Microservices Were a Mistake for 90% of Companies
A monolith with good tests is better than 50 microservices with distributed debugging nightmares. When to use microservices: when you've proven you need them....
When AI Coding Actually Helps: Patterns That Work
AI coding tools made experienced developers 19% slower in METR's study. But clear patterns emerge for when they help: unfamiliar territory, boilerplate, documentation, and exploration....
The Prompt Engineering Bubble
Prompt engineering as a career is a bubble. As models improve, the skill becomes less valuable, not more....
Grace Hopper's Nanosecond: The Wire That Explains Everything
Grace Hopper's famous nanosecond wire demonstration—and why understanding physical constraints still matters for every system we build today....
The Hidden Cost of AI Calendar Assistants
AI calendar assistants claim massive time savings, but rigorous research reveals a productivity paradox: tools that make you feel faster actually make you slower while introducing hidden costs....
I Built a CMS at MSNBC Before Anyone Called Them CMSs
In 1996 at MSNBC, I built Workbench - a content management system for editors, copy editors, and photo teams before the term CMS existed. Workflow automation for non-technical users....
Watching a Friend Get Hacked in 1987: The Security Lesson That Stuck
A BBS sysop friend got hacked through social engineering in 1987. Watching it happen taught me that the most dangerous vulnerabilities aren't in code - they're in assumptions about trust....
Open Source Isn't Free
Open source software has a price tag of $0 and a total cost of ownership that can dwarf commercial alternatives. The 'free' in free software refers to freedom, not cost....
Why Your Company Doesn't Need a Data Lake
Data lakes have become resume-driven development. 85% of projects fail, most turning into data swamps. A well-structured PostgreSQL database handles most real-world use cases....
Why a Priced Round is "Safer" Than a SAFE
Despite the comforting acronym, a SAFE is often anything but safe for a founder. Learn why priced rounds offer better protection for your cap table....
Code Review That Actually Works
Only 15% of code review comments relate to bugs. Here's how to make the other 85% of review time count: size limits, SLAs, automation, and focused feedback....
Why Every ASR System Lies About Its Accuracy
ASR accuracy claims are based on ideal conditions. Real-world performance with background noise, accents, and domain jargon drops 30-50%. What AMBIE taught us about honest metrics....
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