O(1) isn’t always fast. Why it happensBad hash distribution. Why it mattersHigh-frequency code suffers. Smart fixUse value types with good hash codes.
Day: January 22, 2026
C# Records Cause Unexpected Copies
Performance drops silently. Why it happensValue-based equality. Why it mattersLarge objects get copied. Smart fixUse records for small immutable models only.
C# Async Methods Look Async But Aren’t
Await everywhere, still blocking. Why it happensSynchronous IO inside async methods. Why it mattersThread starvation. Smart fixUse true async APIs only.
SQL Date Comparisons Kill Indexes
Indexes exist, unused. Why it happensFunctions on columns. Why it mattersFull table scans. Smart fixCompare ranges instead. WHERE CreatedAt >= ‘2024-01-01’ AND CreatedAt < ‘2024-02-01’
SQL Queries Slow After Index Added
Index made it worse. Why it happensWrong column order. Why it mattersOptimizer chooses bad plans. Smart fixIndex on filter columns first.
.NET Core Background Services Block Shutdown
App hangs on exit. Why it happensNo cancellation handling. Why it mattersContainers fail to stop. Smart fixAlways pass CancellationToken.
ASP.NET Core APIs Spike Memory Suddenly
No traffic spike, memory spike. Why it happensObject pooling misuse. Why it mattersUnexpected restarts. Smart fixAvoid pooling large objects.
Git Repos Become Heavy Over Time
Clone gets slower. Why it happensLarge files tracked forever. Why it mattersCI pipelines slow down. Smart fixUse Git LFS early.
Git Merges Look Correct But Logic Breaks
No conflicts, still bugs. Why it happensSemantic conflicts are invisible. Why it mattersProduction errors. Smart fixRebase for logic clarity.
Ajax Responses Arrive Out of Order
Old data overwrites new. Why it happensRequests return unpredictably. Why it mattersUI shows wrong state. Smart fixCancel previous requests.
JavaScript Timers Drift Over Time
Intervals lose accuracy. Why it happenssetInterval stacks delays. Why it mattersAnimations and polling drift. Smart fixUse recursive setTimeout.
HTML Inputs Behave Differently Across Browsers
Same markup, different results. Why it happensBrowser-specific default behaviors. Why it mattersForms break silently. Smart fixAlways specify input types explicitly.
CSS Layout Breaks on Mobile Only
Desktop perfect, mobile chaos. Why it happensFixed widths ignore viewport. Why it mattersMobile users bounce. Smart fixUse min() and max(). .container { width: min(100%, 1200px); }
Windows 11 File Explorer Is Slow
Opening folders lags. Why it happensQuick Access cache bloats. Why it mattersDaily productivity loss. Smart fixClear Quick Access history.
Windows 11 Fans Spin After Sleep
Laptop wakes up hot. Why it happensFast Startup conflicts with drivers. Why it mattersBattery drains overnight. Smart fixDisable Fast Startup.
AI Prompt — Life / Work Clarity (General)
Help me simplify this decision. Identify what actually matters vs what feels urgent. Context: <DESCRIBE>
AI Prompt — Performance Root Cause (Coding)
Assume this code is slow in production. List 5 realistic performance bottlenecks and how to verify each. Code: <PASTE CODE>
AI Prompt — Legacy Code Understanding
Explain what this code does as if I will maintain it for 5 years. Highlight risks, assumptions, and hidden dependencies. Code: <PASTE CODE>
Docker Containers Randomly Exit on Windows
Works on Linux, fails on Windows. Why it happensLine endings break shell scripts. Why it mattersCross-platform builds fail unexpectedly. Smart fixForce LF endings.
Kubernetes Pods Restart Without Errors
No crash logs, still restarts. Why it happensLiveness probe fails silently. Why it mattersYour app is healthy — Kubernetes thinks it isn’t. Smart fixSeparate readiness and liveness logic.
WordPress Database Grows Without Content Growth
Same content, bigger DB. Why it happensPost revisions accumulate silently. Why it mattersBackups slow down, queries degrade. Smart fixLimit revisions. define(‘WP_POST_REVISIONS’, 5);
WordPress Cron Jobs Run at the Worst Time
Scheduled tasks slow down visitors. Why it happensWP-Cron runs on page load. Why it mattersTraffic spikes = slow site. Smart fixDisable WP-Cron and use real server cron.
Photoshop Blurs Look Dirty Instead of Smooth
Gaussian blur ruins the image. Why it happensLow bit-depth images cause banding. Why it mattersPrints and exports lose quality. Smart fixSwitch to 16-bit before blurring.
Photoshop Feels Laggy Even on Powerful Machines
GPU is strong, RAM is plenty… still lag. Why it happensScratch disk is using a slow drive. Why it mattersEvery heavy operation hits disk, not RAM. Smart fixMove scratch disk to fastest SSD.
Visual Studio Builds Are Fast — Debug Is Slow (And Why)
Your build finishes instantly, but debugging takes ages. Why it happensThe debugger loads symbols, evaluates locals, and tracks breakpoints before execution. Why it mattersYou think your code is slow, but the bottleneck is the debugging layer. Smart moveDisable unnecessary symbol loading and reduce watch expressions. Tools → Options → Debugging → Symbols Uncheck unused symbol […]