Mari Lescaille https://www.mlescaille.com/ Essays on systems, working in tech, and the writing life — plus poems in two languages. en Sun, 19 Jul 2026 00:59:08 GMT AI in interviews https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/ai-in-interviews/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/ai-in-interviews/ Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT essay AI in interviews is inevitable — so what should we actually be testing for? Chop Wood, Carry Water https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/chop-wood-carry-water/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/chop-wood-carry-water/ Mon, 04 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT essay Twelve months of alignment, five weeks of build — what staff-level platform work actually looks like. Up https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/up/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/up/ Mon, 07 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT poem Two minds, one voice. Many minds, one direction https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/two-minds-one-voice-many-minds-one-direction/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/two-minds-one-voice-many-minds-one-direction/ Tue, 21 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT essay Kahneman and Tversky, the patterns that sabotage collaboration, and the real work of building together. Structure adds scalability: a look beyond networks https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/structure-adds-scalability/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/structure-adds-scalability/ Thu, 19 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT essay A networking principle traced through databases, caches, APIs — and a Netflix device-data migration. Like a haircut you can sleep through https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/like-a-haircut-you-can-sleep-through/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/like-a-haircut-you-can-sleep-through/ Mon, 27 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT essay Expertise is almost unnoticeable — on strengths, their overuse and their underuse. If they don’t hang together, you don’t have them, or the pipe pattern to the rescue https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/the-pipe-pattern-to-the-rescue/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/the-pipe-pattern-to-the-rescue/ Wed, 26 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT essay Streams, Optional, RxJava, CompletableFuture — hanging Java’s chaining APIs on one latticework. Don’t expect context replies when you ask control questions https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/context-replies-control-questions/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/context-replies-control-questions/ Thu, 20 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT essay Control questions get control answers. If you want context, ask context questions. The growth problem in tech https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/the-growth-problem-in-tech/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/the-growth-problem-in-tech/ Wed, 19 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT essay The “pipeline problem” is a mindset problem: who gets believed, who gets developed, who gets feedback. awaken our dreams https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/awaken-our-dreams/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/awaken-our-dreams/ Mon, 05 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT poem In this space https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/in-this-space/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/in-this-space/ Thu, 01 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT poem Subject: lease grace period ended https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/subject-lease-grace-period-ended/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/subject-lease-grace-period-ended/ Tue, 29 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT poem Staring https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/staring/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/staring/ Sun, 27 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT poem Compassionate learning https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/compassionate-learning/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/compassionate-learning/ Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT essay Why an introduction-to-APIs workshop opened with Thich Nhat Hanh — questions as compassion. In the land of the free https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/in-the-land-of-the-free/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/in-the-land-of-the-free/ Tue, 05 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT essay A reflection on freedom, belonging, and contradiction in America. My grandma braid my hair https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/my-grandma-braid-my-hair/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/my-grandma-braid-my-hair/ Tue, 05 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT essay Memory, lineage, and the women who shaped her. Eres una pieza de arte https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/eres-una-pieza-de-arte/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/eres-una-pieza-de-arte/ Tue, 28 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMT poem Trajectory guarding https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/trajectory-guarding/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/trajectory-guarding/ Sun, 05 Jun 2022 00:00:00 GMT essay On the labor of defending your career while doing your career — and who pays for it. It’s time to introduce emotional guidance in engineering onboarding https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/emotional-guidance-in-engineering-onboarding/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/emotional-guidance-in-engineering-onboarding/ Wed, 16 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT essay Onboarding is not only the tech stack — new engineers need emotional guidance too. Bounce: strategies for coming back to code after interruptions https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/bounce-coming-back-to-code-after-interruptions/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/bounce-coming-back-to-code-after-interruptions/ Thu, 10 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT essay Strategies for escaping the Pit of Despair — coming back to code after interruptions. To grow as an engineer keep risking failure https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/to-grow-as-an-engineer-keep-risking-failure/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/to-grow-as-an-engineer-keep-risking-failure/ Mon, 07 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT essay Jobs on risking failure, applied to engineering: growth lives where failure stays possible. Searching https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/searching/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/searching/ Mon, 28 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT poem On the museum wall, the famous artist printed our pain https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/on-the-museum-wall-the-famous-artist-printed-our-pain/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/on-the-museum-wall-the-famous-artist-printed-our-pain/ Fri, 25 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT poem Restart https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/restart/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/restart/ Wed, 23 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT poem What’s left https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/whats-left/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/whats-left/ Mon, 21 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT poem It is not darkness what you fear https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/it-is-not-darkness-what-you-fear/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/it-is-not-darkness-what-you-fear/ Sun, 20 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT poem Put on your earrings https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/put-on-your-earrings/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/put-on-your-earrings/ Sun, 20 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT poem Introducing Codems: Code and poems weaved https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/introducing-codems/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/introducing-codems/ Thu, 10 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT code · poems A codem is a portmanteau of code and poems: the code structure adds sense to the poem. Mini cuento: Escuchábamos a sus muertos https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/mini-cuento-escuchabamos-a-sus-muertos/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/mini-cuento-escuchabamos-a-sus-muertos/ Mon, 17 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT essay Un mini cuento sobre la enfermedad, la memoria y los muertos que cargamos. Guiding light https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/guiding-light/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/guiding-light/ Sat, 15 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT poem Rebirth https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/rebirth/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/rebirth/ Sat, 15 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT poem Dreams https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/dreams/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/dreams/ Mon, 06 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMT poem Flawed beauty https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/flawed-beauty/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/flawed-beauty/ Fri, 03 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMT poem Jesus https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/jesus/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/jesus/ Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMT poem In the name https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/in-the-name/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/in-the-name/ Mon, 29 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMT poem What is code archeology? https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/what-is-code-archeology/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/what-is-code-archeology/ Mon, 29 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMT essay Understanding code through its context and evolution — dig before you bulldoze. Remembrance https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/remembrance/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/remembrance/ Sun, 28 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMT poem Debugging: the map is not the territory https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/debugging-map-territory/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/debugging-map-territory/ Sat, 27 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMT essay The delta technique — debugging as narrowing the gap between your model and reality. The fifth day at the studio https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/the-fifth-day-at-the-studio/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/the-fifth-day-at-the-studio/ Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMT essay Notes from a creative residency, five days in. How to prevent burnout https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/how-to-prevent-burnout/ https://www.mlescaille.com/writing/how-to-prevent-burnout/ Mon, 25 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMT essay From a Havana theater to a tech career — and how to keep the dream from burning you out.