Blogs

The Only Debugger I Need Has Four Paws

Every developer has a “rubber duck”—that silent object they talk to while debugging, just to work through logic.

Well, mine’s alive. He drools. He snores. And he’s about 140 pounds of loyal muscle.

My Great Dane doesn’t know Python. He couldn’t deploy a container if his life depended on it. But he’s the best coding partner I’ve ever had.

Here’s why I truly believe dogs make the perfect companions for developers—especially veterans transitioning into tech.

The Best Mental Health Hack in Tech? Four Legs and a Wet Nose

Deadlines. Slack messages. Alerts. Bugs. Zoom fatigue.

The tech world is full of stimulation—and for someone with a military background or anxiety-prone brain, it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

I’ve tried productivity hacks. Mindfulness apps. Timers. Noise-canceling headphones.

But nothing has stabilized me more than the presence of my dog.

My Dog Is My Daily Therapist

He doesn’t talk. He doesn’t judge.
He just sits there—calm, grounded, breathing slow—and somehow, I breathe slower too.

Code by Day, Chill with My Dog by Night: Finding Balance After the Battlefield

Military life is intense, structured, all-in.
There are no half-measures, no part-time missions, no “clocking out.”

So when I left the Army and stepped into civilian life, I brought that same intensity with me. I thought I had to hustle 24/7 to prove myself in tech. I worked 12-hour days, skipped meals, ignored sleep.

Eventually, my mind and body pushed back.

That’s when I had to learn a lesson I wish I’d learned sooner:
Balance isn’t weakness. It’s strength.

From Zero to GitHub: 7 Tech Tools Every Veteran Should Learn First

Let’s face it—when you transition out of the military and step into tech, it’s like being dropped into a foreign country.

You hear people talk about Git, Docker, APIs, Python, and you’re like... what language is this?

I’ve been there. I didn’t come from a computer science background. I came from a 13B artillery background—tactical, high-stakes, hands-on.

Brotherhood in the Cloud: How I Found Community in Tech

One of the hardest parts of military transition isn’t the job search.
It’s the loss of brotherhood.

You go from a tight-knit unit to... a LinkedIn profile.
From shared hardship to Slack threads.
From knowing someone’s got your back—to wondering if you’re even being seen.

At first, I thought the tech world would be too... cold. Too corporate. Too isolated.

But I was wrong.

Because when you look in the right places, the tech world has its own kind of camaraderie—and for veterans, it can become a new kind of brotherhood.

From Formation to Frameworks: Rebuilding Structure After the Military

When I left the Army, I expected to feel free.

What I didn’t expect was how quickly freedom would turn into floating.
No formations. No NCOs. No battle rhythm. Just space.
Too much space.

And for a while, it was terrifying.

Because in the military, structure is survival.
But in civilian life? No one’s handing you a daily schedule.

So I had to build one—brick by brick, line by line—using tools I never thought I’d need: frameworks, code, calendars… and a Great Dane.

Discipline Beats Motivation: Why Routine Is a Programmer’s Superpower

Motivation is a liar.

It shows up when it wants, disappears when you need it, and never calls you back.

But discipline? Discipline shows up. Every. Damn. Day.

As a veteran, I was trained on routine. Wake up. Train. Execute. Repeat. It didn’t matter if I felt like it—we did it because it had to be done.

And that mindset—the one they drill into you during basic training—is the same one that makes me a better developer today.