Tasty Treats — Rems VS Ems, Remote Work, Making Money, Getting good at Design + more! 🍬

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: In this Q&A-style Syntax episode, Wes and Scott cover practical web-dev opinions and broader career/life topics: when to use rems, pixels, ems, and viewport units; how non-dev hobbies like dancing, cooking, and exercise improve programming; why hot dogs are not sandwiches; career tradeoffs around Google and remote work; how they met and ran a mastermind; the rise of React in CMSs like WordPress; how they earn money through courses, consulting, sponsorships, and affiliates; how a backend developer can become a designer; managing fatigue as parents; live streaming; choosing new tools; and why long-term planning is mostly guesswork.

Main Topics: CSS units and layout strategy: They advocate using rems for most sizing, pixels for media queries and some fixed dimensions, viewport units where useful, and ems only for proportional component scaling. Non-development activities that improve coding: They argue that dancing, cooking, and exercise build patience, troubleshooting ability, creativity, and mental resilience that transfer directly to development work. Career choices, remote work, and life optimization: They discuss rejecting or accepting opportunities based on location and lifestyle, emphasizing flexibility, avoiding commutes, and prioritizing happiness over maximizing income. How Wes and Scott collaborated: They recount meeting through a React course naming collision, then forming a mastermind with other creators to exchange operational advice and critique. CMSs adopting JavaScript frameworks: They view React inside CMS ecosystems, especially WordPress/Gutenberg, as part of a broader shift toward decoupled backends and API-driven frontends. Revenue streams for content creators: They break down income sources including paid courses, free-to-paid funnels, consulting, workshops, YouTube ads, sponsorships, affiliate links, and podcast sponsors. Design, fatigue, live streaming, and tool adoption: They discuss how developers can learn design, how exhaustion is managed through scheduling and rest, the pros/cons of live coding, and the value of waiting before adopting new tools.

Key Arguments: REMs are the default unit because they avoid compounding issues and make scaling predictable; pixels still make sense for media queries and some fixed elements. EMs are useful when a whole component should scale proportionally from a parent font size, but they are less convenient for general layout work. Hobbies that require practice, feedback, and persistence—especially dancing, cooking, and exercise—make people better troubleshooters and more resilient developers. Remote work is found through relationships and reputation, not by hunting secret job boards; referrals and personal branding matter more than volume applying. Choosing happiness and flexibility over prestige or money can improve quality of life, especially for parents and self-employed developers. WordPress and other CMSs are moving toward API/React-based architectures, and future web work will likely separate backend content management from frontend presentation. A backend developer can become a good designer by learning technical rules like spacing, rhythm, and typography, then practicing by reproducing quality designs and getting feedback. Long-term five-year planning is mostly speculation; shorter planning horizons are more realistic because the web stack and careers change quickly. When evaluating new tools, clear documentation and a compelling demo matter most; it is often safer to wait until a tool is proven in production. Creator income is strongest when it aligns with core work and audience trust; Wes and Scott both emphasize using products and services they genuinely believe in.

Data Points: REMs for root sizing: 10px base font size - Wes says he sets the HTML font size to 10px so 1rem is easy to reason about as 10 pixels. Mastermind duration: about 6 months - They met weekly in a mastermind group for roughly half a year before it became hard to maintain. Conference talk pay: up to $2,000 - Wes says the most he has ever been paid for a conference talk was about $2,000. Typical conference talk pay: $500-$600 - He notes that most conference speaking gigs pay only a few hundred dollars. Mastermind note-taking: 10 pages of notes - Scott recalls a critique session titled 'Make Scott Cry' that produced about 10 pages of notes. Google rejection timing: last episode reference - They refer to a previous episode where both discussed being rejected by Google. Income share from courses: 92.7% - Wes estimates that about 92.7% of his income comes from selling courses. Freelance frequency: 1-2 projects per month - Wes says he takes one or two freelance projects monthly depending on scope. Credit-card travel coverage: up to $500 - Wes describes a delayed luggage case where his card covered up to $500 in clothing/makeup purchases. Video editing/monitor warranty example: $1,800 - Wes says Apple repair costs for a damaged MacBook were quoted at $1,800 and reimbursed through credit-card warranty coverage. Monitoring warranty example: $600 - He says a broken monitor originally cost about $600 and SquareTrade reimbursed him when it failed near the end of coverage. Child age: four-month-old - Scott says he is tired because he has a four-month-old child.

Pivotal Quotes: "REMs for REMs and so on." — Wes: He explains his preference for rem-based spacing and vertical rhythm systems. "At the end of the day, all that matters is that the meat tastes good, right?" — Scott: He uses cooking as an analogy for technical debates that people overthink in development. "I don't make any bets on the future. I react to stuff happening." — Wes: He answers the five-year-plan question by rejecting long-term prediction in favor of adaptability.

Implications: For listeners, the episode reinforces practical, adaptable web-dev habits: use simple CSS units, value real-world experience, build relationships for work, diversify income, and choose tools only after they prove themselves.