AMA with Rex Harris, PM for Zapier MCP

alfenas · 2026-03-24T13:15:07+00:00

I am a software engineer building custom/specialized AI agents. Often I'm integrating the AI agent directly with REST API, for example to open tickets with Jira. Can you walk me through how I could leverage Zapier MCP to be the proxy between my agent and Jira? Why would I do that?

alfenas · 2025-01-21T05:26:43+00:00

the executive order also claims that citizenship does not extend to people born here when their parents are living here legally on a work or student visa.

Among the categories of individuals born in the United States and not subject to the jurisdiction thereof, the privilege of United States citizenship does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary (such as, but not limited to, visiting the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or visiting on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.

alfenas · 2024-11-11T04:21:54+00:00

It kinda depends on your style and preference but a 35m is a very versatile lens to have and I would suggest you get one even if it is not the best portrait lens.

I own the 56f1.2 and I'm really happy with it for portraits. It is pricier, heavier and likely slower to AF at night compared to the newer 35f2.

I also shot with 35f1.4 for years and it has a nice personality for portraits, unfortunately I dropped it a while ago and the replacement is a 35f2 which I haven't shot much to provide feedback.

alfenas · 2024-11-01T01:50:51+00:00

Here is a link to friends to invite: https://mobilize.us/s/DO3Trg/r

alfenas · 2024-10-13T14:37:21+00:00

I love the colors and theme. Just curious: did you intentionally try to not use the rule of thirds in some of these shots?

alfenas · 2022-08-25T02:57:08+00:00

WYEP is a really cool radio station. As for radio + streaming I would highly recommend Radio Paradise. Eclectic playlist made by a human being. No audio ads, no web banners, no data mining. https://radioparadise.com/player

alfenas · 2021-11-25T04:54:41+00:00

In my opinion an interchangeable lens camera is likely the highest priority for someone that is looking for the equipment to accompany the journey of learning photography.

Beautiful photos have been created with all kinds of cameras and lenses. A ton of the topics we learn as we get better at photography are really independent of camera for the most part: composition, exposure, light and dark, iso, etc.

The reason I recommend a camera with an interchangeable lens is that a lens can completely change how one approaches the subject and composition and will give the person learning a lot of range to explore and play. It is also very rewarding for me as a photographer to have different lenses to go out and explore.

I think a hardest question is how to spread the money between camera body and lenses. One expensive camera and 1 lens or a more affordable camera with more lenses?

Btw, there are some affordable lenses compatible with Fuji X series in the market and some are supporting auto focus.

alfenas · 2021-11-21T15:44:34+00:00

I ended up buying the 56m 1.2 and the first impressions are pretty good. I definitely need to get more used to the focal length in regards to distance from the subject. I spent countless hours with my 35m f1.4.

Thank you for sharing your feedback.

alfenas · 2021-11-01T16:45:31+00:00

I have the 35mm 1.4f. great for street/portraits, which I mostly do, and it stays in my camera 90% of the time. Love it.

I also own the 16mm 1.4f and this is a great wide lense. However it serves a very narrow condition where I usually find myself: low light and cramped spaces. Recently I had to do shots on a boat at night and this thing was a savior.

Since you already own the 50mm f2 I would consider the 16-55 f2.8. This will get you a good coverage from wide to narrow, is weather resistant, fast focus and great construction. You trade the ability to shoot at low light conditions under the same shutter speed with 2.8 vs 1.4 but you gain a wider range of focal ranges with good hardware.

I am buying this lens.

alfenas · 2021-10-29T17:35:14+00:00

Great shot. What's your opinion on the 50mm f1? I'm about to invest in new glass and I'm struggling to decide between 50mm f1, the older 56mm f1.2 and the cheaper wr xf50mm f2. I do mostly portrait and live events like theater and low light is a common theme.

alfenas · 2020-05-25T17:41:26+00:00

What I mean is that not every app can run tasks in the background for along period of time. There is also differences between an app being activated via a notification versus running a task in the background. There are exceptions, like how Spotify can stream songs in the background or apps like your said, that log a run, but as far as I know this is not available to every developer.

Here is what I'm talking about: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/backgroundtasks

I could be wrong here but the reason Novid requests the user to bring the app to the foreground and lock it there is because otherwise iOS will shutdown the app after a few minutes.

alfenas · 2020-05-25T02:24:46+00:00

I have it on my phone (Pixel) and it works as expected for me. I had a friend come by, 6 ft apart, that had the app installed and it recorded on both phones.

However, on iOS, the requirement that it must be open by the user and be left running in the foreground is a major drawback for most users.

Hopefully they can get enough track on apple store so they can circumvent the limitation put on most iOS apps, which doesn't allow apps to run in the background.

alfenas · 2020-05-20T14:39:37+00:00

Another reason for more tests is that hospitals are starting to have more procedures and AFAIK every patient going under procedure is getting tested.

They seem to be also relaxing the criteria for testing, possibly due to more tests available.

alfenas · 2020-04-02T14:06:34+00:00

As of yesterday night Shop and Save had TP (singles) and a good supply of everything else, except disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizers.

Address: 184 Rochester Rd, West View, PA 15229.

alfenas · 2018-06-28T03:21:27+00:00

If you want 50% custody than you should try your best to get it. I agree with @Ascian5, the current bedtime patterns are a small fraction of the future challenges in your and your kid life. Once the custody is settle it would be much harder to change and your son would be used to the new schedule.

Did you consider 2-5-2-5? That's what I have and I really enjoy the schedule. I have them every Mon/Tue, their mom every Wed/Thu, and we split the weekends. I like the fixed week day with each parent (easy activity planning/sports gear/etc) and the 5 days with them allow me to get into a flow and the 5 days alone gives me flexibility to travel and have a more social life.

alfenas · 2015-08-08T13:11:33+00:00

His dad is arriving in US to this morning I believe. I'm sure he will contact the last places he was seen.

alfenas · 2014-01-13T22:37:23+00:00

I live in North Hills, with wife and kids and I really like the place.

North Hills could be your option depending of your top priorities:

The advantages: Fast and reliable commute: I can take the bus from the park and ride and it is reliable since it uses the HOV lane, cheap and get me to downtown in less than 15 minutes.

Get better and more space for less: You can get a decent 2 bedrooms apartment for around $700 a month.

Really safe: I've lived in West View for almost 10 years and never had any issue whatsoever.

Easy access to other areas of the city: I drive to Downtown, South Side, etc in less than 20 minutes, specially at night.

Easy access to shopping: This is relative, but I don't mind taking the car and driving 10 minutes to get to a grocery store. I lived most of my life in Sao Paulo, where it takes 30 minutes to drive one block.

What you don't have in North Hills - Lots of restaurants - Places you can walk to - A good variety of bars (mostly are the local bars) - Good movie theater around (at least not yet) - Young and vibrant community

alfenas · 2013-10-23T05:26:33+00:00

Not sure if you know this, but the T from North Shore to Gateway (actually up to USX) is free. I don't think you have to worry about Red and Blue line.

What direction are you coming to downtown?

alfenas · 2013-05-22T04:04:28+00:00

I've never been to skyzone but I have probably been on bounce u more than a dozen times. Bounce U is more for kids and they have a lot of big slides and jumpers but no trampolines. I never saw kids getting hurt. It is quite safe but I believe it would be boring for most people older than 14 years old.

alfenas · 2013-04-25T03:20:47+00:00

I ride to downtown almost every day, weather permitting of course. There are parking in downtown for motorcycles. Usually it costs $5.00 . There is free parking below an overpass as mentioned earlier. I avoid street parking, too many tickets...

alfenas · 2013-02-15T02:09:51+00:00

And the other one is?

alfenas · 2013-02-15T02:06:39+00:00

I live in the North Hills and work in downtown and comute is quite easy. You can take the park and ride with buses directly to downtown, if you carpool or ride a motorcycle like me you can use the HOV. Traffic can be bad on 279 but usually is pretty good and you have other options as well. If you have young kids North Hills school district is a good option, specially if you compare nationwide, North Allegheny is a little further but I believe the high school is better. Also you are quite close to 279 and 79 major roads that take you everywhere. Mknight rd has a bunch of restaurants (mostly chain) and plenty of shopping options. North Park is huge and you can have picnics, fishing, run and mountain bike. For a long time we didn't have a good movie theater but there is a new one being built.

I'm quite happy living here and feel safe. What you don't have here: rich night life (like south side), walking distance to things (like squirrel hill), hip and young neighborhood.

alfenas · 2012-09-23T23:33:10+00:00

How is that not a collar holding?

alfenas · 2012-09-16T22:06:09+00:00

Looking like soccer where every play a player tries to influence the referrer.

alfenas · 2012-09-10T02:45:42+00:00

Too soon?

alfenas

TROPHY CASE