writer & programmer
As I sit in France, watching it crisp and dry out around me, I scroll the endless feed of AI job opportunities both offered and accepted, read about what a “no swimming” sign has taught someone about B2B sales or generally discover what people are doing to keep themselves busy (and in employment) while the… Read More » Better than Scrolling LinkedIn while the Planet Burns
When I first wrote this post, in May 2024, I was reacting to a visceral experience I’d just had at work. As was my way at the time, I was trying to expand that feeling into a general lesson that I could share. In doing so, I diluted the experience. Now, in 2026, I’ve updated… Read More » The Passive-Aggressive Pull Request
For years, our industry has tried, to some extent, to make computing greener. It’s done by encouraging developers to write more energy-efficient software. We have created Green Software initiatives. We’ve embraced FinOps, carbon reporting, server utilisation metrics, and cloud cost optimisation. We schedule workloads around renewable energy availability and proudly switch development environments…
The feeling of control is complete. I have a world that I can control in miniature. I can add things to it. I can remove things. I can test how it reacts. I can simulate nature. I can simulate my thoughts or my speech. I can simulate a spaceship. A spaceship. Remember the time when… Read More » What Made Me Code
I’m a man with a problem. I can write, but I don’t like writing. Correction, I don’t like writing blogs. I don’t like writing copy. I find “copy” boring. To do it well, you have to structure an argument and work through a logical sequence of explanations, and yada yada yada, give you something for… Read More » How To Find Your Non-Fiction Voice
Pick up almost any novel or film about the technology industry, and it will fall into one of three categories. It will be a warning with the systems winning, humans crushed under the weight of progress they can’t control, or it will be a solution; here’s the broken system, and here’s how we fix it… Read More » Why does the tech world always appear as dystopia, utopia or a joke?
Brian Merchant’s piece on the data centre rebellion on his Blood in the Machine substack is worth reading in full and carefully. It’s a fascinating and nuanced look at who profits from the arrival of data centres in small communities and where US lawmakers and politicians are going with policy. It also positions itself politically… Read More » The Data Centre Fight isn’t Really About AI
A thread on the Rands Slack recently caught my eye. It was top of mind, given that I had just started a new role, and because it had been concerning me throughout my career. Why do our friends at work disappear when we leave? Why do we effectively often cease to exist when we walk… Read More » Why Your Colleagues Aren’t Your Friends
I’ve read a lot of books about software engineering. More than I care to count. The Phoenix Project. The Unicorn Project. Dozens of others with subtitles promising to transform your organisation, revolutionise your delivery, or unlock the secrets of high-performing teams. Some of them are genuinely good. Most of them made me feel seen, briefly.… Read More » Why I Wrote a Novel Instead of Another…
There is a theory that says you should have your ideal reader (or watcher) in mind when you write. All the experts say you need to find an ideal reader. So do you? And how do you go about finding who that person is or what they like? I’ve spent some time considering this. Of… Read More » The Myth of The Ideal Reader