Torqd

Vehikl

Torqd examines the tools and concepts that developers use on the job. We talk web frameworks, career choices, community events, industry news, and anything else that keeps the engine running.

  1. 6d ago

    Browsers

    Torq’d Podcast: Browser History, AI Agents, and the Modern WebDan Soppelsa hosts the Torq’d podcast with Vehikl coworkers Joe, Ian, and Caleb. In a “learned/liked/lacked” segment, Caleb describes giving AI agents SSH access to an Unraid server to follow guides, spin up Docker Compose services, and manage configs; Ian and Dan discuss using AI to triage duplicate Jira tickets and to generate new tickets and acceptance criteria; Caleb mentions agents connected to Slack and Shortcut for status tracking and end-of-day updates; Joe describes unreliable client sandbox/dev environments and considers MirageJS or snapshots/mocking to reduce broken dependencies. Dan shares using Claude Design to create branding, a logo, and a homepage for a conference talk. They announce community events (GPUG Sept 30 in Waterloo; KWJS upcoming; Laravel Worldwide Meetup; Laravel London Oct 1; Longhorn PHP Oct 15–16, 2026 in Austin). The main topic covers web browser evolution from Tim Berners-Lee’s early web and NeXT machines through Mosaic, Netscape’s JavaScript and cookies, Microsoft’s IE bundling and browser wars, Firefox features like tabs/containers, Safari/WebKit, Chrome/Chromium consolidation, privacy/ad-blocking concerns (Manifest V3), and speculation about AI agents and cloud-based futures.00:00 Podcast Introductions01:23 Learned Liked Lacked02:20 Agents on Servers04:09 AI for Ticket Work07:10 Dev Environments Pain12:18 Claude Design Workflow14:03 Community Events Roundup16:41 Why Browsers Matter18:15 Browser Defaults and Search22:39 Early Web History27:32 Mosaic and Mozilla Origins28:35 Mosaic Origins29:55 Why Netscape Won30:34 JavaScript And Cookies35:20 Dial Up Memories36:06 Mozilla Name Lore37:17 Microsoft Enters40:45 Browser Wars Pain43:55 Firefox Features48:30 Safari And WebKit49:25 Chrome And Chromium51:01 Privacy And Manifest V354:41 Browsers As OS55:48 AI Future Wrap Up

  2. Sep 30

    Laracon US 2026 Recap

    Torq’d Podcast: Laracon US 2026 Boston Recap, AI Workflows, and Community Events Dan Soppelsa hosts the Torq’d podcast with coworkers Chris Lemon and Joe Racz, introducing a “liked, learned, lacked” reflection segment focused largely on AI’s impact: Chris likes building mobile apps with NativePHP, learned to build a Kotlin/Swift plugin with Claude, and notes AI increases workload and organization needs; Dan likes Claude Code Artifacts for turning plans and explanations into shareable interactive HTML, but worries AI-generated code can weaken developers’ mental models; Joe uses AI to reduce decision paralysis and for design/feedback, but found it easy to overinvest in optional work. They share upcoming community events (GPUG monthly, KWJS monthly, Laravel Worldwide Meetup, Laravel Toronto, London ON Laravel, and Longhorn PHP where Dan and Chris will speak). The main topic is Laracon US 2026 in Boston, including Laraprom, the industrial venue, the after-party, and “Ship or Die” pitches where Chris presented his Collect Shine smart record-shelf concept and received Laravel Cloud credits.   00:00 Podcast Kickoff00:40 Liked Learned Lacked02:09 Chris on NativePHP03:22 AI Speed and Focus06:48 Dan on Mental Models08:44 Claude Artifacts and Sharing12:14 Joe Uses AI for Design15:42 Community Events Roundup16:07 GPUG Meetup Updates18:00 More Meetups and Laracon Lead In21:52 Laracon US 2026 Begins22:54 Arrivals and Boston First Impressions24:53 Houseboat Airbnb Adventure27:02 Fenway and City Exploring28:38 Boston Waterfront Walks29:20 Laraprom Party Highlights31:06 Dodgeball and Night Zero31:42 Sowa Power Station Venue34:52 Day One Talk Takeaways37:10 After Party Food and Vibes38:38 Day Two Standouts40:40 Ship or Die Pitch Show43:31 Collect Shine Smart Shelf50:35 Conference Wrap and Swag

  3. 02/15/2019

    026 - Vehikl: Under The Hood (pt. 2)

    Today we're discussing what's going on at the London Vehikl office! The London team has recently moved into a new building. The building is a beautiful and modern location. Caryn and James work in the London office and join us to tell us what it is like to work there, and what it's like working for Vehikl for general. The London location is hiring developers. It is a nine person team and looking to grow. Caryn and James walk us through their on-boarding process and tell us what they look for in a new team member. We also discuss the flourishing Dev community in London. Caryn tells us about the local meetups, conferences, and potential partnerships the London office may consider further down the line. Some of the meetups and conferences James and Caryn mentioned today are: Fanshawe Reactr Program UX Centre Stage Explode Conference DevLondon meetup Links and Resources: Caryn Humphreys on GitHub: https://github.com/LadyCarni James Abell on GitHub: https://github.com/jamesabell Torqd Podcast: http://podcast.vehikl.com/ Vehikl on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vehikl?lang=en Visual Studio (VS) Code: https://code.visualstudio.com/ Tech Alliance: http://www.techally.com/ Fanshawe: https://www.fanshawec.ca/ Fanshawe Reactr Program: http://www.reactr.ca/ Dev London: https://devldn.ca/ UX Centre Stage: https://ltux.ca/ Explode Conference: https://explodeconf.com/ Contributions: Guests: Caryn Humphreys and James Abell Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares Music and show art: Adam Frank Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo) Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://vehikl.com.

    026 - Vehikl: Under The Hood (pt. 2)
  4. 01/30/2019

    025 - Vehikl: Under The Hood (pt. 1)

    Welcome to our first episode of the new year. Today’s episode is the start of a new series we are calling Vehikl: Under the Hood. We sit down with Colin DeCarlo and Brian Hogg and discuss some exciting developments in the London, Hamilton, and Waterloo offices. Vehikl is hiring new talent and we have many growth opportunities. We also talk about upcoming meetups and conferences that Vehikl is involved in and what we’re looking forward to in 2019. The meetups we feature today are: Dev London -- London office, January 29th. Speed Networking Night -- Conestoga College, January 29th. GPUG -- Waterloo office, January 30th. KWJS -- Waterloo office, February 20th. We plan to attend two conferences this year, here’s where we’ll be: LaraCon Online -- March 6th. Vue.js Conference US -- Tampa Bay, FL, March 25-27th. LaraCon 2019 -- New York City, NY, July 24-25 Links and Resources: Brian Hogg on GitHub: https://github.com/brianhogg Colin DeCarlo on LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/colindecarlo Discover HamOnt: https://discoverhamont.ca/ Dev London Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/dev-london/ GPUG: http://meetu.ps/c/qCPs/vR6J7/f KWJS Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/kwjavascript/ Vue.js Conference US: https://us.vuejs.org/ LaraCon Online: https://laracon.net/ LaraCon 2019: https://laracon.us/ Vehikl on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vehikl?lang=en Vehikl email: Go@vehikl.com Contributions: Guests: Brian Hogg and Colin DeCarlo Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares Music and show art: Adam Frank Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo) Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://vehikl.com.

    025 - Vehikl: Under The Hood (pt. 1)

About

Torqd examines the tools and concepts that developers use on the job. We talk web frameworks, career choices, community events, industry news, and anything else that keeps the engine running.

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