Writings About Code & Projects
What 100 Client Engagements Taught Me About Systems That Actually Get Adopted
A technically correct system that nobody uses is a failed system. The gap between 'works' and 'gets adopted' is where most internal tooling actually dies. After more than a hundred client engagements, this is what I have learned about what happens in that gap.
Documentation as Infrastructure, Not an Afterthought
Documentation that only exists to satisfy an audit is dead weight. Documentation that is built to be the thing the next person actually opens first is infrastructure. This post is about the difference.
Security Hardening for Systems Nobody Thinks of as Attack Surface
The systems that get breached are rarely the ones everyone was already worried about. They are the internal tools nobody thought to harden, because they were not customer-facing. That is where the real exposure lives.
WordPress as an Integration Hub, Not a CMS
Most WordPress installations in a mature business are not really content management systems anymore. They are the middle layer connecting a CRM to an ERP to a fulfillment platform to a payment processor, wearing the costume of a website. Once you see it that way, the work looks different.
Custom Fields, Taxonomies, and the Cost of Getting the Data Model Wrong Early
A data model decision made in week one either compounds in your favor or compounds against you. There is rarely a neutral outcome. This is what that looks like from the inside of a real client build.
Designing a Systems Architecture That Survives the Next Integration
A retail client's stack held up fine through the first two integrations. The third one exposed exactly where the original design had assumed too much.
Allowed Jekyll Plugins on GitHub Pages: What You Can Use
GitHub restricts the use of certain Jekyll plugins for security and performance reasons. Discover which Jekyll plugins are allowed on GitHub Pages, why some are restricted, and how to optimize your site within GitHub’s approved plugin list for security and performance.
Code Wars: Open Source Software meets Private Equity, and the Defense Fork Dilemma
The Wordpress vs. WPEngine clash shows us what happens when open source ideals run up against private equity goals. There are serious implications for the future of open source software.
Defense Forking: A Short History of Strategic Preservation
Defense forking is a strategic software development approach where developers create a complete, independent copy of an existing codebase to preserve, protect, and potentially revive a project at risk of abandonment, vulnerability, or misalignment with community needs. The forkability of a project defines whether a software is truly open-source or not.
Why Most Developer Tools Fail: Lessons from Building Epigramm and Implementing Growth Systems
Developer tools promise seamless integration but deliver hours of troubleshooting. Building Epigramm—a reading app I've wanted for 15 years—has taught me the gap between 'sounds good in theory' and 'actually works in practice.' These lessons shape how I approach every client implementation.
Automatically Write Categories to the Data File in Jekyll
Tired of manually adding new categories to a YAML file every time you have a radically new idea begetting a new category? Here's your solution.
How to Include Non-Jekyll Content in Your Jekyll Site
Looking to integrate non-Jekyll content into your Jekyll-powered site? Check out this quick walkthrough for embedding static files, dynamic content, and external resources without disrupting your workflow.