Writing

Essays and deep dives, newest first.

  1. Essay · 13 Oct 2026

    What a skill can draw

    An agent skill that explains an idea by drawing it as a working machine. It went and read Volvo's fact sheet before drawing a retarder, then drew a watch escapement, and finally itself.

  2. Essay · 11 Oct 2026

    Make it work, make it right, make it fast

    The order is the whole point. Each step has its own definition of done, and the last one starts with a measurement, not a hunch.

  3. Essay · 04 Oct 2026

    Shipping software with a pilot's checklist

    In 1935 a new bomber crashed because one step lived in the pilot's head. Test pilots answered with a card. Software can borrow the card, and hand some of its lines to the pipeline.

  4. Essay · 27 Sept 2026

    A refactor without tests is a rewrite

    Refactoring means changing the structure and keeping the behaviour. Without tests you can't show the second half, and then it's a rewrite with a nicer name.