Secret Santa Surprises + Cozy Reads for the Season

?? Message from the Captain

Hey there,

As the year winds down, I want to take a moment to say thank you. Whether you’re one of our amazing clients or part of the Planet Argon team, I’m so grateful for the time, energy, and dedication you’ve brought to the table this year. It’s wild to think that 2024 is almost in the rearview mirror!

For us, this time of year isn’t just about checking things off the to-do list—it’s about reflection and setting ourselves up for success. We’ve been tidying up product backlogs, refining checklists, and running security audits while helping our clients plan for the projects they’re excited to kick off in the new year.

Years ago, I realized it’s better to ask, “What can we line up for January?” instead of, “What else can we cram in before December 31st?” That mindset has stuck with me and fits perfectly with one of our core values: being proactive. It’s about being intentional now to make things smoother later.

As I look back on this year, I can’t help but feel thankful for all of you. Your trust, curiosity, and enthusiasm inspire me, and I truly value the relationships we’ve built.

Here’s to wrapping up 2024 with care and heading into 2025 with energy and focus. Wishing you and your loved ones a warm and joyful holiday season!

Thanks for being part of this journey with us.

?? Robby

?? Another Trip Around the Sun! Argonaut Birthdays

We’re celebrating the birthday of our CEO and trusted captain at Planet Argon, Robby Russell ! Thanks for charting a course that keeps us curious, collaborative, and always striving toward new horizons. Here’s to another year of bold ideas, meaningful connections, and adventures still untold. Enjoy your day, Captain!

Our Ruby on Rails developer, Jaison Coelho is celebrating a birthday this month! Thanks for everything you bring to the team. May this year bring fewer bugs, more breakthroughs, and plenty of reasons to celebrate!

?? Logbook Entries: Blog Highlights

In our recent blog post by our Marketing Coordinator, Autumn Morgan , she shares how we’re rewiring the way we think about marketing tools. Learn why we ditched HubSpot for a leaner, simpler tech stack that’s boosting engagement and giving us the freedom to focus on what truly matters.

?? Exploration Report: What we're reading and listening to

Books, Tips, and Articles

?? React 19 is now stable as of Dec 5 and includes some new client component hooks and actions, a new use API that uses Suspense boundaries until promises resolve, and some Server Component/Server Action additions that make it easier to reference server functions in client components.

?? A new page in the Rails Guides on tuning performance for deployment that looks useful!

?? Leadership Is Language by L. David Marquet gives businesspeople the tools they need to achieve such transformational leadership in their organizations.

?? Join the Chrome DevRel team and a skateboarding Chrome Dino on a journey through the latest CSS launched for Chrome and the web platform in 2024.

?? Software Architecture: The Hard Parts: Modern Trade-Off Analyses for Distributed Architectures provides techniques to help you discover and weigh the trade-offs as you confront the issues you face as an architect.

Reading, For fun

?? If On A Winter Night A Traveler, by Italo Calvino

?? The Algebra of Wealth by Scott Galloway

?? Shock Induction by Chuck Palahniuk

?? Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History by Dan Flores

?? Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer

Listening to

?? Weird Studies: On ‘The X-files’ with Meredith Michael

?? Determined, by Robert M. Sapolsky

?? The Case Against Reality by Donald Hoffman

?? Signals from the Ethers: Podcast Highlights

Popular Episode on Maintainable Software Podcast

Robby Russell recently had the pleasure of chatting with Austin Story , Senior Engineering Director at Doximity, about how his team simplifies software while staying adaptable to new challenges. Austin’s stories from Doximity, including insights from their technology blog, offer a practical lens on managing technical complexity without overengineering. If you're curious about balancing iteration speed with long-term maintainability, this episode is for you.

Featured Appearance

The Ode to RailsConf podcast with host David Hill explores RailsConf over the years. In the most recent episode, Robby Russell shares fun stories from the early days of the RailsConf scene.

?? 3rd Annual Secret Santa & Hot Cocoa Recipe Exchange ?

Who says a Zoom holiday party can’t be festive? A few days before the event, we swapped our favorite hot cocoa recipes, then arrived on the call with mugs in hand, ready to savor new flavors and share our favorite holiday stories. Between sipping, laughing, and revealing our Secret Santa gifts, it felt like we’d all gathered around the same fireplace. A special thanks to Drawnames.com for helping bring our team together, no matter how many borders we crossed! ??

One of our developers, José Anchieta , received an axe as part of his gift, which was just terrifying, as you can see.