Yara Debian ยท notes & essaysAI engineer who still thinks in Ruby, speaker who asks slightly-too-big questions, and weekend clay sculptor. Notes on code, art, philosophy and learning AI in public.https://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/The wondering was always the jobhttps://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/the-wondering-was-always-the-job/https://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/the-wondering-was-always-the-job/Thaumazein, a 20p late fee, what quietly kills wonder in engineering teams, and how Sophie's World ends.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 07:13:00 GMTName it, and the next person can think ithttps://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/name-it-and-the-next-person-can-think-it/https://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/name-it-and-the-next-person-can-think-it/Hegel's chain of knowledge, Kant's thinking subject, and why a good method name is the knower still present in the code.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 07:12:00 GMTThe developer who kept the cache was being wisehttps://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/the-developer-who-kept-the-cache-was-being-wise/https://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/the-developer-who-kept-the-cache-was-being-wise/Aristotle, a dented knife, the four causes of rain, and a clean Rails fix that made production slower.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 07:11:00 GMTWhy does bad code bother us when it works?https://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/why-does-bad-code-bother-us-when-it-works/https://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/why-does-bad-code-bother-us-when-it-works/A letter in a mailbox, a tray of gingerbread cookies, and Plato's idea that every refactor is a kind of remembering.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 07:10:00 GMTWhat a painter would tell a developerhttps://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/what-a-painter-would-tell-a-developer/https://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/what-a-painter-would-tell-a-developer/Klimt's negative space, the tree behind Ginevra de' Benci, forgiving oil paint, and Monet's whole picture: four lessons from art for everyday code.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 07:03:00 GMTCode has art movements toohttps://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/code-has-art-movements-too/https://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/code-has-art-movements-too/Cave paintings and Assembly, the Renaissance and the personal computer, Baroque websites, and open source as Pop Art.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 07:02:00 GMTPainting in layers: what Vermeer taught my recommendation servicehttps://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/painting-in-layers-what-vermeer-taught-my-recommendation-service/https://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/painting-in-layers-what-vermeer-taught-my-recommendation-service/Colour harmony, single responsibility, Vermeer's window, and a Ruby service built up in three coats like an oil painting.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 07:01:00 GMTThe blank canvas and the empty filehttps://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/the-blank-canvas-and-the-empty-file/https://yara-portfolio-go1f.onrender.com/writing/the-blank-canvas-and-the-empty-file/When OKRs ate my inspiration, I went looking for it in art. It starts with Michelangelo, a schema, and a sketch.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 07:00:00 GMT