Good writing takes its time.

Essays, field notes, and short fiction from people who care about their sentences. Read without an account. Write when you have something to say.

Software and systems, from the people who keep them up.

The Index You Forgot Is Why Your App Is Slow

A rewrite was on the table until we looked at one query and the order of three columns.

Oct 254 min read4255

Most of what the world reads is set in a font nobody chose, which is worth a second look

Oct 24 min read935

What I learned about choosing tools from one payroll file, nineteen spare minutes, and a forum post that said “nvm.”

Sep 284 min read2155

Twelve years of outages looked strange one at a time and not at all strange stacked in a spreadsheet.

Aug 214 min read2525