Personal notes on software engineering, AI-assisted development, infrastructure, systems, books, and the older archive.https://ast.rocks/https://ast.rocks/blog/the-work-was-always-about-understanding/https://ast.rocks/blog/the-work-was-always-about-understanding/A clean diff is not a good change. AI can hand you a plausible patch with no intent behind it, and missing intent is harder to review than a bug.Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaisoftware-engineeringhttps://ast.rocks/blog/forty-one-percent/https://ast.rocks/blog/forty-one-percent/A short note on farming, AI, and why code may matter more while typing every line matters less.Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaisoftware-engineeringhttps://ast.rocks/blog/vibes-dont-ship-software/https://ast.rocks/blog/vibes-dont-ship-software/AI can generate plausible code fast, but shipping quality comes from process: research, plans, measurable gates, tests, and review.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaiagentic-codinghttps://ast.rocks/blog/code-got-cheap-software-did-not/https://ast.rocks/blog/code-got-cheap-software-did-not/AI lowered the cost of generating code. The expensive parts moved into understanding, verification, maintenance, and trust.Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTaisoftware-engineeringhttps://ast.rocks/blog/snow-crash/https://ast.rocks/blog/snow-crash/Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson is absurd, loud, deeply weird, and strangely full of ideas that leaked into the real world.Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTbooksscience-fictionhttps://ast.rocks/blog/claude-code-on-the-go/https://ast.rocks/blog/claude-code-on-the-go/Run Claude Code from your phone using Tailscale, Termius, and dtach to reach a Mac session without exposing it to the public internet.Mon, 05 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMTaiagentic-codinglinuxhttps://ast.rocks/blog/git-hooks-claude-symlinks/https://ast.rocks/blog/git-hooks-claude-symlinks/A git post-checkout hook that symlinks Claude Code memory files into every worktree so local context stays available without being committed.Mon, 29 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTgitaiagentic-codinghttps://ast.rocks/blog/ai-generated-git-commit-messages/https://ast.rocks/blog/ai-generated-git-commit-messages/A git alias that pipes your staged diff into Claude Code headless mode to write a conventional-commit message you can edit before committing.Thu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTgitaiagentic-codinghttps://ast.rocks/blog/tchaikovsky-children-of-time/https://ast.rocks/blog/tchaikovsky-children-of-time/A personal take on Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time and its alien spider civilization, with nods to Vinge and Simak.Sun, 22 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTbooksscience-fictionhttps://ast.rocks/blog/smarter-lazyloading-for-ads/https://ast.rocks/blog/smarter-lazyloading-for-ads/Production-grade ad lazy loading separates layout reservation, bid requests, rendering, and refresh, tuned around real latency and viewability.Fri, 20 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTsoftware-engineeringjavascriptadtechhttps://ast.rocks/blog/watts-echopraxia/https://ast.rocks/blog/watts-echopraxia/I finally finished Echopraxia by Peter Watts this June—a sequel (or rather companion) to my beloved Blindsight, long awaited and wildly anticipated. This is...Wed, 18 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTbooksscience-fictionhttps://ast.rocks/blog/create-custom-prebidjs-bidder-adapter/https://ast.rocks/blog/create-custom-prebidjs-bidder-adapter/The official Prebid.js bidder adapter path is registerBidder. This article covers the narrower, reverse-engineered path: registering a runtime adapter with...Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMTsoftware-engineeringjavascriptadtechhttps://ast.rocks/blog/simple-docker-based-deploy-solution/https://ast.rocks/blog/simple-docker-based-deploy-solution/A small, boring deployment pipeline for pet projects: Docker, Compose, SSH, and a CI runner, without reaching for Kubernetes too early.Thu, 09 May 2024 00:00:00 GMTdevopshttps://ast.rocks/blog/linear-regression/https://ast.rocks/blog/linear-regression/A small, honest implementation of linear regression with NumPy, feature scaling, gradient descent, and a clear boundary between regression and classification.Fri, 28 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMTaihttps://ast.rocks/blog/eventful-message-parser/https://ast.rocks/blog/eventful-message-parser/A composable TypeScript message-parser pattern for chatbots: predicates select parsers, parsers emit domain events, and a dispatcher routes them.Thu, 06 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMTjavascriptsoftware-engineeringhttps://ast.rocks/blog/prepare-videos-for-icloud/https://ast.rocks/blog/prepare-videos-for-icloud/A practical FFmpeg workflow for preparing old videos for Apple Photos and iCloud: inspect, remux when compatible, transcode only what must change.Sat, 18 Mar 2023 23:57:00 GMTlife-noteslinuxhttps://ast.rocks/blog/new-start-again/https://ast.rocks/blog/new-start-again/A personal note on reviving an abandoned website after a life crisis, and relearning the quiet joy of building it again.Thu, 16 Mar 2023 22:11:00 GMTlife-noteshttps://ast.rocks/blog/git-merge-strategies/https://ast.rocks/blog/git-merge-strategies/A practical guide to ours and theirs in Git merge and rebase, plus why rebase flips the perspective.Tue, 28 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMTsoftware-engineeringgithttps://ast.rocks/blog/the-road-to-wisdom/https://ast.rocks/blog/the-road-to-wisdom/A quote by Piet Hein about programming could be used anywhere in lifeSun, 01 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMTlife-notessoftware-engineeringhttps://ast.rocks/blog/books/https://ast.rocks/blog/books/A childhood memoir about discovering science fiction in secret — Silverberg, Harrison, Heinlein, Asimov, and the books that shaped how I see the world.Sun, 05 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMTlife-notesbookshttps://ast.rocks/blog/composing-reducers/https://ast.rocks/blog/composing-reducers/How reducer composition works in Redux, with an update for modern Redux Toolkit usage.Tue, 27 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMTjavascriptsoftware-engineeringhttps://ast.rocks/blog/just-saying-hello-and-chilling-around/https://ast.rocks/blog/just-saying-hello-and-chilling-around/I have never been really good at writing. I won some rewards in my childhood. I wrote some shitty verses in my youth. None of those achievements really were...Tue, 19 Jan 2016 00:00:00 GMTlife-noteshttps://ast.rocks/blog/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-config/https://ast.rocks/blog/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-config/A practical guide to application configuration: what belongs in config, how to validate it, how to handle secrets, and how to wire it into PHP and Docker...Mon, 04 Jan 2016 00:00:00 GMTphpdevopssoftware-engineeringhttps://ast.rocks/blog/environment-in-fpm/https://ast.rocks/blog/environment-in-fpm/Why PHP-FPM workers do not see your container's environment variables by default, and how to whitelist only the ones your application actually needs.Sat, 19 Sep 2015 00:00:00 GMTphpdevopshttps://ast.rocks/blog/no-space-left-on-device-and-inodes/https://ast.rocks/blog/no-space-left-on-device-and-inodes/Linux can report “No space left on device” even when df -h shows plenty of free disk space. One common cause is inode exhaustion: the filesystem can still store...Fri, 08 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMTlinuxdevopshttps://ast.rocks/blog/strangler-application-and-ssi/https://ast.rocks/blog/strangler-application-and-ssi/A historical note on using NGINX SSI as a server-side composition seam while migrating a legacy web application with the Strangler Fig pattern.Thu, 31 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMTsoftware-engineeringhttps://ast.rocks/blog/event-based-javascript-architechture/https://ast.rocks/blog/event-based-javascript-architechture/A practical browser-side event architecture: publish domain facts with EventTarget and CustomEvent, keep listeners independent, and know when an event bus is...Thu, 10 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMTjavascriptsoftware-engineeringhttps://ast.rocks/blog/minecraft/https://ast.rocks/blog/minecraft/A short personal archive note about Minecraft and the unusual freedom of a world where players can build, ride, explode, or leave things alone.Wed, 04 Dec 2013 00:00:00 GMTlife-noteshttps://ast.rocks/blog/here-i-am/https://ast.rocks/blog/here-i-am/A personal note after a year away: beard, Moscow, cycling, and missing old online conversations.Tue, 03 Dec 2013 00:00:00 GMTlife-noteshttps://ast.rocks/blog/ubuntu-add-swap-file/https://ast.rocks/blog/ubuntu-add-swap-file/A compact, current recipe for safely adding a swap file on Ubuntu: create it, fix permissions, enable it, persist in fstab, and verify.Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMTlinuxdevopshttps://ast.rocks/blog/git-first-config/https://ast.rocks/blog/git-first-config/A minimal Git baseline on every new machine: identity, default branch, editor, credential helper, and three aliases that pay back daily.Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMTsoftware-engineeringgithttps://ast.rocks/blog/ssh-alias/https://ast.rocks/blog/ssh-alias/A short practical guide to ~/.ssh/config: create readable SSH aliases, pin the right user, port, and key, verify the final config, and avoid common...Tue, 14 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMTdevopslinuxhttps://ast.rocks/blog/cook-black-company/https://ast.rocks/blog/cook-black-company/A short personal note on discovering Glen Cook through Garrett and then finally reading The Black Company.Mon, 25 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMTbookshttps://ast.rocks/blog/darwin-origin-of-species/https://ast.rocks/blog/darwin-origin-of-species/A short note on reading Darwin as a historical document rather than as an introduction to modern evolutionary biology.Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMTbookshttps://ast.rocks/blog/myrmecology-intro/https://ast.rocks/blog/myrmecology-intro/A personal note about returning to a childhood fascination with insects and starting a small ant formicarium.Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMTlife-noteshttps://ast.rocks/blog/diamond-guns-germs-steel/https://ast.rocks/blog/diamond-guns-germs-steel/A short note on Guns, Germs, and Steel and Diamond's geographic explanation for the uneven development of civilizations.Sun, 02 May 2010 00:00:00 GMTbookshttps://ast.rocks/blog/dawkins-extended-phenotype/https://ast.rocks/blog/dawkins-extended-phenotype/A short note on The Extended Phenotype and Dawkins's idea that genes affect the world beyond bodies.Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMTbookshttps://ast.rocks/blog/watts-blindsight/https://ast.rocks/blog/watts-blindsight/A close note on Peter Watts's Blindsight, hard science fiction, alien contact, and the unsettling question of whether consciousness is necessary for...Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMTbooksscience-fictionhttps://ast.rocks/blog/sleepless-night/https://ast.rocks/blog/sleepless-night/A close translation of a personal note about geometry, origami, and learning by feeling the shape instead of memorizing steps.Tue, 06 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMTlife-noteshttps://ast.rocks/blog/dawkins-god-as-illusion/https://ast.rocks/blog/dawkins-god-as-illusion/A short note on The God Delusion, ethology, religion, and Dawkins's argument against religious explanations.Sun, 04 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMTbookshttps://ast.rocks/blog/dawkins-selfish-gene/https://ast.rocks/blog/dawkins-selfish-gene/A short note on The Selfish Gene, genes as units of selection, memes, altruism, and evolutionary strategy.Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMTbookshttps://ast.rocks/blog/thoughts-of-respect-and-contempt/https://ast.rocks/blog/thoughts-of-respect-and-contempt/A short book note placing Bertrand Russell and Saint Augustine side by side through two quotes about doubt, authority, and curiosity.Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMTbookshttps://ast.rocks/blog/thoughts-of-technologies/https://ast.rocks/blog/thoughts-of-technologies/A close translation of a short personal note about how ordinary laptops, wireless internet, and everyday technology had become.Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMTlife-noteshttps://ast.rocks/blog/quote-australian-cold-night/https://ast.rocks/blog/quote-australian-cold-night/A short note on Jared Diamond, dingoes, and the expression five-dog night.Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMTbookshttps://ast.rocks/blog/hedy-lamarr/https://ast.rocks/blog/hedy-lamarr/A short note about Hedy Lamarr: Hollywood star, inventor of frequency hopping, and an unexpected nod in Half-Life 2.Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMTlife-noteshttps://ast.rocks/blog/dangerous-trolling/https://ast.rocks/blog/dangerous-trolling/A short Bertrand Russell book note about John Scotus Eriugena, Charles the Bald, and the dangerous art of answering a king at dinner.Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMTbookshttps://ast.rocks/blog/quote-azimov/https://ast.rocks/blog/quote-azimov/A short note on Isaac Asimov, his productivity, and the joy of work that does not feel separate from life.Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMTlife-noteshttps://ast.rocks/blog/feynman-surely-you-joking/https://ast.rocks/blog/feynman-surely-you-joking/A short note on Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, where physics barely shows up but safes, bongos, Hiroshima, and a Nobel-winning cafeteria plate do.Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMTbookshttps://ast.rocks/blog/the-first-rule-of-development/https://ast.rocks/blog/the-first-rule-of-development/A short quote from John F. Woods (1991) on writing code as if the person who will maintain it knows where you live.Sun, 24 May 2009 00:00:00 GMTlife-notessoftware-engineeringhttps://ast.rocks/blog/lloyd-funny-fact/https://ast.rocks/blog/lloyd-funny-fact/A deliberate homage: Harold Lloyd’s clock scene in Safety Last! (1923) mirrored in Back to the Future, plus one funny coincidence.Tue, 20 May 2008 00:00:00 GMTlife-notescinema