In the 2+ years since ChatGPT was released, I've been using various LLMs as part of my work as a software engineer (SWE) and engineering leader. As the tools have evolved and I've gained more experience with them, I've developed three distinct ways of working effectively with LLMs to help me be more productive, resulting in code that is either written *with* an LLM as a companion programmer, written almost exclusively *by* an LLM, and written *for* LLMs to be able to operate effectively in the code base. ...more

Trump has very publically and loudly reversed America's policy of support for Ukraine. I have thoughts. ...more

What GenAI tools I'm using regularly at the end of 2024, and some predictions for 2025 ...more

I didn't like how plain the links to my blog posts rendered on 𝕏 and in Slack. So I set about implementing OpenGraph image cards for each post, the hard way, using Cloudflare Functions and Rust. ...more

The infrastructure attacks and uncertainty about electricity and heat were finally enough to get me to leave. For the winter at least. ...more

I went overboard prepping for a very specific threat scenario, specifically: large-scale Russian drone or missile attacks on Kyiv. The result is this bug-out bag. ...more

Why spend 10 minutes doing a tedious data entry task when you can spend 15 minutes getting an LLM to do it instead? ...more

Air raid alarms happen all the time in Kyiv. I've evolved a protocol for responding to them that seeks to balance safety with the need to actually live, work, and sleep. ...more

Daily life in the center of the capital is probably not what you'd expect for a country in the midst of a brutal war for survival. I wrote down a few observations from my perspective as an expat living in Kyiv. ...more

Approximately 15 years ago, I was running the engineering team at AppAssure Software, working on what was at the time a cutting-edge new feature: the … ...more

I’m shocked and horrified to realize that it was almost FIVE long years ago that I celebrated the receipt of my Ukraine temporary residence permit! W… ...more

The Rust Foundation ruffled a lot of feathers when they posted a draft Trademark Policy document that is…well..let’s say it’s heavy-handed to an exten… ...more

Both of my US Senators, Scott and Rubio, do not allow their constituents to write messages longer than 3000 character (for Rubio) or 2000 characters (… ...more

Disclaimer I’m writing this post as an honest and frank description of my experience coding in Rust these last six months. It’s just, like, my opinio… ...more

Official Ukraine Residency Permit Obtaining this residency permit was not complicated, and the entire process start… ...more

By now the major Western media outlets will have reported on the incident in the Azov Sea in which Russian forces fired upon and captured three Ukrain… ...more

Brand new, modern, efficient Passport Center in Ukraine (photo by Bogdan Gandziuk) I had heard many horror stories from e… ...more

Today I awoke to a very cold fall morning. At least, cold by my standards. -3° C probably isn’t a big deal to the cold-hardened locals here, but I cam… ...more

Freshly issued Ukrainian "D" visa. Obtaining this type "D" visa was much easier than expected, and opens the door to temp… ...more

In the last episode of Adventures in De-Goggling, I laid out the principles behind my desire to reduce the amount of intrusive Google privacy violatio… ...more

It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been in Kiev now for exactly one month. Time as flown by, too fast for my taste in fact. It seems like so little has b… ...more

Ukrainian work permit, hot off the presses My immigration lawyer texted me this morning with a pleasant surprise: Less than two weeks … ...more

I have been an enthusiastic user of Google’s products for well over a decade. I eagerly gobbled up Gmail beta invite codes during the closed beta to … ...more

For the first time in over a decade, I’m free of all professional obligations and must answer the question “what next?”. ...more