Independent systems engineering

Nov 20, 2025Systems4 min read

Forms That Don't Lose Data

A form that loses an entry on a dropped connection is a form that failed. Draft state, idempotent submits, and the patterns that protect input.

Nov 8, 2025Engineering4 min read

The Cost of Premature Abstraction

Abstracting on the second use case is how small systems become unreadable. Wait for the third, the pattern will tell you what it wants to be.

Oct 25, 2025Security4 min read

Securing the Admin Panel Nobody Thinks About

The public site gets the attention; the admin panel gets the breach. Role-based access, audit logs, and the basics that matter.

Oct 12, 2025Process3 min read

Why I Write the README First

Writing the README before the code forces the hard questions early: what does this do, who runs it, how does it deploy.

Sep 28, 2025Architecture4 min read

When Static Generation Isn't Enough

Fully static is fast until content changes. ISR, on-demand revalidation, and picking the right rendering strategy per page.

Sep 15, 2025Engineering3 min read

The Underrated Skill of Reading Code

Most of the job is reading code you didn't write. The skill nobody teaches is the one you use most.

Aug 30, 2025Operations3 min read

Environment Variables Done Right

Secrets in the repo, missing vars at deploy, config drift between environments, the small discipline that prevents all three.

Aug 16, 2025Engineering4 min read

Designing for the Maintainer You'll Never Meet

The person who keeps your system running in five years isn't in the room. Build for them anyway.

Aug 2, 2025Security3 min read

Rate-Limiting Public Forms Before They Get Abused

An unprotected public form is an invitation. Throttling, honeypots, and the cheap defenses that stop abuse before it starts.

Technical notes.

Technical notes.

Forms That Don't Lose Data

The Cost of Premature Abstraction

Securing the Admin Panel Nobody Thinks About

Why I Write the README First

When Static Generation Isn't Enough

The Underrated Skill of Reading Code

Environment Variables Done Right

Designing for the Maintainer You'll Never Meet

Rate-Limiting Public Forms Before They Get Abused

Forms That Don't Lose Data

The Cost of Premature Abstraction

Securing the Admin Panel Nobody Thinks About

Why I Write the README First

When Static Generation Isn't Enough

The Underrated Skill of Reading Code

Environment Variables Done Right

Designing for the Maintainer You'll Never Meet

Rate-Limiting Public Forms Before They Get Abused

Technical notes.

Technical notes.

Forms That Don't Lose Data

The Cost of Premature Abstraction

Securing the Admin Panel Nobody Thinks About

Why I Write the README First

When Static Generation Isn't Enough

The Underrated Skill of Reading Code

Environment Variables Done Right

Designing for the Maintainer You'll Never Meet

Rate-Limiting Public Forms Before They Get Abused

Forms That Don't Lose Data

The Cost of Premature Abstraction

Securing the Admin Panel Nobody Thinks About

Why I Write the README First

When Static Generation Isn't Enough

The Underrated Skill of Reading Code

Environment Variables Done Right

Designing for the Maintainer You'll Never Meet

Rate-Limiting Public Forms Before They Get Abused