diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c3ffd73..5a050db 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 # HMN Education Tree 2022
 
 ## Project Overview
-This is intended to be commited to incrementally, 
+This is intended to be commited to incrementally,
 stubs can/should be added to existing docs where applicable,
 ideas for future trees can be submitted as new .md
 
 ## Selected topics
 
-### [HTTP to Physical](http_to_phy.md)
+### [HTTP to Physical](articles/http_to_phy.md)
 
 How does a web request actually get from A to B?
 
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ TODO:
 - Better links to topics
 - Editing pass / blurb cleanup
 
-### [Compilers: How To Make a Programming Language](compilers.md)
+### [Compilers: How To Make a Programming Language](articles/compilers.md)
 
 How do I make a simple programming language?
 
@@ -24,16 +24,16 @@ TODO:
 
 ## Other topic ideas
 
-`asm.md`  
-WIP for "How do I understand what my computer is really doing at the bottom level?"  
-(Better question for this one? Should this be a subtopic instead?)  
-Needs:  
+`asm.md`
+WIP for "How do I understand what my computer is really doing at the bottom level?"
+(Better question for this one? Should this be a subtopic instead?)
+Needs:
 - Subtopics broken out
 - Header blurb
 
-`perf.md`  
-WIP for "How do I learn to write faster code?"  
-Needs:  
+`perf.md`
+WIP for "How do I learn to write faster code?"
+Needs:
 - Subtopics broken out
 - Header blurb
 
diff --git a/compilers.md b/articles/compilers.md
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rename to articles/compilers.md
diff --git a/http_to_phy.md b/articles/http_to_phy.md
similarity index 100%
rename from http_to_phy.md
rename to articles/http_to_phy.md
diff --git a/asm.md b/staging/asm.md
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rename from asm.md
rename to staging/asm.md
diff --git a/staging/compilers.md b/staging/compilers.md
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index 0000000..6d083c7
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+++ b/staging/compilers.md
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+# Compilers: How To Make a Programming Language
+
+Other compiler-related topics out of scope:
+- What are programs anyway (Forth, LISP)
+- Computation: Turing machines, lambda calculus
+- Compiler optimization
+- GC (motivated by LISP)
+
+aesthetics:
+- stay motivated; stick close to a c-like, imperative, procedural model because that's what people are used to
+
+motivation / goals / what questions are we trying to answer:
+- I want to be able to make a toy procedural language.
+    - like C, Algol, JS, Lua, etc.
+    - possible user motivations:
+        - I want to make a game scripting language
+        - I want to make a DSL for my job (and I want syntax highlighting!)
+- I want to do simple static analysis of my projects
+
+ok what do we want to cover
+- classical compiler structure (lexer -> parser -> codegen)
+- semantic analysis / type checking
+- modern compiler structures (IR / SSA, optimization)
+- interpreters vs. JITs vs. AOTs vs. "transpilers"
+- executables and linkers
+- regular expressions?
+- regular languages / grammars / language structure / automata
+
+the c compilation process
+- translation units
+- preprocessing -> (the whole compilation process) -> object files -> linking
+- c compilation model is not in favor any more, don't like compiling all these files separately
+- ABIs and FFI
+- should maybe be in separate article
+
+experts / consultants:
+- Bill
+- NeGate
+
+## The actual progression
+
+- Simple expression interpreter (parse and evaluate)
+- Classical compiler construction (lex -> parse -> output), semantic analysis / type checking
+    - motivation: complex structures! recursion! etc.
+    - many of these resources exist and cover different aspects of the process in different ways
+- Grammars and language structure
+- Types of output (interpreter vs. AOT vs. JIT, etc.)
+    - We can probably find resources on specific ones of these
+- Modern phases (IR / SSA)
+    - Mention WASM?
+- The terrors of the real world
+    - Executables, linkers, and debug info
+    - The C ABI and FFI
+    - Register allocation
+- C is not the only language
+    - LISP
+    - Forth
+    - This could be a whole topic maybe
+
+## Link dump
+
+- lua grammar: http://lua-users.org/wiki/LuaGrammar
+- pascal railroad diagrams: https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/novak/grammar.html
+- tons of links: https://github.com/aalhour/awesome-compilers
+- dragon book: http://ce.sharif.edu/courses/94-95/1/ce414-2/resources/root/Text%20Books/Compiler%20Design/Alfred%20V.%20Aho,%20Monica%20S.%20Lam,%20Ravi%20Sethi,%20Jeffrey%20D.%20Ullman-Compilers%20-%20Principles,%20Techniques,%20and%20Tools-Pearson_Addison%20Wesley%20(2006).pdf
+- expression parsing examples:
+    - pratt parsing and recursive descent: https://journal.stuffwithstuff.com/2011/03/19/pratt-parsers-expression-parsing-made-easy/
+    - dunno, not recursive descent: https://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/nelson/courses/csc_173/grammars/parsing.html
+- gary bernhardt's compiler from scratch: https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/screencasts/catalog/a-compiler-from-scratch
+- lambda calculus interpreter: https://justine.lol/lambda/
+
+
+
diff --git a/perf.md b/staging/perf.md
similarity index 100%
rename from perf.md
rename to staging/perf.md