Nerd Show and Tell: Meet Jason Otero

Podcast Awesome

🎸 Code, Kits, and Killer Guitar Riffs with Jason Otero

In this episode of Podcast Awesome, Matt sits down with Font Awesome software engineer Jason Otero to dive into the rhythms of code and chord progressions alike. Jason talks about what it’s like working on Font Awesome Kits, his experience with six-week splits (spoiler: better than two-week sprints), and why taking time to cool down after intense work sessions is chef’s kiss for productivity.

We also nerd out about loading Kits using only CSS, explore Jason’s thoughts on WebAssembly and Rust, and hear about his double life as a guitarist in two bands, one of which is Blister Soul. It’s an episode with strong tech, strong opinions, and strong guitar tones. Plug in and press play.

🎧 What We Cover in This Episode

• 🧪 Six-week splits: why they beat sprints
• 🎛️ Jason’s clever new way of loading Font Awesome Kits
• 💅 CSS-only web font Kits? You bet!
• 🧠 Embracing “cool down” time for better tech work
• 🛠️ Rust, WebAssembly, and Jason’s programming faves
• 🎸 His guitar gear rabbit hole (you know the one)
• 🤘 Life in not one but two bands

⏱️ Timestamps

• 00:00:36 — Six week splits vs two week sprints
• 00:05:57 — New method of loading Kits
• 00:07:18 — CSS-only web font Kits
• 00:09:47 — Project management methods
• 00:12:41 — Full benefits of 'cool down' time
• 00:18:33 — WebAssembly and Rust technology
• 00:19:09 — Programming language preferences
• 00:22:14 — Favorite icons and hobbies
• 00:26:33 — Guitar gear obsession
• 00:31:38 — Music and Band Promotion

🎙️ Notable Quotes

• “That process of logical deduction that you have to do whenever you're troubleshooting something I think kind of helped lead me toward the development side of things.”
  (On how installing alarm systems shaped his dev skills)
• “For people that just don't really want to use a lot of JavaScript... we now are getting ready to release a new way of loading the kit that is only using CSS.”
  (Re: CSS-only Kits as a streamlined solution)
• “The cool down, they're nice for many things... it's a great time for fixing bugs, putting on polish, trying out new things.”
  (Explaining the value of Font Awesome’s Basecamp-style 6-week split + 2-week cooldown rhythm)
• “It was a little hazardous. I used like a big old mixer... and to clean it, they would literally set it on fire.”
  (Recalling his teenage glue-mixing job — the most pyro-nerdy flex ever!)
• “I haven't counted up recently the number of guitars I have, but it's probably in the range of 15 or so.”
  (Guitar gearhead status: confirmed)
• “We want to give customers cool stuff because it's cool to have customers like to use our stuff.”
  (Why he loves shipping features that solve problems)

🔗 Links & Resources

• Blister Soul (Jason's band – rock on 🎶)
• The Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie Martin
• Audio mastering by Chris Enns and Lemon Productions

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