Writing & field notes
Essays on data investigations, tech and the questions it raises, plus slower notes on football, travel, and the things I point a camera at.
The AI layoff trap: Why smart companies keep racing toward an empty stadium
A new paper from Penn and BU explains why even rational companies cannot stop replacing workers with AI, and …
Stargazing in Joshua Tree National Park: A new moon night at Sky's The Limit and Pinto Basin
A night of stargazing in Joshua Tree: the New Moon program at Sky's The Limit Observatory and astrophotography …
Same name, different initial: The dummy candidate factory in TN 2026
A data investigation into 4,000 candidates contesting the Tamil Nadu 2026 Assembly Election reveals a …
3 crore votes that elected nobody: What the numbers say about Tamil Nadu's coming election
A data-driven look at Tamil Nadu's three assembly elections: FPTP distortions, AIADMK's western fortress, the …
Mojave Desert day trip from Orange County: Mitchell Caverns, Hole-in-the-Wall & Kelso Sand Dunes
A complete day trip guide from Orange County to Mojave National Preserve: Mitchell Caverns guided tour, …
How I built a spelling bee app for my daughter (and why this win feels a little bit mine too)
I'm a Mainframe/COBOL developer who had never built a web app. Then my daughter needed to practice for her …
Mainframe modernization in the AI world: Why the walls haven't changed
Everyone thinks AI will finally kill the mainframe. After nearly two decades of legacy migrations, here's why …