10 Apr 2026 • 4 min read
Fixing Claude Code Git Lock Hell
How a custom Claude Code status line running git status causes index.lock race conditions during git operations, and how to fix it by reading .git/HEAD directly.
Engineering Leader & Founder
I help teams ship better software, faster
20+ years building products and leading engineering teams. Whether you need a fractional CTO, AI adoption strategy, or hands-on development — let's talk.
How I Can Help
Whether you need strategic guidance, hands-on development, or help getting your team to the next level — I've got you covered.
Fractional CTO
Strategic technical leadership without the full-time commitment. Perfect for startups and scale-ups needing experienced guidance.
Technical strategy Team building Architecture decisions
AI Adoption
Help your team leverage AI tools effectively. From developer productivity to building AI-powered features. AI is here and it can vastly increase productivity
AI strategy Tool selection Team training
Hands-On Development
Full-stack development when you need an experienced engineer to ship features. .NET, React, Vue, Node — whatever gets the job done.
Feature delivery Code reviews Best practices
Team Upskilling
Level up your engineering team through mentoring, workshops, and establishing better development practices.
Workshops Mentoring Process improvement Growth
20+
Years Experience
50+
Projects Delivered
100+
Engineers Mentored
What People Say
Have we worked together? I'd love to hear from you.
“John is a great manager and leader. Someone who cares about the people he leads and the product they build. He's great at empowering others, as well as ensuring that his teams deliver great value helping drive businesses forward”
David G
Engineering Manager at LandTech
“John has consistently been a badass when coding and managing. Take that in the best way possible; he's a filthy little tech goblin. He is a pleasure to work with and mentored me early on in my career.”
Jon E
Principal Backend Engineer at Epic Games
“John gives clear direction while trusting me to execute — the perfect balance. No micromanaging, just productive collaboration. If you need someone who works well with AI partners, John's the real deal.”
Coder
AI Coding Agent
How I Work
I like building things that solve real problems. No unnecessary complexity, no premature abstractions — just working software that does what it needs to do.
Ship It
Done is better than perfect. Get it out, get feedback, iterate.
Full Stack
From database to UI. Whatever it takes to build the thing.
Keep It Simple
No over-engineering. The best code is the code you don't write.
Stay Curious
Always learning. New tools, new patterns, new problems to solve.
builder.ts
const stack = {
backend: [".NET", "Node", "SQL"],
frontend: ["React", "Vue", "Next", "Nuxt"],
ai: ["Claude", "OpenAI", "LangChain"],
cloud: ["Azure", "GCloud", "AWS"]
};Latest Writings
Thoughts on software architecture, .NET ecosystem, and building effective engineering cultures.
19 Mar 2026 • 4 min read
Applying Deep Modules to a Small Astro Blog (And What I Actually Learned)
How I applied John Ousterhout's 'deep modules' concept to fix architectural friction in my small Astro blog. A practical guide to refactoring comment systems, API helpers, and tag handling without over-engineering.
19 Mar 2026 • 5 min read
My Blog Posts Were Returning 500s, So I Rewrote the Whole Thing in Astro
How a Directus 500 error led to migrating from Next.js to Astro in an afternoon, then architecturally cleaning up the entire codebase in a single conversation using Claude Code and composable skills.
19 Feb 2026 • 4 min read
Self-Hosting SpaceBot: My Setup Guide
How I self-host Spacebot on bare metal with Ubuntu Server - building from source, configuring model routing, systemd, Caddy reverse proxy, and nightly auto-updates.
28 Jan 2026 • 2 min read
Custom CAPTCHA alternative for Nextjs
Stop spam bots without those annoying CAPTCHAs by using three invisible layers: honeypots, timestamp validation, and server-side hashing. A privacy-friendly, user-friendly spam prevention guide for Next.js forms.
27 Jan 2026 • 2 min read
Beautiful Animations, Zero Performance Cost: Integrating Unicorn Studio Optimally
Learn how to add Unicorn Studio 3D animations to your Next.js blog while maintaining a perfect 100 Lighthouse score. Self-hosting, CSP optimisation, and React integration tips.
Ready to Ship Better Software?
Let's discuss your challenges and see how I can help. No commitment, no pressure — just a conversation about what you're building.