Notes
Notes
A working notebook of ideas, code, and write-ups.
Browse by tag →The Cult of Done Manifesto
How the Cult of Done Manifesto pulls me out of premature optimisation, and why a database schema is one of the places its advice quietly stops being true.
A FIRE calculator with a hand-rolled chart and no server
How the Lab's UK FIRE calculator handles named local scenarios, monthly-compounded projections, and an SVG chart drawn by hand instead of pulled in from a charting library.
A reserving tutorial that makes you show your work
How the Lab's Reserving 101 walkthrough gates progress behind real answers instead of a 'next' button, and what one schema-driven step renderer buys you across four different question types.
A SQL formatter that flags what you can't see
Why the first thing in /tools is pinned to an old major version of sql-formatter, how it hunts for bidirectional-override and zero-width characters, and an Astro scoped-CSS bug it surfaced along the way.
A CSV validator that never leaves the browser
How the Lab's CSV validator turns a pasted JSON Schema into a Zod schema without eval, streams a file through PapaParse, and what it would take to graduate it into a real tool.
Building the "Where I've Been" map
How the first Lab page turns a list of places and dates into an interactive travel map, with no map library and no runtime API calls.
AI is a tool
Why viewing AI as an evolving tool rather than a replacement shapes how work, software development, and future careers will adapt.
The origin of Garbiak
The etymology of my surname, Garbiak.
How this site is set up
Architecture, tooling, and hosting behind this static site.