2 min read
March: Fixed Sleep, Fewer Tabs, More Focus
February felt dense—lots of ideas, lots of output, slightly scattered. March is going to feel tighter.
Career
28 articles
3 min read
February 2026: Month in Review
Made four commitments at the start of February. Here's the honest accounting. Twenty-eight posts in twenty-eight days. The streak continues—fifty-six days…
3 min read
The Principal Engineer Question
Someone asked me last week if I miss being a principal engineer. I had to think about it longer than I expected.
3 min read
Fifty-Five Days of Daily Writing
I started this in January as an experiment. I keep doing it because it's become something I didn't expect.
3 min read
The Code Review That Rewired How I Think
Seven years ago, a senior engineer reviewed my code and said nothing about the code. I've thought about that review almost every week since.
2 min read
The Expert Trap: When Being Right Gets in the Way
A client hired me for my Azure expertise. Six weeks in, I realized I was the least knowledgeable person in the room—and that was exactly as it should be.
2 min read
The Art of Saying No to Projects
Two years ago, I would have said yes without thinking. Here's what changed. Early in my consulting career, I said yes to everything. Every project. Every…
2 min read
Writing as Thinking
Forty-one days of daily blogging. Here's what I've discovered: I don't write to share ideas. I write to find them.
2 min read
The Real Cost of Context Switching
Last Tuesday I worked 10 hours. Got almost nothing done. Checked my calendar: 6 meetings scattered throughout the day. None longer than 30 minutes. Plenty…
2 min read
February: A Fresh Start
Writing daily for 31 days straight taught me something: consistency beats intensity. I didn't write masterpieces every day. Some posts were short. Some were…
2 min read
January 2026: Month in Review
Made several commitments at the start of the month. Time to be honest about how I did. Only worked one Saturday. Actual production emergency. Otherwise…
2 min read
Learning AI as a Traditional Engineer
Three years ago, I was a cloud/data engineer. AI was "something other people do." Now it's a core part of my work.
2 min read
An Honest Retrospective
January's almost over. Time for an honest look at how I'm doing with those commitments I made.
1 min read
Building Software I Want to Maintain
I'm tired of clever code. I want boring, maintainable code. Early career: "Look at this elegant one-liner!"
1 min read
What Makes Technical Writing Actually Useful
I've read thousands of technical posts. Most are useless. Here's what makes docs actually helpful.
1 min read
The Myth of Continuous Learning
New framework every month. New AI model every week. "10x developers" learning constantly. The message: If you're not learning something new constantly…
4 min read
The Weekend I Finally Said No
Saturday morning. My phone buzzed. Slack message: "Hey MJ, quick question about the deployment..."
4 min read
Why I Still Blog in 2026
Someone asked me why I still maintain a blog. "Doesn't everyone just use LinkedIn or Twitter now?"
3 min read
The Tech Parent's Dilemma
My son asked me today why I'm always on my computer. Fair question from a seven-year-old who doesn't understand why Dad's work doesn't end when he leaves…
2 min read
New Year, Same Foundation
Another year begins, and I find myself less excited about "new year, new me" proclamations. Maybe it's age, or maybe it's finally understanding that real…
1 min read
New Year's Eve 2025: Setting Technical Goals That Actually Work
Consider your current level and career direction: Break annual goals into quarters: The best technical goals are: 1. Connected to your career Not just…
2 min read
Christmas Day Reflection: The Joy of Building Things That Help People
Merry Christmas! Today, as we celebrate with family and friends, I want to share some thoughts on why we do what we do as technologists.
2 min read
Data Engineering Career Retrospective: What Changed in 2025
The data engineering profession evolved dramatically in 2025. As the year ends, here's my retrospective on the skills, tools, and mindsets that defined…
1 min read
Year-End Reflections: Lessons from 2024 and Intentions for 2025
2024 was a year of transformation in data and AI. We saw AI move from impressive demos to production systems, data platforms consolidate around unified…
1 min read
Microsoft Fabric Certification Prep: Getting Ready for DP-600
The DP-600 certification demonstrates your expertise in Microsoft Fabric. Focus on hands-on practice and understanding the "why" behind each feature, not…
4 min read
Holiday Tech Reading List: Books for Azure and AI Enthusiasts
The holidays are the reading catch-up opportunity I look forward to all year—the stack of technical books that accumulated while the project workload was…
2 min read
ChatGPT as a Learning Tool: Accelerating Your Technical Growth
What ChatGPT did better than any other tool I'd used for technical learning was adapt its explanation level to the question's framing—ask "what is a…
5 min read
Why it’s okay to be “an ordinary” developer
Someone once asked me, what does it take to become a prominent developer? A 10X Engineer? You know some who are "extraordinary". What do you mean by…