Jay Cuthrell 11ty Podcast

The Podcasting Era

It is time to start podcasting (again)

🎙️ Podcast via POSSE

While evolving the way I handle my digital footprint, the POSSE (Publish on Own Site, Syndicate Everywhere) principle is coming to my upcoming podcast. Initially, I will be using my existing 11ty (Eleventy) on Akamai Linode VPS approach.

While I’ve experimented over the years with a podcast, much of that experimentation was short-lived. However, I believe that a podcast is more viable now that I’ve proven my newsletter publishing continuously.

The Studio

My initial goal is to have the studio fit in my pocket or backpack. Effectively that means I’ll be using an iPhone or my MacBook Air.

For now, speaking to the iPhone or my MacBook Air will suffice. As I get more sophisticated, there will be a formal studio design with gear that fits in a carry-on bag.

The DevSecFinGitOps Goals

Taking a lesson from my newsletter publishing, I am going to keep things simple and stable. To stay within my 2TB Linode transfer pool and minimize my footprint, I’ve opted for a “Zero-Runtime” architecture:

  • Ultra-Lean: 11ty compiles my Markdown into a static compatible RSS/Atom feed
  • Edge Delivery: Serving the static files via Caddy OR delivering static files via Cloudflare R2 (TBD) with a media subdomain
  • The Workflow: (for now)
    1. Draft: Content starts in Obsidian (Markdown) OR Voice Memos OR GarageBand
    2. Refine: Metadata is managed in VS Code
    3. Automate: A python script calculates audio length and duration bitrates
    4. Deploy: git push triggers a GitHub Action and webhooks to my VPS OR Cloudflare R2
    5. Push: n8n parses and pushes anything that doesn’t handle RSS/Atom feed

The Bandwidth Shield

By optionally using a Storage-Origin/CDN-Edge strategy, I’m offloading the heavy .mp3 delivery to the edge. This keeps my Linode egress which I used for my music years ago.

This setup isn’t just about overages mitigation, it’s about owning the source and keeping the infrastructure as code (IaaC) portable and self-hosted wherever possible. Also, a subdomain for media delivery will be an interesting challenge.

The Domain Decision

Every podcast needs a snazzy domain name, and I’m finally going to do something with UnicornJockeys.com (Unicorn Jockeys Podcast) which is currently parked on Netlify. That something will be podcasting.

Fun fact: Almost 10 years ago, I was still active on Twitter. I even grabbed the unicornjockey username back in late 2015.

IT kids love the meaty new taste of Unicorn Jockeys Podcast: Now with up to 65% less hosts! Mmmm mmmm good! 🦄
Data Centers Worldwide
Joined December 2015

Side note: At the time, I had used a similar domain, UnicornJockey.com (no “s”), for recruiting purposes to get referrals during the time of hypergrowth / blitzscaling at VCE. Over the years, I’ve updated the redirect to reflect where I happen to be working at the time.

More to come… stay tuned.

#OpenToWork Weekly

I participated in a #NeverSearchAlone #JSC after rebooting Cuthrell Consulting and joining NexusTek.

I added those #OpenToWork from my LinkedIn network to this newsletter. Over time, we’ve grown an Alumni 🎉 section for those that transitioned to their next career adventure.

Alumni 🎉

Those in my network that are #OpenToWork:

View this page on GitHub.

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