adventures
← writing
Longer runs of pieces that circle the same subject. Each one is an ongoing series rather than a finished argument.
Adventures in distributed systems2 pieces
A short defence of slow systemsOn why I distrust the word real-time, and what twenty milliseconds of patience can buy you.
On retry stormsThundering herds, jitter, and the small mercy of exponential backoff. Mostly an apology to a database.
Adventures in mathematics1 piece
A proof, badly drawnWorking through Gauss–Bonnet on the back of an electricity bill. The mistakes are kept on purpose.
Adventures in being wrong2 pieces
One thing I got wrong in 2025A short list, edited down for your sake and mine. Seven made it past the editor.
Notes on naming thingsThe second hard problem, approached with rather more humility than the first.