Sweet Hang #3: Matching Tattoos w/ John O'Nolan

Nov 20, 2025 73m

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Episode Description

Ian and Aaron are joined by John O'Nolan, creator of Ghost, to talk about double Laravel New'ing, side projects for your side projects, building an RSS reader, mastering Claude Code, and so much more.

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(00:00) - Double Laravel New'd
(08:52) - Claude Code Power User
(21:26) - Queues!
(32:58) - Your Side Project Has A Side Project
(48:37) - All About Ghost
(58:12) - Advice for Laravel New Believers

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AI-Generated Summary

Double Laravel New'd

The episode kicks off with a playful discussion around John O'Nolan's recent work on Laravel New. The hosts, Ian and Aaron, invite John to introduce himself, noting his prominent work with Ghost and the excitement surrounding Laravel New. John's passion shines as he explains the need for parallel projects, proposing a doubling of productivity by separating these projects onto different desktops.

Claude Code Power User

The trio discusses cloud coding and how John optimizes his development process using artificial intelligence tools for coding. John describes his workflow which involves using various coding aides, the iterative process of coding and testing, and how he integrates feedback mechanisms into his projects to ensure smooth development.

Queues!

The conversations shift towards queue management and the intricacies of maintaining efficiency with job processing. John elaborates on how he has learned to balance the demands of queuing systems, ensuring API rate limits are respected while keeping the project's workflow smooth and efficient.

Your Side Project Has A Side Project

John then shares insights about his side project of crafting a new RSS reader, discussing the challenges and opportunities presented by existing tools like Feedly. The excitement around building features that cater to user experience is clear, with John striving to improve how readers interact with RSS and newsletters.

All About Ghost

The discussion returns to Ghost as John talks about the success of the platform and its market positioning against competitors. He emphasizes his approach of building a community-driven product that offers what users truly need, pointing out how existing platforms often fail to meet the simple desires of users.

Advice for Laravel New Believers

In the closing section, John gives advice on embracing new projects and the opportunities that come with the Laravel community. He encourages developers to let go of existing apps that may no longer serve their purpose and to explore fresh starts through Laravel New.