Gustavo Karkow

@gusk.ca

257 Followers 215 Following

A man of few lines of code. https://gusk.ca

Three-quarters of a Brazilian pizza with three different flavors
A left hand holding a copy of "Bootstrapping Computing" by Alexander D. Obenauer
```php <?php return [ 'drivers' => [ 'spotify' => [ 'driver' => 'spotify', ], 'lastfm' => [ 'driver' => 'lastfm', ], 'musicbrainz' => [ 'driver' => 'musicbrainz', ], 'local' => [ 'driver' => 'local', ], 'lottery' => [ 'driver' => 'lottery', 'drivers' => [ 'spotify', 'lastfm', 'musicbrainz', ], ], 'failover' => [ 'driver' => 'failover', 'drivers' => [ 'spotify', // 'lastfm', // 'musicbrainz', ], ], ], ]; ```
A pegboard-style portfolio showcasing side projects, wall art, and favorite things.
Deploy Empathy by Michele Hansen The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Runners getting ready at the starting line of the 2025 Marathon de Montréal
The Pegboard of Memories and Dreams. It contains family pictures, postcards, and a 10K race medal, among other things. In the center of the image, a framed poster of an elephant, signed by the Laravel team at Laracon US 2025, is visible.
A corduroy hat with a fishing illustration and the words "Bait & Tackle"
Bridge of Khazad-dûm Desk Mat
An elephant poster signed by the Laravel team, Aaron Francis, Adam Wathan, Evan You and Jeffrey Way at Laracon US 2025 in Denver
A picture from an airport window. We can see a plane to the right. A truck is approaching it from the left.
Orange running shoes being tied before a run
Bad air quality in Montréal, with fine particles being the main polluant due to wildfires. Air quality index is 140.
"Laracon" and 🤘 depicted as pixel art in kilopx.com
A custom postcard featuring "AST*rix & ob_lix in Laracon US"
AST*rix & ob_lix in Laracon US A parody of the Astérix comic using programming Frame 1 whoami: ob_lix The caption reads "A week before Laracon" We can see two posts. The first is from $ashleyhindlebrit saying he's joining Laravel to work on all things AI. The second is from $taylorotwellix announcing AI as a big part of the Laravel team keynote at Laracon US. ob_lix says "That's it. My days are numbered. AI is coming for my job!" Frame 2 whoami: AST*rix & ob_lix We can see a post from $ianlandsmanix saying "AI is going to take over the world and make humans subservient to their iron fist. Also AI:" It has a picture of someone else's post about a critical error committed by a supervised robotaxi driving on the wrong side of the road and whatnot. AST*rix replies "You're a drama queen. AI can barely get things right half of the time." ob_lix adds "I can't get things right half of the time!" Frame 3 whoami: ob_lix We can see the hero image for the laracon.us website. AST*rix says "Don't beat yourself up. You'll have plenty of fun at this Laracon!" ob_lix replies "You're right. My body is ready to win that golf tournament!" Frame 4 whoami: AST*rix We can see the lineup for the teams competing in the Laracon Golf Tournament. - 🏆 **Facade** - $ericbarnestix — “MVP” - $ianlandsmanix — “Beat Eric once” - $jessarcherix — “Badass” - $taylorotwellix — “I only need a routes file” - 🌀 **Cache Misses** - ob_lix — “Brought a hockey stick” - gksh.dev — “Tried bouncing a pebble on a lake once” - $nunomadurix — “Can we play futsal instead?” - $joedixonix — “Banned for flying a drone on the course” AST*rix says "I guess you haven't seen the lineups yet 🤣"
A handful of custom postcards, featuring "AST*rix & ob_lix" comics, are being displayed on a desk
A custom postcard mock-up featuring one of my "AST*rix & ob_lix" comics
Eloquent relation scoped by data from Context ```php class RedirectIfMissingRegistration { public function handle(Request $request, Closure $next): Response { /** @var Event $event */ $event = $request->route('event'); // Add event id to the context Context::addHidden('event_id', $event->id); if ($user->eventAttendee->registered) { return $next($request); } return redirect()->route('event.registration', [$event]); } } class User { public function eventAttendees(): HasMany { return $this->hasMany(EventAttendee::class); } public function eventAttendee(): HasOne { return $this->eventAttendees() ->one() ->ofMany(['id' => 'max'], function ($query) { // Yae or nay? $query->where('event_id', Context::getHidden('event_id')); }); } } ```
Laravel Up & Running, a book by Matt Stauffer
A photo of me wearing a syntax.fm black hoodie
A Zeppelin LZ 127 automatic wristwatch
Stats from a 10km run showing an avg heart rate of 153bpm, avg pace of 6:40/km, and a total time of 1:07:18
A pan of potato and cheese frittata
Picture taken from The High Line in NYC, 2023
A clip of tinker.town running a Fusion component as an HTTP val
Zen browser's Theme Settings
Benny Goodman "Swing into Spring" playing on a turntable
Running stats showing a 8.07km run around Parc Lasalle, an avg heart rate of 154bpm, and an avg pace of 6:10/km
One-minute demo for a proof of concept called "tinker.town", a Val Town-inspired platform but for PHP and Laravel
Developer guide for a fictitious AWS service called Amazon SDS (Simple Distillery Service)
FrankenPHP talk at Confoo 2025
"Building desktop apps... with PHP?" talk at Confoo 2025 in Montréal
Screenshot of a 6.47km run showing the path around Parc Lasalle, an avg heart rate of 148bpm, and an avg pace of 6:49/km
Plage des Salines. Out of focus, there's a hand holding a beer.
AST*rix & ob_lix in Laracon EU A parody of the Astérix comic using programming Frame 1 whoami: ob_lix The caption reads "In the days leading to Laracon" We can see the first slide for ob_lix Laracon EU talk. It's titled "Full-Snack Developer" and the subtitle reads "Lessons from building full-snack.shop, a native app by ob_lix." ob_lix says "Laracon is tomorrow and full-snack.shop hasn't been approved in the app store yet" ob_lix adds "My talk gonna be ruined!" AST*rix replies "I didn't know you were speaking this year" Frame 2 whoami: unknown We can see a list of apps in review at the app store. The vast majority has been submitted by $simonhampix. ob_lix's app, "full-snack.shop.final-final13.apk", is the last one on the list and it doesn't look like it will be reviewed any time soon. ob_lix says "It was supposed to be a surprise talk" AST*rix replies "Well, you're in big trouble. I’ve heard there’s a shitload of apps in review!" AST*rix adds "Why didn't you build a TUI instead?" Frame 3 whoami: ob_lix ```bash # in a parallel universe ssh full-snack.shop ``` ob_lix says "TUIs are so 2024! Who even uses the terminal anyway?!" AST*rix replies "Selling crispy banana chips through the terminal? You'd be a pioneer!" ob_lix adds "I even commissioned a logo from $canecus. What am I to do now?" Frame 4 whoami: unknown We can see a post by $ianlandsmanix saying "I'm still spending a not insignificant portion of my net wealth on these. They're so good. I can't stop." with a picture showing a bag of crunchy banana chips. AST*rix says "At the very least, bring some boxes (of banana chips) to give away at the conference" ob_lix thinks "If only my supplier hadn't been delaying shipments…"
Screenshot of a 3.40km run showing the path around Parc Lasalle, an avg heart rate of 147bpm, and an avg pace of 6:49/km
An office with green walls
Screenshot of a 3.34km run showing the path around Parc Lasalle, an avg heart rate of 146bpm, and an avg pace of 6:59/km
AST*rix & ob_lix & $benholmenix A parody of the Astérix comic using programming Frame 1 whoami: AST*rix The caption reads "In a feature request" We can see a feature request by $kilopix with the title "Add API Endpoint to Draw in The Village's Mural" Its description says "Create a simple API endpoint that allows updating a 40x25 mural with binary pixel values: `0` for black and `1` for white." AST*rix says "$kilopix wants an API for that big clunky mural we have in the village" AST*rix adds "So artisans can draw things on it" ob_lix says "Why's he asking us? That's $benholmenix's project" Frame 2 whoami: $benholmenix We can see a post by $benholmenix saying "Can the Roman mind comprehend this?" with a picture of his hand holding a cheese balls container AST*rix says "He's not, but $benholmenix went on a big cheese pilgrimage…" ob_lix replies "The bastard! I also wanted some sweet cheese!" Frame 3 whoami: ob_lix The caption reads "A few days later…" ```yaml openapi: 3.0.0 info: title: $kilopix Mural API version: 1.0.0 servers: - url: https://api.gksh.comics/facadix/mural/v1 paths: /mural: post: summary: Update the entire mural with a new set of pixels requestBody: content: application/json: schema: type: array items: type: integer enum: [0, 1] # 0 for black, 1 for white example: - 1, 0, 1, 0, ..., 1 - 0, 1, 0, 1, ..., 0 ``` ob_lix says "The API is ready, but what if $caesar comes and draws a big ding-dong on the mural?" AST*rix replies "Hm… let's rewrite the git history and put $benholmenix as the author" Frame 4 whoami: AST*rix ```bash git commit --amend \ --author="$benholmenix <benholmenix@facadix.com>" ``` AST*rix says "We can call it a day and go get some ale!" ob_lix replies "Ha! I'm paying!"
AST*rix & ob_lix in #30in30 A parody of the Astérix comic using programming Frame 1 whoami: ob_lix The caption reads "In a 30in30 challenge" ```diff <?php namespace Facadix\Http\Controllers; +// 30in30 💪 class NotifyWhenCaesarAttacksController { ``` AST*rix says "Why have you been adding these comments to random files in the past week?" ob_lix replies "I'm doing a 30 commits in 30 days challenge" Frame 2 whoami: AST*rix We can see the last few paragraphs of Zuzana's "Is coding creative?" article (https://www.zuzana-k.com/articles/is-coding-creative) AST*rix says "That's supposed to be a creative endeavour!" AST*rix adds "You cannot simply brute force everything, ob_lix" Frame 3 whoami: ob_lix AST*rix says "At the very least, you should change DPA[1] files to confuse $caesar" ob_lix replies "Ha! That’s not a bad idea!" [1] Design Patterns Army ```diff <?php namespace DPA\Http\Controllers; class RequestReinforcementsController { public function __invoke() { - RequestReinforcementsJob::dispatch(amount: 5000); - return "Reinforcements have been dispatched!"; + return redirect()->away("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"); } } ``` Frame 4 whoami: $caesar $caesar has visited "https://gksh.comics/facadix/dpa/reinforcements" and we can see a frame of "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up" music video in a browser window $caesar says "WTF?!"
AST*rix & ob_lix & $aarondfrancix A parody of the Astérix comic using programming Frame 1 whoami: ob_lix The caption reads "In a terminal window" ```bash ➜ facadix git:(main) ✗ composer run dev > npx concurrently -c "#93c5fd,#c4b5fd,#fb7185,#fdba74" "php artisan serve" "php artisan queue:listen --tries=1" "php artisan pail --timeout=0" "npm run dev" [logs] INFO Tailing application logs. Press Ctrl+C to exit [logs] Use -v|-vv to show more details [queue] [queue] INFO Processing jobs from the [default] queue. [vite] [vite] > dev [vite] > vite [vite] [vite] sh: vite: command not found [vite] npm run dev exited with code 127 [server] [server] INFO Server running on [http://127.0.0.1:8000]. [server] [server] Press Ctrl+C to stop the server ``` AST*rix says "What's this nonsense, ob_lix? Did $caesar make you install it?" ob_lix replies "Hm... it's the new `composer run dev` command" Frame 2 whoami: $aarondfrancix $aarondfrancix says "Hold my two sets of twins!" while looking at the intro page for the CLI Experiments course from Joe Tuinnenbaum Frame 3 whoami: $aarondfrancix The caption reads "A few seltzers later..." ```bash composer require aarondfrancix/solitaire --dev \ && php artisan solitaire ``` Frame 4 whoami: $aarondfrancix Magic happens We see the "About" tab from aarondfrancix/solitaire package with a big "SOLITAIRE" as ascii art. The description says "Solitaire for Laravel is a package to run multiple commands at once." There are instructions on how to use it and a list with a few of the author's social links. $caesar says "Yeah but why though?"
AST*rix & ob_lix & $aarondfrancix A parody of the Astérix comic using programming Frame 1 whoami: ob_lix The caption reads "In a terminal window" ```bash ➜ facadix git:(main) ✗ composer run dev > npx concurrently -c "#93c5fd,#c4b5fd,#fb7185,#fdba74" "php artisan serve" "php artisan queue:listen --tries=1" "php artisan pail --timeout=0" "npm run dev" [logs] INFO Tailing application logs. Press Ctrl+C to exit [logs] Use -v|-vv to show more details [queue] [queue] INFO Processing jobs from the [default] queue. [vite] [vite] > dev [vite] > vite [vite] [vite] sh: vite: command not found [vite] npm run dev exited with code 127 [server] [server] INFO Server running on [http://127.0.0.1:8000]. [server] [server] Press Ctrl+C to stop the server ``` AST*rix says "What's this nonsense, ob_lix? Did $caesar make you install it?" ob_lix replies "Hm... it's the new `composer run dev` command" Frame 2 whoami: $aarondfrancix $aarondfrancix says "Hold my two sets of twins!" while looking at the intro page for the CLI Experiments course from Joe Tuinnenbaum Frame 3 whoami: $aarondfrancix The caption reads "A few seltzers later..." ```bash composer require aarondfrancix/solitaire --dev \ && php artisan solitaire ``` Frame 4 whoami: $aarondfrancix Magic happens We see the "About" tab from aarondfrancix/solitaire package with a big "SOLITAIRE" as ascii art. The description says "Solitaire for Laravel is a package to run multiple commands at once." There are instructions on how to use it and a list with a few of the author's social links.
AST*rix & ob_lix vs. $caesar A parody of the Astérix comic using programming Frame 1 whoami: $caesar The caption reads "In a Laravel project" ```php <?php namespace DPA\Commanders; final class Imperator { public function __construct( public readonly string $name, public readonly int $armySize = 100_000, ) {} public function destroy(string $target) { echo "Design Patterns Army to destroy $target." . " Fully deploying {$this->armySize} soldiers!"; } } <?php namespace Facadix\Providers; class CaesarServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider { public function register() { $this->app->bind(Imperator::class, fn () => new Imperator(name: 'Julius Caesar')); } } ``` Frame 2 whoami: ob_lix On a speech bubble, ob_lix says "Look IDEfix, that'll show 'em!" ```bash composer require stevebauman/unfinalize ``` Frame 3 whoami: AST*rix ```php <?php namespace Facadix\Providers; class ResistanceServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider { public function register() { $this->app->when(Facadix\Jobs\DestroyTarget::class) ->needs(DPA\Commanders\Imperator::class) ->give(fn () => new class extends DPA\Commanders\Imperator { public function destroy(string $target) { echo "AST*rix and ob_lix have saved «{$target}»." . " Take that, {$this->name}!" } }); } } ``` Frame 4 whoami: $caesar ```bash php artisan facadix:destroy-target "The Village" ``` $caesar is furious saying "Damn you, Artisans!" because the command output was "AST*rix and ob_lix have saved «The Village». Take that, Julius Caesar!"
Benoit Borrel presenting "Tout sur les nouveautés de PHP 8.4" at the PHP Montréal meetup
A hand pulling a makeshift sled made from a baby bathtub. The ground is covered in snow.
A pair of round stickers: "Work hard, create magic" and "Pairamid Schemer"
Pizza dough with tomato sauce, artichokes and peppers as toppings
Drawing of a brain inside of a lightbulb, one half representing the logical and analytical, and the other half the imaginative and wonder-filled aspects. On the left, we can see chess and puzzle pieces, binary code, Einstein's mass-energy equation, and a circuit. On the right, a vitrola, musical notes transforming into birds, flowers, the iconic prism from The Dark Side of the Moon, a UFO, the moon and a cosmonaut.
Drawing of a brain, one half representing the logical and analytical, and the other half the imaginative and wonder-filled aspects. On the left, we can see chess and puzzle pieces, binary code and gears. On the right, a vitrola, musical notes transforming into birds, the iconic prism from The Dark Side of the Moon, a UFO.
Screenshot of a 16-week half-marathon training plan generated by ChatGPT.
Sunrise/sunset times for Montréal in December 2024. It shows sunset times as early as 4:10 pm.
A letter from Chase1951 to Domain Santa that reads: "Dear Domain Santa, Greetings from the world of WebAssembly! It's Chase1951 here, and I've been compiling my good behavior all year long. This Christmas, I'm wishing for a domain that's as fast and efficient as WASM itself – "circuit.com". With this domain, I promise to push the boundaries of web performance. I'll create blazing fast applications that run at near-native speed, bringing desktop-class performance to browsers everywhere. Your sleigh won't be the only thing breaking the speed limit this Christmas! I've left you some milk and cookies, optimized for quick consumption with zero overhead. They're stored in a contiguous block of memory for efficient access! Merry Christmas and may all your load times be imperceptible! Yours in high performance, Chase1951"
A letter from Mark Woodward to Domain Santa that reads: "Dear Domain Santa, Greetings from the world of elegant web applications! It's Mark Woodward here, writing to you from my Laravel-powered workshop. This Christmas, I'm wishing for something truly artisan – the domain "markwoodward.com". With this domain, I plan to forge the most beautiful and efficient web application the North Pole has ever seen. I promise to follow the SOLID principles, keep my routes RESTful, and always use Eloquent ORM responsibly. I've queued up some milk and cookies for you using Laravel's job dispatcher. They should arrive just in time for your visit! Merry Christmas and may all your migrations be smooth! Yours in Laravel, Mark Woodward"
A letter from Matt Anderton to Domain Santa that reads: "Dear Domain Santa, Warm wishes from the cozy corner of the internet! It's Matt Anderton here, and I've been knitting lines of code into comfy digital experiences all year. This Christmas, I'm dreaming of a domain that's as welcoming and snug as a hand-knit sweater – "leviathan.com". With this domain, I plan to create the most inviting space on the web. It'll be a digital hearth where users can gather, share stories, and find comfort in our online community. I promise to stuff every pixel with warmth and every interaction with kindness. I've prepared a virtual mug of hot cocoa for you, complete with marshmallow emojis. Just click to feel the warmth spread through your code! Merry Christmas and may all your user experiences be cozy! Yours in digital comfort, Matt Anderton"
A letter from Mark Woodward to Domain Santa that reads: "Dear Domain Santa, <?php echo "Season's Greetings from Mark Woodward!"; ?> I hope this letter finds you well! I've been a good PHP developer all year, always remembering my semicolons and keeping my variables properly scoped. My Christmas wish this year is for the domain "mrkwdwrd.dev". With this domain, I plan to create the most elegant MVC structure the web has ever seen. I promise to use type hinting, leverage the power of Composer, and always sanitize my inputs. I've left you some session cookies by the fireplace. Merry Christmas and may all your arrays be associative! Yours in PHP, Mark Woodward"
A letter from Gustavo Karkow to Domain Santa that reads: "Dear Domain Santa, Ho ho ho! It's me, Gustavo, your favorite event-sourcing enthusiast! This year, I've been aggregating good deeds and projecting holiday cheer all around. My Christmas wish is to acquire the domain "karkowg.us" so I can build the ultimate event-driven architecture playground. I promise to use it responsibly, ensuring every state change is meticulously recorded and every projection is as jolly as your laugh. I've left a stream of events by the chimney for you to replay at your leisure. May your sleigh be guided by eventual consistency this Christmas Eve! Yours in CQRS, Gustavo Karkow"
A letter from Marius Kimmina to Domain Santa.
A letter from Martijn Smit to Domain Santa.