Architecture Tradeoffs Across the Agentic Spectrum
A decision framework for AI system design with five architecture patterns, from deterministic pipelines to autonomous agents, with real project examples and engineering tradeoffs.
Logic & Life - Navin Varma
Writing on software architecture, engineering leadership, and the craft of building things that last.
Latest posts
We've Been Here Before: Leading Engineers Through the AI Wave
An engineering leader reflects on dot-com, offshoring, mobile, and cloud to find the playbook for leading teams through AI.
Vibecoding a Video Editing Pipeline
How I vibecoded a 10-stage Python pipeline with Claude Code to turn 17 GB of California trip footage into a 90s highlight reel and YouTube Shorts.
The Constant Coastline
Twenty-two years of visiting the same stretch of California coast. The rocks never moved. I'm the one who grew and evolved.
How to Build Free Local AI with Ollama for Small Businesses in March 2026
A step-by-step guide to running AI locally on your Mac or PC using Ollama. Summarize emails, chat with your data privately, and build a Streamlit app, all for free. No subscription required.
Building Radar: A Google Sheets Hack for My Link Feed
How I built a curated link feed on my website using Google Forms and Sheets, after trying social platforms, rethinking platform dependencies, and exploring every free alternative I could find.
How I Structure My Thinking in 2026: Learning New Things, Spec Driven Development for Responsible AI
Spec-driven development with AI coding tools: how I structure thinking before code, build reusable skills, and why Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI, and Gemini CLI are converging on the same pattern.
AI Almost Sold Me a Subscription I Didn't Need
I asked Gemini and Claude how to set up free online booking. Both recommended Calendly, Cal.com, and third-party apps. The answer was Google Calendar Booking Pages — already free in my account.
Making Images, Music, and More with AI on a Mac Mini: One Idea, Many Uses
A short guide to the same idea behind AI image, audio, and video generation—and how to run ComfyUI for images on your Mac Mini.
Blog Syndication: Cross-Publishing Blog Posts to Dev.to, Hashnode, and Medium
This post describes a GitHub Actions pipeline to automatically cross-publish Astro blog posts to Dev.to and Hashnode, plus how to get your posts onto Medium now that their API is gone.
The Manager–IC Pendulum and the Rise of the “Builder with Taste”
Thoughts on the swing between Engineering Manager and IC, AI-assisted coding, and why builders with taste will define the next generation of leaders.
The Builder's Guilt: AI saturation makes me sad
In the age of AI-generated content, original human creativity feels nostalgic. A reflection on staying authentic while embracing technology.
Adding Social Share Buttons to Your Astro Blog
A practical guide to implementing social sharing and fixing Open Graph images in Astro.
Architecting the Astro Rebuild: From Static HTML to a Living Site
A practical account of redesigning a personal website with Astro, AI-assisted planning, and a content pipeline that keeps writing portable.
Software Engineering as a Craft
How AI coding tools are reshaping software engineering — why agency and context engineering matter more than syntax, and what it means to treat code as a lasting craft.
Things I've found useful being a remote manager
A curated collection of leadership resources for remote team management, covering async communication, overcommunication, and building trust across distances.
War and Peace
Why military force alone cannot resolve conflicts, with lessons from the Good Friday Agreement and Camp David Accords on choosing diplomacy over perpetual violence.
Immortal Fireflies
A personal tribute to a best friend lost too soon, and how the memories of people we love persist like fireflies that never stop shining.
Milestones
Reflecting on 15 years in software engineering, from a 2006 college graduation and Infosys hiring boom through career transitions, personal growth, and hard-won lessons.
Scrum and Anarchy - The path ahead for Enterprise Agile
Why enterprise Scrum adoption often fails when organizations tweak waterfall processes instead of embracing self-organizing teams and true agile culture.
How my data usage plans went up in smoke
How a single Business Insider article consumed 173 MB in 10 minutes through an unoptimized mobile page, blowing past my monthly data cap.
Moved from Posterous
Migrating from the defunct Posterous platform back to Blogger, reclaiming a blog domain from 2004, and the challenges of digital continuity when platforms shut down.
Preparing for a job interview these days
A 10-point guide to tech job interview preparation, from researching job descriptions and tailoring your resume to salary negotiation and staying confident.
The inevitability of life coming a full circle
A detailed accounting of how much free time we actually have in a lifetime, and what to do with it — inspired by Muhammad Ali's wisdom on mortality, purpose, and legacy.
Thoughts on Freedom
Drawing connections between MLK's civil rights legacy and modern information freedom fighters like Assange and Swartz, and the cost of challenging systemic injustice.
Time flies
A brief, self-aware reflection on the cyclical pattern of writing motivation and laziness, and how quickly time passes when you're deep in work.
Being Judgemental
On the permanence of online content, the cost of armchair critics with short attention spans, and restarting a blog with the intent to write with integrity.