Derex.dev

I'm @drogo, a software engineer, who dabbles in the secrets of writing.

This site is where I publish blogs and articles. The section that's most updated most often is atoms, small multimedia particles reminiscent of a Twitter feed. I update my now page monthly according to what I'm working on and thinking about. I publish a newsletter as often as I can.

Once in a while, I write longer form articles on technical subjects like APIs, Go, or Postgres:

  • Sell Your Self
    Mar 18, 2025

    I used to believe that good work speaks for itself. That if I just focused on building great things, recognition would follow. But i was wrong.

  • Celebrating Codenight's Impact
    Feb 25, 2025

    When Codenight started, it was just late-night code sessions among friends. Now, it’s a movement of 9,000 developers shaping Ethiopia’s tech scene. Standing before 300 developers at Developer Meetup V3, I realized—this isn’t just about code. It’s about building something bigger.

  • The Unfiltered Self
    Jan 2, 2025

    I used to think writing was just a tool—something meant to be structured, polished, and purposeful. But then I saw a man in a coffee shop, furiously filling page after page in a worn notebook. No structure, no audience just raw, unfiltered thoughts.

I publish a newsletter about the Codenight community on Substack:

I put short stream of consciousness thoughts into tiny posts called fragments:

  • When Values Are Sold for Dreams
    May 4, 2025

    On Worshipping the West and Losing Ourselves

  • The Strength to Not Take Sides
    Apr 13, 2025

    Most people think strength is about standing your ground. But what if real strength is refusing to take a side even when it’s your own?

  • Thinking About File Storage
    Apr 12, 2025

    Notes on Rebuilding Laravel’s Storage System in TypeScript (Week 2). The way you present content changes the way it’s perceived.