Things worth writing down
Notes on technology leadership, architecture decisions and what contracting is actually like. Written while doing the work rather than afterwards.
Technical Leadership
What technical due diligence covers - and why it matters before you invest
9 Mar 2026
Technical due diligence evaluates whether the technology behind a product is sound, scalable, and secure before investment. This guide explains what the seven
Why the model that writes more actually does more
8 Mar 2026
Benchmarks don't tell the full story. After running Claude Code and Codex CLI side by side on real production work, the difference that actually matters in
Technical Leadership
Why your technology costs more than it should
27 Feb 2026
Most businesses overspend on technology without realising it. Over-engineered solutions, wrong architecture choices, technical debt, and vendor lock-in quietly
Architecture Decisions
On-Premises Hosting in 2026: Why It's 7x More Expensive Than Cloud
25 Feb 2026
On-premises hosting costs £327-771/month vs cloud at £37-93/month. Only 3 scenarios justify self-hosting. Here's the full breakdown.
Technical Leadership
What happens in the first week of a project rescue
23 Feb 2026
Only 31% of software projects succeed. When yours is in trouble, what actually happens when you bring in outside help? Here's a day-by-day walkthrough of the
Fractional CTO Insights
WordPress consultants exist because WordPress doesn't work
20 Feb 2026
If WordPress really let anyone build a website, there wouldn't be 30,000 agencies worldwide doing it for them. The same pattern repeats across the entire
Architecture Decisions
Render, Railway, Fly.io: When PaaS Beats Cloud for .NET Applications
18 Feb 2026
PaaS platforms (Render, Railway, Fly.io) cost £44-96/month with zero infrastructure work. For small teams, they beat cloud on TCO.
Technical Leadership
Signs your software project is in trouble - and what to do about it
16 Feb 2026
Only 31% of software projects succeed. The rest show warning signs early - scope creep, developer turnover, communication breakdown. Here are 7 signs your
Contractor Career
16 months, 5 countries, 2 kids: what digital nomad life is actually like as a family
15 Feb 2026
In 2023 we packed up our life in Gloucester and spent 16 months as a remote solutions architect, living and working across Tenerife, South Africa, Mauritius,
Architecture Decisions
European Cloud Providers: 50-80% Cheaper Than Azure with GDPR Built-In
11 Feb 2026
European clouds (Hetzner, Scaleway, OVH) offer 50-80% savings over Azure. UK data centres available. Full GDPR compliance included.
The AI ate my main branch: why feature branches matter more than ever
5 Feb 2026
AI coding assistants generate code fast. Without proper version control discipline, you might lose it just as quickly. Learn from real mistakes.
Architecture Decisions
Stop Paying for Kubernetes: 5 Providers with Free Control Planes (2026)
4 Feb 2026
Azure, AWS, and GCP charge £45-58/month for Kubernetes control planes. 5 providers offer them free. Save £700/year instantly.
Not sure which one? That is what the call is for.
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