Shipping code & collecting stories

Building software.
Writing about the journey.

Engineer, architect, and occasional philosopher exploring the intersection of clean code, meaningful work, and the analog life between deployments.

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~/fredlackey
$ whoami
Fred Lackey # software engineer, Tampa FL
$ cat --interests
[ "distributed systems", "developer tooling", "hiking", "espresso" ]
$ git log --oneline -1
a3f8c2d refactor: simplify life, ship more code
$
// recent writing

Featured Posts

Long-form thinking on software, systems, and the spaces in between.

Architecture Opinion

The Quiet Revolution of Edge Computing in 2026

We spent a decade moving everything to the cloud. Now the smartest teams are moving it back out. Here is what I have learned running workloads at the edge for the past year.

Feb 12, 2026 8 min read
Lifestyle

Why I Stopped Checking Slack Before Coffee

A small change in my morning routine that had an outsized impact on focus, creativity, and my relationship with deep work. Sometimes the best optimization is subtraction.

Jan 28, 2026 5 min read
Engineering

The Art of the Graceful Degradation Pattern

Your system will fail. The question is whether it fails like a light switch or a dimmer. Strategies for building services that bend instead of break under pressure.

Nov 22, 2025 9 min read
Fred Lackey

About Me

I am a software engineer based in Tampa, Florida with over two decades of experience building web applications, distributed systems, and developer tools. I have spent most of my career in the Node.js and TypeScript ecosystem, but I am always exploring whatever technology solves the problem best.

When I am not writing code, you will find me hiking Florida trails, experimenting with pour-over ratios, tinkering with film cameras, or reading something by Cal Newport. This blog is where I think out loud about all of it.

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// areas of focus

What I Write About

⌨
Systems Architecture
Distributed systems, microservices, event-driven design, and the trade-offs nobody talks about.
24 posts
✎
Developer Experience
CLI tools, workflow optimization, editor configs, and the craft of making great DX.
18 posts
☘
Life & Work
Remote work, deep focus, analog hobbies, travel, and finding balance in a digital career.
31 posts
❖
TypeScript & Node.js
Type system patterns, runtime internals, performance tuning, and ecosystem deep dives.
42 posts
⚙
DevOps & Infrastructure
Docker, CI/CD pipelines, VPS management, and the art of keeping things running.
15 posts
★
Career & Growth
Lessons from two decades in tech: mentoring, leadership, staying curious, and avoiding burnout.
12 posts
// stay connected

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