Michael's Crumbs

A personal perspective on technology, engineering, and building things that last, from Michael Marquez.

Engineering August 10, 2026 · Michael Marquez

Tests Are Documentation That Runs

A comment can go stale the moment it is written. A test fails the moment it does.

Read the full note
XRPL August 9, 2026 · Michael Marquez

What I Learned Building on the XRP Ledger

Writing a transaction codec by hand teaches you things a library quietly hides from you.

Read the full note
Engineering August 8, 2026 · Michael Marquez

The Cost of a Clever One-Liner

Clever code asks every future reader to solve a small puzzle before they can trust it.

Read the full note
AI August 7, 2026 · Michael Marquez

The Boundary You Didn't Draw, AI Will Draw For You

Every layer you don't define explicitly becomes a layer an AI tool will happily collapse.

Read the full note
AI August 6, 2026 · Michael Marquez

The Debugging Tax Nobody Budgets For

Writing code got faster. Understanding code didn't. That gap is where all the new debt hides.

Read the full note
AI August 4, 2026 · Michael Marquez

The Missing Layer of AI

Intelligence alone isn't enough. As AI becomes responsible for more of our digital world, the missing layer is no longer capability, it's the ability to prove, verify, and trust every action.

Read the full note