better together. 11/20/2023 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2023-10-22-status-quo-bias https://jedfonner.com/posts/2023-10-22-status-quo-bias When we are faced with change, most of us react with skepticism, hesitancy, reluctance, and maybe even downright hostility. This may seem natural, but why do we react this way? The reason is that we are humans. We have emotions and biases. In this case, there are 3 cognitive biases that come together Voltron-style to create a default bias towards the status quo. But understanding them can help us overcome them. 10/22/2023 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2023-09-18-engineering-manager-resources https://jedfonner.com/posts/2023-09-18-engineering-manager-resources I definitely didn’t know what the heck I was doing when I first became a manager way back in 2004. I was just the least bad person to fill a needed role. But over almost 2 decades of managing technical teams, I have read a lot and learned a lot from great managers around me. I’ve come to believe that there are a dozen+ resources that hit all the key points on how to be a great manager. I think these form the basis of a learning track for engineering management. I've listed them below, divided based on different stages of maturity. 9/18/2023 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2023-09-02-CapitalOne-MONEY https://jedfonner.com/posts/2023-09-02-CapitalOne-MONEY The CapitalOne MONEY teen checking account seems like a good way to give your teens their own bank account while still maintaining oversight of what they're buying and how much money they have. Unfortunately, for 2-parent families, it has a critical flaw. 9/2/2023 https://jedfonner.com/projects/2023-06-25-lorem-quotesum https://jedfonner.com/projects/2023-06-25-lorem-quotesum undefined 6/25/2023 https://jedfonner.com/projects/2023-04-27-SSC-had-a-good-ride https://jedfonner.com/projects/2023-04-27-SSC-had-a-good-ride undefined 4/27/2023 https://jedfonner.com/projects/2023-03-21-Audiobook-Locker https://jedfonner.com/projects/2023-03-21-Audiobook-Locker undefined 3/21/2023 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2023-01-22-private-kb https://jedfonner.com/posts/2023-01-22-private-kb You can easily create your own, free, private knowledge base site with minimal effort. Here's how it works - you will capture your knowlede base notes in Markdown files, which get turned into a searchable website by Docusaurus, and then are published privately on the web via Gitlab pages. Then you can access and search them from anywhere. 1/22/2023 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2022-11-20-emby-in-the-cloud https://jedfonner.com/posts/2022-11-20-emby-in-the-cloud undefined 11/20/2022 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2022-10-18-better-speedy-meetings https://jedfonner.com/posts/2022-10-18-better-speedy-meetings undefined 10/18/2022 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2022-09-25-renewable-energy-at-home https://jedfonner.com/posts/2022-09-25-renewable-energy-at-home You probably wish you could do more to support the fight against climate change, but it’s not clear where to start. Luckily, there’s actually a really easy step you can take that will dramatically decrease your carbon footprint, and it only takes 5 minutes! 9/25/2022 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2022-07-30-switching-to-zoho https://jedfonner.com/posts/2022-07-30-switching-to-zoho undefined 7/30/2022 https://jedfonner.com/projects/2022-07-24-simpleweeklymealplanner https://jedfonner.com/projects/2022-07-24-simpleweeklymealplanner undefined 7/24/2022 https://jedfonner.com/projects/2022-06-09-Shared-Slides-Clicker-Ups-and-Downs https://jedfonner.com/projects/2022-06-09-Shared-Slides-Clicker-Ups-and-Downs undefined 6/9/2022 https://jedfonner.com/projects/2021-08-03-Dialogflow-v2 https://jedfonner.com/projects/2021-08-03-Dialogflow-v2 undefined 8/3/2021 https://jedfonner.com/projects/2020-11-06-shared-slides-clicker https://jedfonner.com/projects/2020-11-06-shared-slides-clicker undefined 11/6/2020 https://jedfonner.com/projects/2019-12-02-Appian-Browser-Extension https://jedfonner.com/projects/2019-12-02-Appian-Browser-Extension undefined 12/2/2019 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2019-02-10-1on1-Reminders https://jedfonner.com/posts/2019-02-10-1on1-Reminders undefined 2/10/2019 https://jedfonner.com/projects/2017-12-23-Mattermost-on-Fire https://jedfonner.com/projects/2017-12-23-Mattermost-on-Fire undefined 12/23/2017 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2017-06-21-Some-Things-Never-Change https://jedfonner.com/posts/2017-06-21-Some-Things-Never-Change undefined 6/21/2017 https://jedfonner.com/projects/2017-06-21-Firebase-Cloud-Functions-and-Jest https://jedfonner.com/projects/2017-06-21-Firebase-Cloud-Functions-and-Jest undefined 6/21/2017 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-07-22-gravity https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-07-22-gravity undefined 7/22/2013 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-07-12-bunnyclock https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-07-12-bunnyclock undefined 7/12/2013 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-07-08-westmoreland-state-park https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-07-08-westmoreland-state-park I was amazed at what Westmoreland State Park offers. Aside being a beautiful park, they have both cabins and campgrounds. They have tons of trails, a playground, a nature center and beautiful views of the Potomac. But the crown jewel is the beach and Olympic sized swimming pool on the northernmost part of the park. 7/8/2013 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-06-13-How-not-to-suck-at-your-religion https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-06-13-How-not-to-suck-at-your-religion undefined 6/13/2013 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-06-01-Cicadas https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-06-01-Cicadas undefined 6/1/2013 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-05-20-movie-caption-glasses https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-05-20-movie-caption-glasses Regal Cinemas plans to distribute new closed-captioning glasses from Sony to more than 6,000 screens across the country by the beginning of summer and hopes to have them in all their theaters by the end of the year. As you can see from the picture (right), the glasses look kind of like bulky 3-D glasses except these are used for captioning, not 3D. The captions are projected onto the glasses and appear to float about 10 feet in front of the user at the bottom of their field of vision. In ddition, the glasses also provide "descriptive narration" which describes the action on the screen for the visually impared and they can also boost the audio levels of the movie for those who are hard of hearing. 5/20/2013 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-04-02-Unfit-For-Work https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-04-02-Unfit-For-Work undefined 4/2/2013 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-03-03-Wealth-Distribution https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-03-03-Wealth-Distribution undefined 3/3/2013 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-02-27-amazon https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-02-27-amazon undefined 2/27/2013 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-02-18-Delete-Anyones-Ebay-Listing https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-02-18-Delete-Anyones-Ebay-Listing undefined 2/18/2013 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-02-11-Lets-Teach-Kids-To-Code https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-02-11-Lets-Teach-Kids-To-Code When kids first enter primary school, they spend their time doing creative things like drawing, painting, building, and experimenting. But after those first years, the creativity stops. Dr. Resnick is working to change that. He and his team have developed new ways to help older students engage with technology in order to encourage them to create and experiment the way they did in kindergarten. 2/11/2013 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-01-30-Traffic https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-01-30-Traffic undefined 1/30/2013 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-01-16-Our-Neighborhood-Wins https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-01-16-Our-Neighborhood-Wins undefined 1/16/2013 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-01-06-Kneeling-Chair-Scooter https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-01-06-Kneeling-Chair-Scooter undefined 1/6/2013 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-01-02-Common-Physics-Misconceptions https://jedfonner.com/posts/2013-01-02-Common-Physics-Misconceptions undefined 1/2/2013 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-11-24-Assume-Cars-Won't-Stop https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-11-24-Assume-Cars-Won't-Stop undefined 11/24/2012 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-10-19-Ive-Been-Doing-This-Wrong-My-Whole-Life https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-10-19-Ive-Been-Doing-This-Wrong-My-Whole-Life undefined 10/19/2012 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-10-10-Goodnight-Moon-Errata https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-10-10-Goodnight-Moon-Errata undefined 10/10/2012 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-09-26-Who-Do-You-Side-With https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-09-26-Who-Do-You-Side-With This election seems nastier and more confusing than ever before. So how do you wade through all the misleading attack ads, deceptive opinion pieces, ridiculous talking heads and other garbage? You can spend your days checking out FactCheck.org and PolitiFact. Both are awesome sites for getting to the truth of various talking points, rumors and breaking stories. But keeping up with everything is exhausting. I Side With offers an alternative. 9/26/2012 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-09-12-The-Warming-World-In-26-Terrifying-Seconds https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-09-12-The-Warming-World-In-26-Terrifying-Seconds undefined 9/12/2012 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-09-04-Tips-and-Pix-From-Bermuda https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-09-04-Tips-and-Pix-From-Bermuda If you're thinking of going or already planning a trip to Bermuda, here are some tips. 9/4/2012 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-08-30-Bill-Nye https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-08-30-Bill-Nye undefined 8/30/2012 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-08-26-Two-Beaches-Within-Two-Hours https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-08-26-Two-Beaches-Within-Two-Hours undefined 8/26/2012 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-07-16-Interviewed-For-The-WP https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-07-16-Interviewed-For-The-WP undefined 7/16/2012 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-07-03-The-Internet-Makes-A-9-Year-Olds-Day https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-07-03-The-Internet-Makes-A-9-Year-Olds-Day This is an amazingly touching story of 9 year old boy named Caine who built his own arcade out of used cardboard boxes in his dad's auto parts store. After months of having no customers, the power of the internet brought hundreds of people from across LA to his homemade arcade. 7/3/2012 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-06-26-Frugal-Dad-Highlights-3-Fancy-Food-Frauds https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-06-26-Frugal-Dad-Highlights-3-Fancy-Food-Frauds undefined 6/26/2012 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-06-29-Super-Marios-Time-Is-Now https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-06-29-Super-Marios-Time-Is-Now undefined 6/9/2012 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-03-06-Burned https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-03-06-Burned undefined 3/6/2012 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-02-22-What-Is-More-Likely https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-02-22-What-Is-More-Likely undefined 2/22/2012 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-02-15-Confused-Is-A-Nice-Way-To-Put-It https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-02-15-Confused-Is-A-Nice-Way-To-Put-It undefined 2/15/2012 https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-01-06-In-Queso-Trouble https://jedfonner.com/posts/2012-01-06-In-Queso-Trouble undefined 1/6/2012