Kyoto Tech Meetup: Dec 11 and 18 Wrap-Ups

Now that we are doing the coffee meetups weekly, I was going to stop writing these wrap-up posts. But it turns out people were getting some use out of them! So I'll try and keep them going.

This one is going to be a mish-mash of last week and this week to the extent that I remember them.

• Michael Lopp (Rands) – Books: Thoughtful, experience-driven books on engineering management and leadership. I've read each of these in an effort to be a better leader, but I think there's something in each for folks committed to the IC track.
• Supabase stuff:
  • Supabase Docs: Firebase gets a lot of mentions in our group, and it got me wondering about Supabase, which I hadn't checked in on in a while.
  • Supabase UI: Prebuilt, shadcn-based UI components designed to work seamlessly with Supabase.
  • Supabase Auth: Authentication and user management powered by Postgres, with OAuth and email support.
• "XYZ, but in Japan"
  • Open Salary (Japan): "levels.fyi but in Japan". Salary info anonymously shared by the developer community in Japan.
  • en-hyouban: "Glassdoor, but in Japan". A Japanese review site for companies and employers... workplace culture and reputation etc etc.
• AI stuff:
  • OpenAI Codex: An AI coding agent designed to help write, understand, and refactor code.
  • DuckDuckGo: A privacy-focused search engine that now has an AI chatbot. This search engine has been my daily driver for probably 12 years at this point.
  • Neural Networks: Zero to Hero (Andrej Karpathy): A hands-on YouTube series building neural networks from first principles.
• Blinkit: Ultra-fast grocery and essentials delivery service in India.
• Okini Run Club: A running club in Kyoto that meets on Tuesday mornings.

That's all I remember from the last 2 weeks!

If you're following along in real time, next week we meet on Tuesday instead of Thursday, since Thursday in Christmas! You can always get the latest info on the Kyoto Tech Meetup official site.