Recent Activity
Recent Heroes of the BenNadel.com Community
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Recent Comments
Ben Nadel replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted May 22, 2026
@Jim, I'm in total agreement that having a tool that can help you solve problems is 100% a value-add. Though, I'll admit that I don't find myself doing a lot of new things in my life - but I think that's just me, my life is comfortably boring in many ways 😜 but, it definitely removes friction when ... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Jim Curran replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted May 22, 2026
Hey Ben, A month ago, I was fearful of AI because of what the unknown could bring. Now I have a completely different viewpoint. First off, using it has gotten me to "develop" again. I haven't done that in YEARS and I always loved it. I still love discussing projects and architecture with the team bu... read entire comment from Jim Curran.
Ben Nadel replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 22, 2026
@Gary, Ha ha, very true.... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Gary Funk replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 21, 2026
@Ben Nadel, Your comment reminds me of a discussion I had with the team at Boardwatch Magazine in the mid 90s. We had just returned from a very successful ISPCON and were talking about the state of the Internet. I listened to what everyone had to say then Jack looked and me and said, "Garheart, what... read entire comment from Gary Funk.
Ben Nadel replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted May 21, 2026
Lars' article was just reviewed by Cal Newport, which is a pretty good "get"! Way to go, dude! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOKfVVOq-Ck... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Ben Nadel replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 21, 2026
@Gary, It is super interesting! And it's great that they were able to move past a vendor that was clearly treating them terribly. But two things do pop to mind. 1) there is something kind of "icky" about the notion of screen-shotting someone else' work and just saying "copy that". I totally get that... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Gary Funk replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 21, 2026
@Ben Nadel, Read this. I found it very interesting and a good use case. https://trmnl.com/blog/vibe-coding-shiphero... read entire comment from Gary Funk.
Ben Nadel replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted May 19, 2026
@Sam, Ha, did you see all the "Goblin" hubub the other week? About how they have to actively suppress the desire for the AI talk about goblins? It does seem like this stuff does get poisoned over time. I feel like half (more?) the stuff I read on LinkedIn is just AI-generated posts at this point. Ev... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Sam G replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted May 19, 2026
At some point, the AI will be eating its own tail by endlessly training on its own regurgitated garbage. The only new content contributing to human intelligence at that point will be produced from thinkers such as yourself. The nuance you describe DOES have value. I want to believe our AI-augmented ... read entire comment from Sam G.
Ben Nadel replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 17, 2026
@Gary, Ha ha, I wasn't complaining at all! Tangential conversations are the spice of life 😂 As far as query of queries goes, I've taken to returning arrays from all of my data access methods. And then I can do the filter and map methods on those arrays. Not better or worse, just coming at it from a... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Gary Funk replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 17, 2026
@Ben Nadel, Yes, sorry, my fault, but that's how conversations go and it's been years since we've had a conversation. I'm a B-string programmer and I follow you A-string guys. I converse with you guys when I find the opportunity, Back to SQL, I have often used a Query of Queries to filter data. Ther... read entire comment from Gary Funk.
Ben Nadel replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 17, 2026
@Gary, It's a fascinating point. We're wildly off-topic at this point, but who cares 😂 I see a lot of people talking about how easy it is to just rebuild some prior art. One-shotting some existing SaaS product or converting a library from one language to another. The impressive bit there is obvious... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Gary Funk replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 16, 2026
@Ben Nadel, Something else that people don't understand. The current AI does not do anything that someone hasn't already done. AI just does it quicker. I want to compare to models. I can already do so but it is time consuming. Or I just ask AI to do it. I am going to ask Claude to create a simple se... read entire comment from Gary Funk.
Ben Nadel replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 16, 2026
@Gary, So far, I haven't really used AI to do anything that I couldn't already do (with the exception of one or two experiments that I've already lost interest in). What I'm hoping to use it for mostly is to allow me to take larger steps outside of my comfort zone. For example, I've never played wit... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Gary Funk replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 16, 2026
@Noursecode, This is all very interesting. I'm a good CF developer which led me to be a better SQL developer. I also learned SQL from a few great database masters. I have not used Claude or any Advanced Instruction system because I don't like the marketing types implying that AI is Ai. That's on me ... read entire comment from Gary Funk.
Noursecode replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 15, 2026
Hey Ben, I find Claude's declaration that "Most people don't actually think about the SQL" to be the honest truth. For example, most devs (not all) have no desire to write database procedures, no matter what language they use. Even knowing performance would improve. Instead they may use an ORM which... read entire comment from Noursecode.
Ben Nadel replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 15, 2026
@Carl, The LEFT OUTER JOIN was one of the things that finally sold me on moving more conditions to the WHERE clause. Depending on what the condition is doing / what your needs are, the LOJ can accidentally remove rows from the results. For anyone interested in this point, consider a user table with ... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Carl Von Stetten replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 15, 2026
I don't know if this applies to MySQL/MariaDB, but in Microsoft SQL Server changing the placement of the filter predicate from the ON clause to the WHERE clause can change the results for LEFT OUTER JOINs (and probably RIGHT OUTER JOINs). This article explains it more clearly: https://www.mssqltips.... read entire comment from Carl Von Stetten.
Ben Nadel replied to a post Replacing RxJS With A State Machine In JavaScript
Comment posted May 15, 2026
@Aaron, I think this is one of those things where "brevity", for some people, equates to "maintainability". And, I'm not here to yuck anyone's yum — the people who love RxJS love RxJS. And, academically, it's very cool. But, my brain just can't manage it. However my brain works, it's easier to read ... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Aaron Lawrence replied to a post Replacing RxJS With A State Machine In JavaScript
Comment posted May 15, 2026
Your website formatting is terribly broken right now (Edge) but I did something very similar. We had a whole BUNCH of rxjs pipes trying to coordinate, and just getting hopelessly tangled up. I replaced it with a boring state machine with switch statements and now its solid and obvious to read. IMO, ... read entire comment from Aaron Lawrence.
Aaron Lawrence replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted May 15, 2026
Thank you for this. Sitting with discomfort and coming out of it eventually are the most formative moments in personal development. If AI replaces that we're fucked.... read entire comment from Aaron Lawrence.
Ben Nadel replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 14, 2026
@Gary, First of all, +1000 on Navicat! It's been my favorite SQL GUI for like 15 years. It's just a super solid product. I've even used it a bit for MongoDB... and I think they may even have a Redis GUI as well. But, I'm in the SQL biz like 99.99% of the time. That said, it's been a while since I've... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Gary Funk replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 14, 2026
But is it as efficient? I know that is always difficult to know and justify. Around 14 years ago, I found Navicat and I started doing all SQL development on my computer. Once I was able to return the data I wanted I would change 'how and where' the JOINs and ONs were written. I also worked on 'what ... read entire comment from Gary Funk.
Ben Nadel replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted May 12, 2026
@Jacob, "and still write blog posts" This is something that I've been truly wrestling with. Not that I don't want to write blog posts; but literally that I'm learning much less these days. When I think about the ebb-and-flow of my writing, it has had huge setbacks around life-crisis (mental health i... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Jacob Fifhause replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted May 11, 2026
I appreciate that you share your thoughts and still write blog posts. I have experienced similar thoughts over the last few months and it is nice to hear that I'm not the only one.... read entire comment from Jacob Fifhause.
Ben Nadel replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 11, 2026
@Chris, I think it's how most people think, so you're in good company. I think I can't hold too many things in my head at once; so there was always something very comforting about being able to see both the relationships and the filtering right in the same place. It gave me a very tightly scoped bit... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Chris G replied to a post Claude Code Convinced Me To Simplify My SQL JOINs
Comment posted May 10, 2026
I've always done my filtering as Claude suggests. It's just how my brain makes sense of SQL, so it's nice to know I fell on the right side of this equation. I've also found AI really helpful in discovering other approaches to SQL design and optimization. Approaches I was never aware of before, so it... read entire comment from Chris G.
Ben Nadel replied to a post The Anatomy Of An INNER JOIN Query In SQL
Comment posted May 9, 2026
I know this post is quite old, but I just waned to loop-back in here and mention that I'm shifting my paradigm after finding Claude Code's argument more compelling than my own on one or two points. I'm now going back to keeping the relationships in my ON and the filtering in my WHERE: https://www.be... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Ben Nadel replied to a post SQL Optimization And ON Clause vs WHERE Clause
Comment posted May 9, 2026
So..... 20 years later, Claude Code has finally convinced me to go back the other direction — to move my filtering into the WHERE and keep the relationships in my ON. It finally laid out an argument that felt more compelling than my own argument: https://www.bennadel.com/blog/4892-claude-code-convin... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Noursecode replied to a post Replacing nginx With CommandBox In ColdFusion Dev Environment
Comment posted May 8, 2026
@Ben Yes, very true. CommandBox does hide some of that insanity. Easier is a good thing :)... read entire comment from Noursecode.
Ben Nadel replied to a post Replacing nginx With CommandBox In ColdFusion Dev Environment
Comment posted May 8, 2026
@Bill, Docker is great, no doubt. I use it locally for development even when I'm not using it in production. I'm shocked when anyone deals with un-containerized dev and dealing with node-versions and conflicting dependencies. Docker all day! That said, the low-level mechanics of Docker are way beyon... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Noursecode replied to a post Replacing nginx With CommandBox In ColdFusion Dev Environment
Comment posted May 7, 2026
Hey Ben, Yes, I use CommandBox too, it can be very helpful. Recently I asked Brad what his choice would be for a production server. Windows or Linux. Instead of saying one or the other, he said Docker. Which is a great answer, right? Docker makes deploying a breeze, but it also makes local developme... read entire comment from Noursecode.
Ben Nadel replied to a post Replacing nginx With CommandBox In ColdFusion Dev Environment
Comment posted May 6, 2026
Ha ha... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Chris G replied to a post Replacing nginx With CommandBox In ColdFusion Dev Environment
Comment posted May 6, 2026
@Ben Nadel, I would have responded earlier ... except when I read, "with 0 version control", and I blacked-out for a few hours from the shock 😨 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂... read entire comment from Chris G.
Ben Nadel replied to a post Replacing nginx With CommandBox In ColdFusion Dev Environment
Comment posted May 6, 2026
@Joe, I would have responded earlier ... except when I read, "with 0 version control", and I blacked-out for a few hours from the shock 😨 lol, it's crazy that some apps like that still exist. Good on you for doing the right thing! And yeah, Ortus has been doing great work!... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Joe replied to a post Replacing nginx With CommandBox In ColdFusion Dev Environment
Comment posted May 6, 2026
I did something similar last year as well. I started a new job as a Senior Frontend Dev and the Senior dev wanted 4 of us to remote into a dev server all at the same time and work on the same files, with 0 version control. I setup a Docker compose, added Lucee and Commandbox, FTP'd all the files dow... read entire comment from Joe.
Ben Nadel replied to a post Replacing nginx With CommandBox In ColdFusion Dev Environment
Comment posted May 5, 2026
Ha ha, you're in good company!... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Chris G replied to a post Replacing nginx With CommandBox In ColdFusion Dev Environment
Comment posted May 5, 2026
@Ben Nadel, There's so much documentation! It's a good thing, but I too have trouble finding the answers I'm after. Glad it's not just me 😂... read entire comment from Chris G.
Ben Nadel replied to a post Replacing nginx With CommandBox In ColdFusion Dev Environment
Comment posted May 5, 2026
@Chris, If anything, the Ortus team has too much documentation. Which makes it perfect for AI. Even when I was asking AI to help me with the server rewrite rules, the number of 404 dead links it came across while scouring the net was big. Having it synthesize lots of random, disparate data sources, ... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Chris G replied to a post Replacing nginx With CommandBox In ColdFusion Dev Environment
Comment posted May 5, 2026
Options like FINALIZE_STARTUP=true are what make CommandBox such an amazing and invaluable tool for our community...so well thought out. Brad Wood has always been the go-to for support and incredibly responsive. I wonder if AI has meaningfully reduced that support load for him.... read entire comment from Chris G.
Joël replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted May 4, 2026
Right into the feels! As a dev with 25 years experience i couldnt agree more... read entire comment from Joël.
Toine replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted May 1, 2026
Spot on! Keep up the slow, uncomfortable, painstakingly good work!... read entire comment from Toine.
Chris G replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted April 30, 2026
@Ben Nadel, Love the theory related to the purpose of REM sleep. I had not heard that one before, but it makes sense. We are the old guard of code-smithing. The new generation of programmers raised on the nipple of AI will not care about how the code reads, looks, or is assembled. They will solely e... read entire comment from Chris G.
Ben Nadel replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted April 30, 2026
Was just watching a YouTube presentation by the Primegan and he used the phrase, "Toxic Productivity". I like that.... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Ben Nadel replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted April 30, 2026
I was just thinking about recent studies / thinking about REM Sleep. As medicine evolves, we are finding that the brain is lot more "plastic" than we used to give it credit for. Not only can neurons regenerate, but areas of the brain can basically take over for other areas' responsibilities. It's ki... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Ben Nadel replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted April 30, 2026
@Lars, I really like your article. I think you echo much of my own sentiment about the power of friction as the driving force for building taste and understanding. The notion of having to "think in code" also really hits hard for me. I can't tell you how many times I've thought about an idea as bein... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Ben Nadel replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted April 30, 2026
So here's an interesting context, which I think speaks to a lot of this. I have a side-project - Big Sexy Poems - that I've been using as a playground for new ideas. And, I want to bring a number of those ideas back into the coding of this blog. Now, I could probably have AI help with that (hey, go ... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Ben Nadel replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted April 30, 2026
@Alex, @Chris, A big part of the frustration in all the rhetoric is that, as you guys are saying, AI is actually really helping in a lot of places. I enjoy using AI to help me think through a problem or to help me more clearly articulate a friction I might be feeling in the code. And for really rote... read entire comment from Ben Nadel.
Gregory Alexander replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted April 30, 2026
Wonderful and thoughtful post, Ben. I feel similar thoughts about the new AI environment in my own blogging experiences. It's a strange new world that we live in! Take care, Gregory... read entire comment from Gregory Alexander.
Chris G replied to a post AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful
Comment posted April 29, 2026
@Alex Alexiou, I've enjoyed working in this industry partly because of the friction and discomfort. I'd go a step further and say this profession has historically required a temperament that tolerates both. The ability to sit with a problem for hours, days, even weeks...scratching your head, backing... read entire comment from Chris G.