The Blog

Field notes and deeper field guides from ~30 real AI apps built by a non-coder — every post welded to something actually tried.

Each note follows the same honest arc: the learning → the new thing I tested (a hook, a model, an MCP server, a skill, a factory part) → the frustration that bit → what worked and what didn't. The hook is always welded to the proof.

HOOK · ENFORCE I wrote the rules down. It broke them anyway.A rule in a file is a wish — the thing that stops the mistake runs outside the AI. ✓ worked MODEL · REVIEW Three other AIs found the bug mine swore wasn't there.A model reviewing its own work brings its own blind spots to the inspection. ✓ worked AGENT · FACTORY The AI knew all ten steps. The bottleneck was me.Swarm the jobs that don't depend on each other; sequence the ones that do. ~ mixed MCP · CONNECT “Check my Notion.” It can't. It's in an empty room.A chat model has no hands until you plug tools in — MCP is the standard plug. ✓ worked SKILL “Pull the claims, dedupe, filter, format…” again.A procedure you re-type from memory is one you'll eventually get wrong. ✓ worked HOOK “I'll remember to check next time.” You won't.Good intentions don't run on a schedule. Hooks do. ✓ worked TOOL Copy out, paste back, repeat until it breaks.An AI that lives in your project beats a chat tab you shuttle files through. ✓ worked MEMORY “We use X. Never Y. Deploy like Z.” Again.Standing instructions belong on disk, not in your morning re-briefing. ✓ worked MEMORY · FACTORY “Which one is right?” Same fact, three files, three answers.Duplicate a fact for convenience and you've scheduled a future disagreement. ✓ worked TECH “I have a working script. I just need a URL.”Sometimes the right tool is the small one. Flask turns a script into an endpoint. ✓ worked

Longer build-alongs — the full architecture, every scar, and working code you can run tonight.

TELEGRAM · REMOTE Drive the factory from your phone.BotFather & how bots work · polling vs webhook · the bridge build · wiring it to your machine + the droplet · 3 real connections · every hardening scar · Codex & Tailscale remote control · a runnable telegram-bridge.js. read the guide → REVIEW · MODELS The bug your model swears isn't there.Why same-lineage self-review shares its own blind spots · a committee of robots that don't share a brain · the real scars (Gemini looping 40×, the flaky genius, presence≠structure) · a runnable cross-review.mjs for your next git diff. read the guide → PROMPT · PERSONA I built an AI that refuses to help you.Meet Wanda — the govt call-center worker who hangs up on you. Why a system prompt is a character bible, not a rulebook · the 5 moves that make her real · the sentinel-string trick · steal her whole prompt + a "build your own character" recipe. meet wanda → LLM · UI CARDS Describe a workout. Get a playable card.The pattern behind generative UIs: the model fills a schema, your trusted components render it — never writes UI code. 6 composable blocks · tool-use forces valid JSON · clone the working app (forge-oss, MIT). read the guide →