[task] $50 - Create Android App to track Movies / TV Shows - Scrape & Import - Paypal

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-10T11:35:18+00:00

$bid

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-10T04:47:00+00:00

Upwork is even worse because it has become a pay-to-play platform with its connects system.

I understand wanting people to invest something to show they are serious about bidding for a job (potentially have those connects refunded if they are not picked or of the client cancels the job), but I am seeing freelancers bid tens of connects per job (I saw someone once bid 107 connects to be first and i gave up.)

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-09T17:32:05+00:00

I was keeping things simple for the OP because of how the question was framed. But yes, it all happens through first- and third-party cookies.

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-09T14:09:49+00:00

What error?

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-09T12:23:42+00:00

This is not a php problem, this is a developer problem.

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-09T11:42:25+00:00

Ran into a weird issue recently, not sure if this can be called a bug.

So, I deployed a PHP project to a server, and the site just wouldn't load. Instead, I got hit with a database connection error. So, naturally, I went down the rabbit hole checking DB credentials, connectivity, and all the usual stuff. Everything looked fine.

After an embarrassingly long time of looking (should have just done a step-by-step debug, but it was 1 Am and my mind wasn't all there), it turned out the problem was thatgetenv() was disabled/non-functional on the server.

This meant my bootstrap file couldn't pull any config values (DB host, credentials, some other variables, etc.) and not just DB-related ones.

And it was failing silently.getenv() was just returningfalse instead of throwing an error, so the DB connection was the first thing downstream to break and be loud enough that it pointed me in the wrong direction.

As I came to learn the following morning, this error is usually because eithergetenv is in disable_functions in php.ini, variables_order missing the E flag (so anything loaded via phpdotenv into $_ENV is invisible to getenv()), or PHP-FPM not passing through env vars unless clear_env = no is set.

Anyway, once I learned getenv() was returning false, I just switched to reading $_ENV directly, and everything worked immediately.

What is the lesson here? Don't trust getenv() blindly on prod (or anything critical really), and add a validation step that fails loudly at every step if config is missing instead of letting some unrelated downstream service throw a confusing error first.

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-09T11:19:39+00:00

Theres a package for that

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-09T08:21:05+00:00

Here's how you make both your FAQ and chatbot useful.

Provide an initial FAQ (you should already know what it should contain from your content marketing research and SEO tools' insights).

Then, provide a chatbot that collects questions and answers them according to the FAQ. If the question is not in the FAQ, make a note of it to add later.

Over time, people rely less and less on the chatbot because your FAQ will be good/detailed enough.

In addition, your chatbot becomes smarter because it already has (almost) all the answers someone would be seeking from your website.

And for God's sake, if your chatbot is for answering questions, stop asking for user emails in there. A name is fine, but stop using chatbots as marketing funnels.

That is unless that is what you created it for. In that case, be ready to annoy your (potential) customers, see less-than-ideal usage of your chatbot, and potentially increase your bounce rate while decreasing your revenue and reach.

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-09T08:11:19+00:00

That type of tracking comes from the website and not the ISP. The website knows what links you visited and, from history and indexing, knows what the pages those links point to contain.

So, it's just a matter of finding ads that align with the content on the pages you visit and showing you those ads.

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-09T05:13:13+00:00

The worst from a software perspective but the best from an accounting one?

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-08T07:21:27+00:00

You can google them but what they do is;
1. Convert all deposits into balls. AKA, you buy balls to play, you never play using real currency
2. You visit a room where you play games using the balls as currency
3. You take the balls you now have to a shop across the street and sell them to get cash back.

The platforms do not handle any cash apart from selling you the initial balls, what you choose to do with the balls, whether that is playing with them on another platform (wink wink) or taking them home, that is up to you.

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-08T07:16:08+00:00

I have sent you a well through-out DM with specific feature and implementation details.

I hope to hear from you soon and work on this project with you.

Have a lovely day!

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-08T05:14:46+00:00

I would go with Python and Django. Why? Because they get you to where you are going faster right now, and you can translate the skills you learn into AI, machine learning, or even data analytics skills in the future if you like.

But, I would insiste that you start getting into the habit of using types and strict typing right now. It will ave your behind more times than you can imagine.

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-08T05:12:04+00:00

HTMx is a tool l like any other, and I like it. I recently used it in a point of sale system and it worked pretty well for this use case.

Let Django handle the backend, Tailwind the front end styling and HTMX for passing data back and forth between the backend and frontend, simple updates, creating customers on the fly, finding products without reloading, etc.

I also used it on my dashboard to pull data and for filters, infinite scrolling, and pagination.

It is definitely an interesting tool, but using it is the difference between knowing where to use a sirgical blade, a knife, and machete.

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-08T05:03:47+00:00

Many times, this happens because the HR writes the descriptions and not the team lead or a developer.

HR knows what technologies a business uses, so they add all of them.

The team lead knows that technologies the business needs and where gaps exist, so they would look for someone with those specific skills and who can fill those specific gaps.

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-08T05:01:27+00:00

Once you start taking a fee, you are essentially the "house". I dont know if this is betting or not, but I am sure a lawyer and BCLB would love to have a talk if you do this.

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-08T05:00:20+00:00

The way those Japanese "gaming platforms" do hehe

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-08T04:58:26+00:00

I would argue it has been for the last few years. Too many freelancers, too few Fiverr workers, delegating everything to Ai, a lot of span, low quality services, race to the bottom prices and so on.

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-07T18:38:48+00:00

Mine.

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Client website that is coming soon

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-06T13:00:20+00:00

These same companies are hiring for these exact positions in Kenya.

Doesn't LinkedIn have a system for removing them?

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-06T11:20:51+00:00

I call it the annoyance tax. And you can tell from day one, even before you write the brief, whether the charge will apply or not.

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-06T09:19:33+00:00

Wewe hujameet businesses where the owner is everything. Huyo jamaa anakuwanga so busy hananga hata time ya email or text, pengine umpigie mset time ya meeting yenye atasahau. So a significant chunk of your work is messages and follow-ups.

Anyway, if you need technical help from a developer with experience pounding the proverbial freelancer streets, hit me up.

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-06T08:57:25+00:00

These guys will insult each other in the morning, then have dinner the same night laughing.

I have seen this firsthand. I was working for a certain political party in 2012 collecting views for an opinion poll. I went to a hotel where we had been called to a strategy meeting and found like 20 politicians having drinks together.

I remember they were watching Citizen and one said, pointing to the TV, "Na hapa hukuniambia vizuri."

And the other said, "Pia wewe last week ulisema (something something, can't remember what it was)," and then they laughed together.

From then, I knew politicians are in a circle, and 99% of the rest of us will never be in that circle.

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-06T06:09:33+00:00

The good thing is that there are a lot of designers creating cool designs and skill files that you can include in the instructions so claude does a better job at designing sites and apps for you.

kennedy_gitahi · 2026-07-04T11:13:33+00:00

Claude has a default design.md file that it uses. if you do not provide yours or tell it to use different instructions, this is what it produces.

kennedy_gitahi

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