Hey, I’m Michael

I’m the VP of Technology and Security for a mail-order pharmacy. I write about the part of software nobody livestreams: running the team.

▓ THE DOCKET · 4 released · 3 under seal next unseal in 11 mo

No, Qwen 27B Isn't Enough

A Hacker News thread said a 27 billion parameter model is all you need for real coding work. I’ve run that model against real codebases. It isn’t, and here’s the math on why.

July 1, 2026 · Recorded July 1, 2026 · 6 min · Michael Barajas

What's Your Blast Radius?

The best definition of pay I ever heard came from a Riot Games VP. It also explains why doing the senior job well quietly caps your own salary, and what to do about it in your next review.

March 21, 2026 · Recorded March 8, 2026 · 6 min · Michael Barajas

Your First 90 Days Running Technology

The job stopped being ‘fix it’ the day you took the title. Here’s how I spend the first three months running a technology org without torching my credibility in week one.

January 14, 2026 · Recorded January 4, 2026 · 9 min · Michael Barajas

Everything Rolls Downhill to IT

Somebody always has an idea that turns into your team’s problem. Here’s how I make them prove it’s worth doing before a single line gets written.

January 12, 2026 · Recorded December 27, 2025 · 5 min · Michael Barajas