JR Tashjian

  • An Homage to Strict Coding

    Intent is both one of the most difficult-to-describe, yet most critical, aspects to the maintainability of good software. The more intent we can show in our code, the more quickly newer developers (and developers who haven’t been inside a codebase for awhile) can gain confidence in working with an older system. Finally, when we write strict code,…

  • Our Band at Praise in the Park

    I posted a picture before the event started and now I’ve received some photos of the actual event. These are those photos 🙂 I play the guitar, my father plays the bass, and my sister sings in our church’s worship band. We were invited by Faith Baptist Church to play some songs along side them…

  • Praise in the Park at Collins Park

    I’ll be playing guitar with my church‘s worship band today alongside Faith Baptist. Should be a pretty good turnout. Little nervous 🙂

  • Leaving Automattic, Available for Freelance

    Tomorrow is my last day at Automattic. I joined Automattic just over two and a half years ago and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. Everyone I got the chance to meet and work with were humble, helpful, and brilliant people. It was an exciting time traveling to various places with my team and coworkers,…

  • Royal Mountain Motocross – May 2015

    My brother has started to get back into racing dirt bikes and decided to hit the track this past weekend. He had a mechanical failure during practice and we weren’t able to get it fixed before the races. We had a fun time watching the races anyway and I took a lot of photos and…

  • Five Ways to Secure Your WordPress Plugins

    I wrote a piece on the VaultPress blog recently about some basic security practices plugin developers should know and include in their own plugins. This sums up my beliefs on being a plugin/theme developer: Writing plugins for WordPress gives us so much freedom and flexibility on the platform and with this ability comes a responsibility…

  • Talk: Getting Started with the Cron API

    I’ve wanted to speak at a conference for a long time and only recently decided to take the leap by submitting a talk for the local WordCamp in Saratoga. I chose the topic of the Cron API because I use something very similar everyday at Automattic and I’ve not seen any talks on the component…

  • The Feeling of Insecurity

    … the desire for security and the feeling of insecurity are the same thing. To hold your breath is to lose your breath. A society based on the quest for security is nothing but a breath-retention contest in which everyone is as taut as a drum and as purple as a beet. Alan Watts

  • Your Code May Be Elegant

    OmniTI ~ Your Code May Be Elegant I’ve had this article bookmarked for some time now and I agree with what the author says. Too often in this field I’ve heard developers complain about another developer’s code because it doesn’t fit into their standard. I’ve definitely looked at code and scoffed at it both vocally…

  • Re: More Than Success

    I know that it’s not possible to have every teenager pursue a passion. Many don’t have one at this young. However, they should be introduced to many more things than they are now. I also know that in the long run, sometimes ends have to be met, which means not always working towards your passion.…

  • Penguin Racing 2-day Racing Class on June 18th and 19th

    In June I went to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for another track day. I love riding on the NHMS track and I felt confident this year, maybe because I crashed last year and got over my fear of laying it down. I did come close to making contact with someone though which you’ll see in the…

  • Golden Gate Bridge with Automatticians

    Ian Nuttal, Steve Blythe, Dustin Hartzler, Me, John Godley, Pam Kocke.