Why I Ship Boring Tech
Next.js, Postgres, Tailwind, Vercel. Not because I can't learn new things — because I've learned what matters when you're shipping alone.
The Trap
Every new framework promises to make you 10x faster. Most of them make you 3x slower for the first three months, then 1.1x faster after that. If you're shipping alone, you don't have three months to give.
What I Optimize For
Time to first working version. Everything else is downstream of that.
Next.js because I know exactly how it fails. Postgres because it doesn't surprise me. Tailwind because design decisions are encoded in class names, not scattered across six files.
The Exception
I'll learn new tech when the problem demands it. Gaussian splats needed WebGL. WebXR VR needed Three.js. The constraint is clear: adopt when the domain requires it, not when it's interesting.
Solo Economics
When you're the entire engineering team, cognitive overhead is a real cost. Every new abstraction you adopt is a maintenance burden you carry alone. Choose boring. Ship more.
Drew Garman
Forward Deployed Engineer — Phoenix, AZ. drewgarman.dev