https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/ Essays and notes from an operations and engineering professional based in Germany. en Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/notes.html#2026-10-15-restarted-the-site https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/notes.html#2026-10-15-restarted-the-site Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Restarted the portfolio site. Wrote a small PowerShell script that generates every page from a data table. Feels right -- one file, one command, one deploy. https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/writing/late-to-the-stack.html https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/writing/late-to-the-stack.html Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Picking up modern web development with a background in industrial engineering. https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/notes.html#2026-10-08-switched-to-web3forms https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/notes.html#2026-10-08-switched-to-web3forms Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Discovered that FormSubmit had been silently failing for two days. Switched to Web3Forms. It works, and the setup is a single API key. Lesson noted: third-party form services are a single point of failure, and the failure mode is silence. https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/writing/the-shift-handover.html https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/writing/the-shift-handover.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT A short piece about the most underrated fifteen minutes in any operational job. https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/writing/why-boring-tools-win.html https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/writing/why-boring-tools-win.html Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT The most valuable software in any organisation is usually the software nobody wants to talk about. https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/notes.html#2026-10-02-thinking-in-systems https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/notes.html#2026-10-02-thinking-in-systems Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Re-read Thinking in Systems. The chapter on delays keeps coming back to me -- most operational problems are feedback loops with a long lag, and the temptation is always to blame the wrong person. https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/notes.html#2026-09-28-cross-page-fades https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/notes.html#2026-09-28-cross-page-fades Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Added View Transitions to this site. Cross-page fades, no JavaScript framework. Small thing, disproportionate effect on how the site feels. https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/notes.html#2026-09-20-first-essay https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/notes.html#2026-09-20-first-essay Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Published the first essay on this site. Was nervous about putting writing out in public again. It was less scary than expected, and mostly because the piece felt true. https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/writing/the-cost-of-an-unchecked-detail.html https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/writing/the-cost-of-an-unchecked-detail.html Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why documentation, verification and calm are not soft skills -- they are the only reason complex systems stay alive. https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/notes.html#2026-09-12-slow-builds https://manuel-marques-portfolio.pages.dev/notes.html#2026-09-12-slow-builds Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Slow afternoon. Learned that the PowerShell script that generates this site builds all 30+ pages in under two seconds. There is something satisfying about that -- no bundler, no cache, no build server.