The LLM Sandwich: Automating AI with Deterministic Tools
133
Improve AI reliability by surrounding non-deterministic LLMs with deterministic tools and allowing them to script their own automated workflows.
Software Architecture
System design philosophy, architectural trade-offs, and engineering principles around simplicity, complexity management, and technology selection.
Reading List
Postgres is Enough: Simplifying Your Stack by Avoiding Database Sprawl
104
PostgreSQL is versatile enough to serve as a unified data store for caching, search, and more, eliminating the need for complex multi-database stacks in most applications.
The Inversion of Ideas: Finding Human Value in the LLM Era
LLMs invert the relationship between thought and language, commoditizing execution and shifting human value toward consistency and architectural thinking.
The Sorcerer and the AI: Balancing Efficiency with Architectural Integrity
191
AI is a powerful assistant for debugging and testing, but it requires expert human oversight to prevent architectural decay and technical debt.
The Coming Loop: From Deterministic Code to AI-Managed Organisms
425
Software development is evolving into a system of autonomous AI loops, trading human comprehension for machine-driven speed and necessity.
Beyond Instances: How atproto Decouples Data from Apps
532
atproto decentralizes social media by separating data hosting from application aggregation, moving away from the bundled instance model used by platforms like Mastodon.
A Guide to Using Well-Known URIs Effectively
141
Well-known URIs should be reserved for efficient site-wide discovery when providing a full URL is not an option.
From Code Pets to Code Cattle: Why AI Demands More Engineering Rigor
421
AI makes code disposable, requiring engineers to shift their rigor from manual coding to architectural intent and production validation.
VoiceDraw: AI-Powered Real-Time Architecture Diagramming
VoiceDraw is an AI application that converts spoken ideas into real-time architecture diagrams.
Harness Engineering: Building Software with Zero Manual Code
296
Software engineering is evolving from a manual craft of writing code into a system of 'harness engineering' where humans design the environments and constraints for AI agents to execute development.
Simplifying Durable Workflows with Postgres-Native Orchestration
349
Postgres can replace complex external orchestrators to provide a simpler, more efficient, and SQL-queryable foundation for durable workflows.
AI is a Multiplier, Not a Replacement
337
AI is a skill multiplier that rewards deep technical expertise rather than a replacement for professional developers.
The Myth of the Vibecoded Photoshop
274
The 'vibecoding' panic is a myth used to gatekeep the industry, as AI only automates syntax while architectural judgment remains the true barrier to entry.
Speed vs. Scale: Why Senior Developers are the Editors of the AI Era
825
Senior developers should act as editors who balance AI-driven speed with long-term stability by decoupling experimental prototypes from scalable production code.
The Limits of Vibe-Coding: Why AI Needs Human Architecture
1035
AI-driven development provides high initial velocity but leads to architectural collapse unless humans strictly define the structural guardrails and state ownership.
Code Over Prose: The Case for Deterministic AI Agents
590
Reliable AI agents require deterministic software architectures and programmatic verification rather than complex prompt engineering.
Stop Blaming AI for Your Bad Architecture
545
AI is a tool that requires human accountability and robust safeguards, not a scapegoat for poor architectural decisions.
Force Multiplier: Building Syntaqlite with AI and Human Design
946
AI is a revolutionary tool for accelerating software implementation, but it requires disciplined human architectural oversight to avoid creating unmaintainable technical debt.
The AI Coding Manifesto: Building Scalable Codebases
169
To prevent AI-driven codebase degradation, developers must use minimal semantic functions, clear pragmatic wrappers, and models that strictly enforce state correctness.
The Architect's Era: Building Software Through LLM Orchestration
541
Modern software development is shifting from manual coding to human-led AI orchestration, where the human acts as an architect rather than a syntax writer.
From Coder to AI System Architect
223
AI is transforming software engineering into a high-level discipline of system architecture and agent orchestration, where foundational expertise is the key to unlocking massive productivity.
Claude Code’s Opinionated Tech Stack: DIY Over Buy
611
Claude Code favors a modern, developer-centric tech stack that prioritizes custom DIY solutions and specialized platforms over legacy enterprise tools and traditional cloud providers.
Stop Database Sprawl: Postgres Now Does It All
532
Stop database sprawl—Postgres (with extensions) now does almost everything well enough in one place.
Company as Code: A DSL and Graph to Run Organizations Programmatically
264
Treat the organization itself as code—modeled in a versioned, queryable graph with a DSL—to automate compliance, analyze impact, and manage change.
Pi: A Tiny, Self-Extending Agent That Builds Its Own Tools
Keep the agent tiny, let it write and hot-reload its own tools, and you get a robust foundation for software that builds software—Pi, and by extension OpenClaw.
How Software Survives When AI Writes It All
In an AI-first world, software survives if it saves tokens: embed dense insights or run on cheaper substrates, be broadly useful, known, and low-friction—and use human value when it helps.
AI Agents Make Best Practices Non‑Optional
302
AI agents make software best practices non‑optional: enforce tests, types, structure, and fast isolated environments so agents can reliably deliver correct code.
A Web Server With No App Code: LLM + 3 Tools
436
Today’s LLMs can run your app logic end‑to‑end, but they’re still too slow, costly, and inconsistent—problems the author believes will shrink with time.
Terraform State Is a Graph, Not a File
136
Stop treating Terraform state like a file—manage it as a graph with ACID transactions to unlock safe concurrency and faster operations.
Disciplined AI Collaboration: Plan, Measure, and Ship in Small, Reliable Modules
Constrain AI with small, testable modules and continuous measurement to turn planning into reliable, data-driven delivery.