Popular Posts

My most-read posts, roughly in order.

• Getting out of my own way: Lessons from becoming a Staff Engineer

  Published:Oct 6, 2025 |  at 07:26 PM

  Lessons from my journey to Staff Engineer at Snap. A personal look at imposter syndrome, becoming a force multiplier, and the strategic shifts to succeed at the next level.

• My Experience with the Amazon Promotion Process

  Originally:Jan 24, 2023 | updated Feb 21, 2026

  My promo journey at Amazon took two years from when I first thought I was ready. One rejection, a lot of reflection, and a manager's quote that made it all click.

• Code Review Best Practices

  Published:May 5, 2015 |  at 08:54 AM

  A comprehensive guide to effective code reviews, covering what to look for in terms of architecture, style, and testing, as well as how to provide constructive feedback.

• I made a game with AI and I don't know how to feel about it

  Published:Jun 4, 2025 |  at 11:00 PM

  I tried building a game with AI, and it was an interesting journey. This post covers the ups and downs, what I learned about AI collaboration, and my thoughts on how it's changing game development.

• The AI Prisoner's Dilemma

  Published:Jun 12, 2025 |  at 09:44 PM

  AI coding tools are everywhere, and each step feels reasonable. But what if we're all caught in an AI prisoner's dilemma, where individual choices lead to an uncertain future for our craft?

• You can use AI every day and still not get better

  Published:Mar 12, 2026 |  at 02:48 PM

  Working with AI isn't a binary skill. It's an instrument that requires deliberate practice.

• Wider, Not Faster

  Published:Feb 15, 2026 |  at 08:20 PM

  Working with AI changed what I'm willing to attempt. It also changed me.

• The Rock Tumbler

  Published:Jan 31, 2026 |  at 07:24 PM

  Some feedback is easy to act on. Other feedback takes work to process. That work might be the point.

• DevOps from Scratch, Part 1: Vagrant & Ansible

  Published:Sep 19, 2016 |  at 12:32 PM

  Ever wondered how to build and deploy a web app from scratch? This is the first part of my 'DevOps from Scratch' series, where we'll get hands-on with Vagrant and Ansible to automate our local development setup for a Python web application.

• Know where you're going (and be open to change)

  Published:Feb 20, 2025 |  at 10:30 PM

  My career path has been a bit unusual, from film school to software engineering. This post is about why it's important to have a clear direction, but also to be open to changing course when new opportunities arise.

• Personal Finance for Engineers

  Published:Jun 8, 2024 |  at 09:09 PM

  I've made every money mistake possible, from not saving enough to investing poorly. What I wish I knew about personal finance when I started my engineering career, including practical advice on 401(k)s, budgeting, and investment strategies.

• Dangerous Python Functions

  Originally:Jul 26, 2015 | updated Feb 21, 2026

  Python's dynamic nature can lead to subtle bugs that are hard to catch. I've created a deck of cards highlighting dangerous Python functions like eval(), exec(), and input() that can cause security vulnerabilities or unexpected behavior.

• Answers to Django Security Questions

  Published:Oct 16, 2015 |  at 06:56 AM

  I found a list of Django security questions but couldn't find clear answers anywhere. So I dug in and wrote them myself, covering everything from CSRF and SQL injection to password hashing and mass assignment.

• Jekyll to Astro: an AI-assisted migration

  Published:Nov 28, 2024 |  at 10:00 AM

  I migrated my old Jekyll blog to Astro using AI tools. It cut the time in half, and I learned a lot about what AI is good at (repetitive tasks) and where it still needs human guidance.

• Senior Engineer Job Search Preparation

  Published:May 1, 2023 |  at 12:53 PM

  I recently concluded a job search and landed at Snapchat. My detailed guide on how I prepared for interviews, navigated the process, and selected a new role as a senior engineer.