There’s a certain irony in a software engineer procrastinating on building their own website for years while shipping products used by thousands of people. Here I am, finally.
A bit about me
I’m Martin — an engineering manager based in Edinburgh. These days I spend most of my time leading teams, making technical decisions, and thinking about how to create environments where engineers do their best work. I still speak the language — my background is in TypeScript, React, and Node.js — but I’ve moved from writing the code to shaping the conditions around it. That, and running long distances, and thinking about why the first cup of coffee tastes better than the second.
Why now?
A few reasons conspired at once:
- I wanted a place to think out loud about things I’m building
- I’ve been reading more blogs and realised how much I miss the slower, longer-form web
- I’m building a side project (a jigsaw puzzle game, of all things) and want to document the process
Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard. — David McCullough
What to expect here
Mostly honest, occasionally messy posts about:
- Software engineering — architecture decisions, tools I’m enjoying, things that broke in interesting ways
- Running — training logs, race reflections, gear I’ve tested to destruction
- Building in public — progress updates on side projects with no filter
I’m not going for polish. I’m going for regularity. Short posts, long posts, posts that are really just lists of links — whatever I have time for.
If any of this sounds interesting, there’s an RSS feed. See you around.