Caleb Washburn didn’t build his career on chasing shiny new tech.

From his years as an IT architect to his role as CTO and Founder at MomentumAI, Caleb’s focus has always been on solving real problems.

In this episode of [Dev]olution, Caleb challenges the current hype around Kubernetes, cloud costs, and AI tools, urging us to think beyond the latest trends.

With his extensive experience in enterprise solutions, Caleb dives deep into why many companies are getting burned by their cloud strategies and how they can build smarter, more scalable infrastructures. He explains that AI is really about finding the right solutions that actually support your business goals.

If you want to build a solid foundation for AI success, check out this episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why Kubernetes might not be the right tool for every enterprise
2. How to scale AI responsibly and avoid common infrastructure pitfalls
3. The importance of choosing the right technology for your company’s goals

Things to listen for:

(00:00) Meet Caleb Washburn

(02:10) Why Kubernetes might not be the right tool

(05:30) The real cost of cloud strategies and the danger of overspending

(09:45) Why AI isn't the magic solution it's cracked up to be

(13:15) How to evaluate the right tech for your business needs

(17:00) Avoiding the “shiny tool” trap in enterprise solutions

(21:10) Building smarter, scalable infrastructures for AI

(25:45) How AI can solve real problems, not just create more hype

(30:00) The importance of a solid foundation before scaling with AI

(35:30) Practical advice for developers working with AI tools

(40:00) Why cloud repatriation is happening and what it means for the future

(45:15) How enterprises can avoid common pitfalls when integrating AI

(50:00) Final thoughts: Navigating tech trends and focusing on outcomes

Resources:

Caleb Washburn’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebwashburn/

MomentumAI website: https://www.momentumai.com/

Ted Young didn’t just write code, he’s been rethinking how we write it for decades.

After working with the likes of Google and Apple, Ted became obsessed with making development more precise and less chaotic. Forget the “code first, test later” approach that most of us fall into. Ted's here to challenge that mindset with Test-Driven Development by breaking it down into actionable steps that save time and save you from the endless debugging trap.

In this episode, Ted talks about why specifications are the key to shipping clean code, how AI is teaching us to repeat the same mistakes, and why thinking first can prevent hours of wasted time. Oh, and did we mention he turned his TDD method into a board game?

If you’re tired of writing code that never quite meets your expectations, this episode will show you a new, smarter way to work.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why starting with specifications can save you from endless debugging
2. How Test-Driven Development (TDD) is more about thinking than just testing
3. Why AI is amplifying the same mistakes developers already make without clear plans

Things to listen for:

(00:00) Meet Ted Young

(01:45) The problem with coding without thinking first

(05:10) Why "test-first" is the wrong approach

(09:00) Ted’s journey from trial-and-error coding to TDD

(12:30) How AI is teaching us the wrong workflow

(15:45) Why specifications are more important than you think

(19:30) Breaking down Test-Driven Development into nine steps

(23:50) Turning TDD into a board game

(28:10) The challenge of writing clean code with AI

(32:05) Why TDD isn’t just about writing tests

(36:30) How developers can avoid the "burn toast" scenario

(40:15) The real cost of messy, untested code

(44:00) The importance of breaking code down into small, manageable steps

(48:20) How Ted uses AI to rethink development processes

(52:10) Final thoughts on the future of AI and coding

Resources:

Ted Young’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedmyoung/

Spiral Learning website: https://www.spirallearningllc.com/

Robotics clubs aren’t supposed to feel like real engineering jobs, but for Max Bretschneider and his club, they did.

He joined his university’s autonomous car team before he ever sat through his first lecture. Five years later, he’s mentoring new builders, competing internationally, and working professionally in autonomous vehicles.

Max’s secret to keeping a volunteer-only robotics team alive? A development environment that newcomers can actually use.

In this episode, Nicky Pike sits down with Max Bretschneider to talk about onboarding students with wildly different experience levels, eliminating the hardware barriers that stop people from joining, and why templates became the backbone of a million-line robotics project.

If you’ve ever tried to teach someone Ubuntu while your robot is trying to drive into a wall, this one will feel close to home.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. How a cloud workspace removes the hardware barriers that block new robotics students from learning
2. Why templates make debugging and version switching faster in large robotics projects
3. What real mentorship looks like when nobody has the full answer

Things to listen for:

(00:00) Meet Max Bretschneider

(00:42) Why robotics forces developers to learn everything

(01:46) How Max discovered Coder at work

(03:03) Giving up the local machine for a cloud workspace

(05:26) Balancing experience levels inside the robotics club

(07:08) Mentoring new developers with open source culture

(10:40) The onboarding challenges of running ROS in university clubs

(13:20) The impact of varying levels of student experience on the robotics club

(15:30) How community keeps robotics teams alive

(17:00) The race car challenge that stuck with Max

(18:07) The three-wheels-in rule that won them points

(20:30) Why hardware and OS requirements block new members

(23:06) The pain of switching ROS versions locally

(25:10) Teaching students without grabbing the keyboard

(30:24) Building and customizing robotics templates in Coder

(34:42) The role of simulations in testing and development

(39:12) Preparing simulations for competitions

(42:09) The importance of developing a strategy post-competition

(46:11) How the routine of competition day separates experienced members from newcomers

(50:14) The transition to AI-driven robots and the excitement it brings

(52:04) How tech companies could better support robotics programs

(53:23) Moving towards web-based tools for robotics development

(54:33) What being a coder means to Max

Resources:

Max Bretschneider’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-bretschneider-895351237/

Mercedes-Benz AG website: http://www.mercedes-benz.com/