Field Notes
My engineering notebook. Discoveries, observations, failures, and ideas I've been pondering.
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Voice-Driven Development: Speaking to Machines
Why I use AI-powered voice dictation to communicate with AI agents, and what the future of human-machine interaction might look like.
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My Approach to Software Engineering with AI in 2026
I outline my approach to AI-enhanced software engineering in 2026, informed by 30 years of experience and a couple of years deliberately leaning into AI as a core part of how I work.
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Git Worktrees Explained
How Git worktrees work, how they differ from multiple clones, and how Claude Code uses them for parallel agent work.
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Core Engineering Principles for AI-Augmented Workflows
Traditional engineering practices don't become obsolete when AI handles implementation. They become essential infrastructure. The engineer's role is to focus on defining what success looks like and less about inspecting how it was achieved.
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GSAP ScrollTrigger Gotchas with Astro
Z-index traps and canvas layering lessons from building scroll-driven animations in Astro.
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My Principles for Leading AI-Assisted Development
Principles I'm following to maintain ownership, judgement, and good software engineering whilst using AI to handle execution.
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Autonomous AI Development: Outsourcing Authorship, Not Ownership
A practical workflow for freeing AI agents to handle more code generation autonomously, whilst retaining ownership of quality and direction.
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Connection is Everything: A Message from GOTO Copenhagen
Synthesising talks from GOTO Copenhagen 2025, from customer connection to Kent Beck's Forest and Desert metaphor, and what it means for how we build software.
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A Sea of Sameness: Diversity in Tech
Reflections on the visible homogeneity at GOTO Copenhagen 2025, and what we lose when the people building the future are all the same.
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What Makes Humans Valuable When AI Handles Execution
When code production becomes cheap, human value shifts to judgement, trust, and imagination. Jevons' paradox suggests demand for software will only grow.
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Staying Sharp in the Age of AI
The tension between leveraging AI for speed and maintaining the technical instincts that make that leverage possible.
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Observability Beyond Three Pillars
Why observability is more than logs, metrics, and traces. Wide events, the fourth quadrant of unknown unknowns, and full SDLC observability.
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Security as a Design Decision: What OWASP Offers Beyond the Top 10
Most developers know the OWASP Top 10, but the project offers far more: maturity models, threat modelling tools, AI security resources, and a philosophy of baking security in rather than sprinkling it on top.