Blog

Practical software engineering guidance from Jeff Bailey on tools like jq, SSH, and Git, plus architecture diagrams, book summaries, and fundamentals.

What Is Lima?

January 31, 2026 · 7 min · Jeff Bailey
Lima explained: how it runs Linux VMs on your Mac, powers Colima and Rancher Desktop, and replaces Docker Desktop without the licensing bill.

A List of Open Source LLMs: Coding and Writing Models for Local AI

January 25, 2026 · 28 min · Jeff Bailey
A list of open-source language models for coding and writing. Compare code LLMs, writing models, and coding AI tools that work with Ollama, LM Studio, and Jan.
A list of open source LLMs for coding and writing, organized by recency and popularity.

What Are Agent Skills?

January 24, 2026 · 14 min · Jeff Bailey
Agent Skills explained: why they exist, how progressive disclosure loads them on demand, and how they relate to MCP, fine-tuning, and agent plugins.
A glowing human figure linked by orange data streams to a network-shaped brain, under the title What Are Agent Skills?

What Is Inoreader?

January 24, 2026 · 5 min · Jeff Bailey
Inoreader explained: an RSS feed reader with automation rules and filters that organize content automatically, solving information overload at scale.
Inoreader explained: an RSS feed reader with automation rules and filters that organize content automatically, solving information overload at scale.

A List of Software Engineering Blogs: Tech Company Engineering Blogs

January 23, 2026 · 8 min · Jeff Bailey
A curated directory of software engineering blogs from leading technology companies. Find engineering blogs from Meta, Google, Netflix, AWS, and more. Includes RSS feeds and covers system design, API development, and DevOps practices.
A list of software engineering blogs from leading technology companies and organizations.

Fundamentals of Centralized Software Systems

January 19, 2026 · 32 min · Jeff Bailey
Understanding centralized software systems: when single points of control work, why they’re simpler than distributed systems, and when to choose them over distributed alternatives.
Conceptual diagram showing centralized system architecture with single control point, unified data store, and coordinated processing.

What Is the Agent2Agent Protocol (A2A)?

January 18, 2026 · 10 min · Jeff Bailey
Agent2Agent Protocol (A2A) explained: why it exists, how it enables AI agents to communicate across vendors and platforms, and how it solves interoperability challenges.
Agent2Agent Protocol (A2A) explained: why it exists, how it enables AI agents to communicate across vendors and platforms, and how it solves interoperability challenges.

Fundamentals of API Design and Contracts

January 16, 2026 · 17 min · Jeff Bailey
API design fundamentals for contracts, compatibility, and reliability, so integrations stay predictable as systems evolve.
Diagram showing an API contract connecting a provider and consumer with versioned requests and responses.

What Is MCP?

January 15, 2026 · 10 min · Jeff Bailey
Model Context Protocol (MCP) explained: why it exists, how it works conceptually, and how it solves AI-LLM integration challenges through standardized protocols.
Model Context Protocol (MCP) explained: why it exists, how it works conceptually, and how it solves AI-LLM integration challenges through standardized protocols.

Fundamentals of Software Development Operations

January 13, 2026 · 41 min · Jeff Bailey
How software teams impact operational excellence. A developer’s guide to understanding operations from a COO’s perspective.
Diagram showing how software development intersects with operational excellence: development velocity, system reliability, operational visibility, and cross-functional coordination working together to support business operations at scale.