Punycode: My New Favorite Algorithm
A deep dive into how Punycode works, and why I think it's so neat.
Software engineer, indie hacker, food enthusiast.
I'm Ian, a software engineer and entrepreneur based in The Netherlands. I'm an engineer at Mercury, a financial technology company that develops bank products for startups of all sizes. I write about engineering, cooking, and life.
Engineering
The CRDT Dictionary: A Field Guide to Conflict-Free Replicated Data Types
A comprehensive guide to CRDTs and their tradeoffs, from counters to sequences. Written in the spirit of the Typeclassopedia, exploring how different CRDTs solve the distributed consensus puzzle.
JSON Schema Demystified: Understanding Schemas, Dialects, Vocabularies, and Metaschemas
An accessible guide to understanding the confusing terminology around JSON Schema. What are schemas, dialects, vocabularies, and metaschemas, and how do they all fit together?
Event Design for Streaming Systems: A Primer
How to use event streams in an effective, scalable, future-proof way.
Cooking
The Cadence of Salting
When you salt matters as much as how much you salt. Understanding the timing changes everything.
Personal
What You Need to Know About Trump\
A look at the Trump administration\
Actuarial Murder and Other Diffuse Acts of Violence
An exploration of how institutional decisions and systemic policies can cause widespread harm with less accountability than direct violence, examining cases from healthcare to education where bureaucratic choices have life-altering consequences despite being treated as mere business decisions.
The Cruel Part Is
A poem
Vignettes
A collection of memories