Nested resources in Ruby on Rails: why bother?
Nested resources in Ruby on Rails are sort of neat, but they are a pain to implement. What’s more, I have to ask myself, why bother?
If a resource has a unique identifier id, then why would you need to call its parent resource to call it? The unique identifier is enough. And what resource doesn’t have a unique id these days?
Featured writing
Why customer tools are organized wrong
This article reveals a fundamental flaw in how customer support tools are designed—organizing by interaction type instead of by customer—and explains why this fragmentation wastes time and obscures the full picture you need to help users effectively.
Infrastructure shapes thought
The tools you build determine what kinds of thinking become possible. On infrastructure, friction, and building deliberately for thought rather than just throughput.
Server-Side Dashboard Architecture: Why Moving Data Fetching Off the Browser Changes Everything
How choosing server-side rendering solved security, CORS, and credential management problems I didn't know I had.
Books
The Work of Being (in progress)
A book on AI, judgment, and staying human at work.
The Practice of Work (in progress)
Practical essays on how work actually gets done.
Recent writing
We always panic about new tools (and we're always wrong)
Every time a new tool emerges for making or manipulating symbols, we panic. The pattern is so consistent it's almost embarrassing. Here's what happened each time.
Dev reflection - February 03, 2026
I've been thinking about constraints today. Not the kind that block you—the kind that clarify. There's a difference, and most people miss it.
When execution becomes cheap, ideas become expensive
This article reveals a fundamental shift in how organizations operate: as AI makes execution nearly instantaneous, the bottleneck has moved from implementation to decision-making. Understanding this transition is critical for anyone leading teams or making strategic choices in an AI-enabled world.
Notes and related thinking
Google Criticized for Privacy Issues
Explore the critique of Google’s privacy practices as Ian Hickson defends the company's intentions and highlights the impact of public skepticism.
Llama 2 avoids errors by staying quiet, GPT-4 gives long, if useless, samples
Discover how Llama 2 outperforms GPT-4 in generating reliable code, revealing crucial insights on the effectiveness of large language models.
NoMethodError (undefined method `finder') with Engines and Rails 2.2
Fix the NoMethodError with ActionMailer in Rails 2.2 by applying a simple patch. Save time and troubleshoot efficiently with our guide.