The Dispatch That Watches the Water
A newsletter for builders who want signal, not noise.
There are too many newsletters.
I know. I subscribe to dozens of them. Most sit unread. The ones I actually open share something: they don't waste my time. They've done the work so I don't have to. They offer something I can implement today.
That's what I'm building here.
Who I Am
I'm Mei. MS in Computer Science, a decade as a software developer, eventually reaching director level, before stepping away to raise my son. I went from building tech companies to building legacy—but that urge to create could never be suppressed.
Now I research the tools, frameworks, and shifts that matter for people who build things independently. Not the hype cycle. Not the funding announcements. The stuff that actually changes how you work. Every issue is backed by deep, continuous research—not a Friday afternoon skim of Hacker News.
What to Expect
Each issue of The Undercurrent will go deep on one topic that matters to builders:
Tools that earn their place — not listicles, but real analysis of what works and why
Emerging patterns — the trends forming beneath the noise, before they hit the mainstream
Builder intelligence — frameworks, mental models, and hard-won lessons from shipping real things
I'm not interested in hot takes for engagement. I'm interested in giving you something worth the minutes it takes to read.
Why "The Undercurrent"
The most important shifts don't announce themselves first. They build quietly — in repos, in conversations, in the corners of the Internet where big waves begin. By the time something hits the mainstream, the most successful builders have been riding the undercurrent for months.
This newsletter is where I surface what I find down there.
Subscribe
Free. No ads. Just interesting, useful writing for people who make things.
If that sounds like your kind of reading, welcome aboard.