Operator’s diary
What we learn running real systems in regulated production, written by the people with their hands on it.
7 ARTICLES
- FIELD NOTE · 8 MIN AI is the first tool that can both create technical debt and clear it AI is the first tool that can both create technical debt and clear it at industrial speed. Which one it does for you is a choice, not a feature. 1 Jun 2026
- FIELD NOTE · 8 MIN A human in the loop is only oversight if they can say no Putting a human in the loop is easy. Keeping that human awake, informed and able to say no is the part that actually protects you. 1 Jun 2026
- FIELD NOTE · 8 MIN A backup you have never restored is just a hope with a file size Everyone has a backup. Far fewer have ever restored one under pressure. The gap between the two is the whole of disaster recovery. 1 Jun 2026
- FIELD NOTE · 7 MIN Your data has debts that come due the moment you ask a question Every shortcut in how data gets captured and named is a small loan. Analytics and AI are when the loan gets called, with interest. 1 Jun 2026
- FIELD NOTE · 8 MIN A container earns its keep long before Kubernetes does “Docker or Kubernetes” is the wrong question. One pays off on day one; the other is a question most teams answer a year too early. 1 Jun 2026
- FIELD NOTE · 9 MIN A fast site is how you get read, machines included Speed used to be about not annoying visitors. Now the same fast, legible site is what gets you cited by the machines reading the web. 31 May 2026
- FIELD NOTE · 9 MIN The stack you can walk away from A field note on owning what matters, renting the rest and being able to walk away from any of it. 3 Jun 2025