Blog

Writing on AI, software engineering, careers, books, and the occasional detour.

• Jun 28, 2026 · 5 min

  We reward rescue

  We tell ourselves we reward competence at work. We don't, we reward rescue. Why the disaster you quietly prevented goes unseen, and what might actually reward it.

  • engineering
  • career
  • culture
• Jun 6, 2026 · 8 min

  Knowledge is cheap, judgment isn't

  AI is making knowledge cheap. The scarce thing now is judgment - and the only way anyone has ever built it is by doing the grunt work first.

  • ai
  • engineering
  • career
• Aug 7, 2025 · 11 min

  Reviewers' guide to effective code reviews

  After reviewing thousands of changes, I've watched reviews inspire people and crush them. A reviewer's playbook for giving feedback that makes teammates better, not bitter.

  • code-reviews
  • engineering
• Aug 6, 2025 · 7 min

  Vibe engineering

  Four months of coding with AI taught me it only works when you treat it like real engineering. My evolving playbook for shipping quality with AI, not just speed.

  • ai
  • coding
  • engineering
• Mar 28, 2025 · 5 min

  Vibe coding

  I tried to 'vibe code' my wife's landing page with AI, expecting magic. What I got felt more like managing an enthusiastic but slightly clueless intern. A field report.

  • ai
  • coding
  • engineering
• Dec 31, 2024 · 7 min

  Five books from 2024

  Over twenty books read in the in-between moments of a busy year. Five favorites from 2024 that inspired me, shifted my perspective, or quietly challenged how I think.

  • reading
  • books
  • habits
• Dec 24, 2024 · 4 min

  "spaces" vs "tabs"

  Why do engineers get so heated over something as trivial as spaces vs. tabs? A look at bikeshedding, and why those silly little arguments might actually be worth having.

  • engineering
  • culture
• Aug 1, 2024 · 3 min·Living document

  Pocket wisdom

  A growing collection of short, mysterious phrases (aphorisms, proverbs, maxims) that I keep coming back to for clarity and perspective when life feels a little unclear.

  • life
  • philosophy
• Jul 1, 2024 · 6 min

  The art of code reviews

  Code reviews can feel like your middle-school science fair, praying nobody notices the volcano didn't erupt. How to make them smoother, kinder, and (dare I say) enjoyable.

  • code-reviews
  • engineering
• Jun 1, 2024 · 4 min

  Writing

  My attempt to finally build a writing habit, and the three mental tricks I use to escape the 'cycle of doom': fear of judgment, the myth of perfection, and self-doubt.

  • writing
  • habits
• May 1, 2024 · 3 min

  Third place

  Cafés are my favorite third place. Why I keep packing up my laptop to work among strangers, and what that hum gives me that the couch never could.

  • life
  • culture
• Jan 15, 2024 · 4 min

  Reading code

  We're taught how to write code and almost never how to read it, yet most of the job is wading through code someone else already wrote. Why reading is the underrated skill.

  • coding
  • engineering
• Jan 5, 2024 · 5 min

  Five books from 2023

  The year I accidentally rediscovered reading, after trying (and failing) to become a book snob. Five books from 2023 that stuck with me, and how I got the habit back.

  • reading
  • books
  • habits