Hi there đź‘‹

I’m Mike, a DevOps engineer by day and baseball player by night (well, mostly weekends). When I’m not wrangling Kubernetes clusters, you’ll find me playing first base for the Zurich Barracudas. This blog is where I write about the things I’m building, breaking, and learning—expect a mix of tech deep-dives, project updates, and the occasional baseball story.

The Good Old Days

Calling something “the good old days” as someone who has barely made it out of his teens is a bit weird, but here I am doing it anyway. After stumbling over yet another AI video, I started feeling a bit sick. Shoutout to ThePrimeagen at this point, his content is great and partially the reason I’m writing this post in the first place. ...

May 16, 2026 Â· 2 min Â· 364 words Â· Mike Ditton

What Watches mean to me

Wrist watches are a complicated and weird thing to grasp for a non-watch person. Questions I’ve heard include: Why would anyone own a bunch of watches? Why would anyone spend more than 50 bucks on a watch? Why would I even want to own a watch when I can just check the time on my phone? These are very valid points, and for most of them there is an objective answer. No one needs more than one wrist watch. No one should spend more than 50 bucks on a watch. The only point I would disagree on is: everyone should own a watch. A watch is a simple instrument that solves a single purpose—it tells you the time. You have no notifications, no distractions. You always know what time it is, and it helps you be mindful of how you spend your time. ...

December 20, 2025 Â· 4 min Â· 803 words Â· Mike Ditton

How I use AI as a Junior Engineer

In August 2025, I started a new position as a junior DevOps engineer. This was my first “real” job after completing my apprenticeship. Having specialized in platform engineering, I had only briefly touched on software engineering. I learned the basics of object-oriented programming and could write simple hello world applications, but that was about it. I knew my new position would primarily involve writing code, which was largely new territory for me. So how does AI come into play here? ...

September 28, 2025 Â· 4 min Â· 832 words Â· Mike Ditton

My EDC as a Digital Minimalist

It’s been about four months since I embarked on my journey into digital minimalism, and I thought it was time to share some reflections and highlight the essential everyday carry (EDC) items that have become staples in my life. But first, let’s start by clarifying what digital minimalism truly means. According to Cal Newport, it’s described as: Digital minimalism is a philosophy that helps you question what digital communication tools (and behaviors surrounding these tools) add the most value to your life. It is motivated by the belief that intentionally and aggressively clearing away low-value digital noise, and optimizing your use of the tools that really matter, can significantly improve your life.* ...

December 5, 2024 Â· 3 min Â· 430 words Â· Mike Ditton

Becoming a Digital Minimalist

Digital minimalism was never something I was aware of. When I was younger, I always wanted to have the latest devices. I used to spend close to 9 hours a day on my phone, mostly TikTok, of course. One day I stumbled upon a video from a YouTuber called “Reysu” about how to properly set up a journaling notebook. I was immediately intrigued and wanted to give journaling a shot. Being the nerd I am, I started researching pens and eventually found the “LAMY Safari” fountain pen. After falling into the pen rabbit hole and getting a Kuru Toga mechanical pencil, I began my journaling journey. ...

September 3, 2024 Â· 5 min Â· 902 words Â· Mike Ditton