9 min read
Part three turns from human cost to productivity cost, challenging the assumption that constant collaboration produces better outcomes. It explains how continuous managed availability reduces deep-work capacity, increases context switching, and creates visible activity that may look productive while quietly weakening the quality of thought behind the work.
10 min read
Part two focuses on the human damage caused when senior engineers are placed in workflows that publicly flatten their expertise. It explores public diminishment, neurological load, bodily constraint, and the quiet humiliation that can occur when collaboration models suppress the very strengths organizations hired experienced people to provide.
3 min read
MegaLinter can be extended by the use of plugins which add a low-friction mechanism to define new descriptors and linters that meet your specific needs and requirements. I've written several plugins that are available as free, open-source software.
18 min read
The first part of this series examines how collaboration can become continuous managed availability, leaving engineers always visible, interruptible, and socially on-stage. It argues that deep technical work requires quiet, autonomy, and protected attention, and that organizations can harm people when they mistake constant participation for healthy teamwork.
7 min read
This article introduces continuous managed availability: a workplace pattern where collaboration becomes constant visibility, responsiveness, and interruption. It argues that healthy teamwork must remain a tool rather than an atmosphere, because mistaking synchronized participation for productivity can harm people, flatten expertise, and undermine the deep work engineering requires.
11 min read
A thoughtful argument for using polite language with AI even though machines do not need kindness. The essay distinguishes tools from persons, then explains how speech forms the speaker, making courtesy, gratitude, and accountability valuable habits even in interactions where no one on the other side can be harmed.
11 min read
Architecture Decision Records become more important when AI-assisted development accelerates code changes. This article explains how ADRs preserve intent, constrain machine-generated revisions, and give teams a durable way to understand why decisions were made, reducing the risk that repeated AI edits quietly drift away from the system's original purpose.
7 min read
A reflective essay on creativity, craft, and the unease created by generative AI. Through the lens of skilled trades, handmade objects, and rapidly changing tools, the piece asks what may be lost when human creative work is reduced to outputs, automation, and ever-faster production.
15 min read
Documentation matters more, not less, when AI is used to draft and revise code. This article argues that comments, explanations, and design notes preserve intent across repeated machine-mediated changes, helping teams prevent plausible but subtly wrong code from drifting away from the purpose it was meant to serve.
11 min read
A technical version of the LLM hallucination and delay problem, aimed at readers who work with AI tools more directly. It explains why standard chat models cannot process tasks asynchronously, why they may claim capabilities they lack, and how breaking requests into smaller, verifiable tasks reduces wasted time and confusion.
6 min read
A plain-language explanation of why chat-based LLMs do not keep working in the background after they respond. The article shows how promises like "I am still working on it" can mislead users, then offers practical guidance for keeping AI requests concrete, bounded, and honest.
7 min read
A walkthrough of running Renovate locally in Jenkins to manage dependency updates across many repositories while keeping sensitive infrastructure code off public GitHub. The post connects automation, Gitea, Jenkins, repository hygiene, and dependency management into a practical pattern for reducing maintenance noise without exposing private IaC.
10 min read
A technical walkthrough of running Ollama in a TrueNAS CORE jail on FreeBSD-based infrastructure. The post compares available home lab systems, explains why Docker-centric assumptions do not fit TrueNAS CORE, and explores the practical tradeoffs of CPU inference, jail configuration, and local LLM experimentation.
5 min read
A follow-up on using Scrum principles for household planning after the holidays. The article explains what changed, what stayed useful, and how short iterations, standups, planning sessions, and calendar blocks helped reduce misunderstandings, surface hidden blockers, and create shared accountability without sacrificing flexibility.
1 min read
A concise update on recent FOSS project improvements across GitHub repositories, including better SARIF uploads to DefectDojo, stronger automation, clearer documentation, and security-focused maintenance. The post gives readers a quick snapshot of active work, practical tooling improvements, and the ongoing effort to make small open source utilities more reliable and useful.
1 min read
A pointer to Wes Dean's Flexion article on security incident essentials and their role in mitigating major breaches. The post introduces incident response concepts for a broad audience, connecting designers, developers, sales teams, security engineers, and executives around shared preparation and clearer response practices.
10 min read
A practical guide to using Let's Encrypt SSL/TLS certificates with Mikrotik RouterOS devices. The post explains why RouterOS cannot run certbot directly, then walks through the surrounding certificate concepts, automation approach, and motivation for using trusted browser-recognized certificates on home network infrastructure.
10 min read
A personal look at using Scrum-style planning to make holiday time more intentional and restorative. The article adapts Agile ideas such as iteration, review, and flexible planning to household projects, showing how structured coordination can protect limited time without turning life into a rigid productivity exercise.
1 min read
A pointer to Wes Dean's Flexion article on tuning MegaLinter for better performance. The post frames performance tuning as a practical way to save time and money while keeping automated quality and security checks useful, sustainable, and less burdensome for development teams.
1 min read
A pointer to Wes Dean's Flexion article on MegaLinter tips and tricks. The post directs readers to practical ways of getting more value from MegaLinter, including improvements that can help teams strengthen consistency, quality, and DevSecOps workflows across repositories.
1 min read
A pointer to Wes Dean's Flexion guide for getting started with MegaLinter. The post directs readers to a step-by-step introduction for adding MegaLinter to a project, helping teams begin improving code quality, security checks, and consistency through practical DevSecOps automation.
1 min read
A pointer to Wes Dean's Flexion article on five practical ways MegaLinter improved DevSecOps work. The post highlights MegaLinter as a tool for making code quality, security checks, and workflow consistency easier to manage across projects, while directing readers to the original article for the full discussion.