Notes from distributed systems in production.
Essays and field reports from building and operating high-traffic, polyglot platforms — Kubernetes, AWS, incident response, iGaming scale.
Being a Developer Isn't Just Writing Code
Your real value isn't in the code you write — it's in understanding what the code is for. Why understanding the business is the threshold for senior-level work, and how to build that muscle.
The Evolution of the Software Developer: 2012 to 2026
In fourteen years the developer role has shifted nearly four times. From specialist to full-stack, from full-stack to product engineer, now into an AI-augmented role. What changed at each stage, and what stayed the same.
Working With AI While Writing Code: What Actually Matters
I've been using Cursor and Claude Code in production for a year. As important as the speed gains are the rules I keep — hallucination, context hygiene, security, and production stability.
Your Code Works Locally. Now What?
"Works on my machine" isn't a meme — it's a culture problem. What's the distance between when you think a feature is done and when it's actually done? A senior's end-to-end shipping checklist.
10,000+ CCU: Managing Traffic Waves on Kubernetes
Practical notes on running a multiplayer backend with 10,000+ concurrent users on Kubernetes — autoscaling on custom metrics, pre-warming, priorities, and surviving sudden traffic spikes.
Redis Pub/Sub or RabbitMQ? When to Pick Which
I've run both in the same platform for years. Why each got chosen, when I paid the cost of a wrong call, and the four questions I ask before picking.
Istio Service Mesh in Practice: What It Does and Doesn't
We brought Istio into production during our 2023 Kubernetes migration. A year in, here's what actually delivers value versus what's sold but we don't use — a field report.
Production Incidents: The First 15 Minutes Matter Most
How the first 15 minutes of a production incident play out determines the next few hours. A field playbook from years of iGaming on-call — what to do, what not to do, which tools to reach for.
Polyglot Architecture: Java, .NET, and Python on One Platform
Our production platform has 20+ microservices — some Java/Spring, some .NET Core, some Python. Can multiple languages live next to each other cleanly? When is it necessary, when is it regret?
What Does It Mean to Be a Senior Engineer?
The senior title isn't assigned by years. What should change from junior to senior, which habits arrive, which behaviors are left behind? Concrete criteria from real production work.
On-Prem to AWS + Kubernetes: The Migration Gotchas Nobody Mentions
In 2023 we moved a 20+ microservice platform from on-prem to AWS + Kubernetes. Seven realities that never show up in the migration plan but slow the work — field notes.
Observability Basics: Logs, Metrics, Traces — What's Each For?
The three pillars of observability: log, metric, trace. When to reach for which, the trouble with using one in place of another, and real incident examples showing how they work together.