"Clever" is a bad word
“Clever” applied to designs or code is a bad word. Compliments include: “simple” or “dumb”.
If you're not screaming, then no one can hear you scream
When in pain, say something. Unsurfaced pain is invisible. Invisible pain is never prioritized.
The one true way to optimize software
Instrument. Find hot spots. Eliminate. Repeat.
Evolvable serialized filters
An evolvable way of serializing arbitrary filters, here as JSON, but broadly applicable.