A personal hub where Arthur Schmidt-Pabst writes essays on the design decisions behind his own software, such as warnings in a poster tool and privacy-preserving crash reporting in a Mac app. It also covers a concept productivity app built around stopping, and commentary on research into how chatbots respond to vulnerable users.
Website: https://schmidtpabst.com/
Kent Beck writes about software design, testing and programming technique, framing them as ways of improving human relationships among developers. Issues mix practical techniques such as refactoring tests with reflections on working with AI coding tools and mental models for feedback loops.
Ryan Singer, author of Shape Up, shares practical guidance on defining software before hiring developers, separating framing (choosing work and getting buy-in) from shaping (specifying mechanics for building). Issues include a primer on documenting business logic and a real-world end-to-end Shape Up case study.
Stale Plastic is a personal essay newsletter with first-person reflections on technology, corporate responsibility and everyday digital life, including a critique of Meta's leadership and a detailed account of using Tesla's Full Self-Driving. Each issue pairs a clear argumentative thread with concrete anecdotes and cultural references.
Essays on building software in real organisations, covering trust, ownership, feedback, and tradeoffs in engineering teams. It also includes occasional short link roundups, such as commentary on the costs of AI-assisted coding.
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