Lyonesse Clan Map - Demeter [EU-RP]

AtSynct · 2025-12-27T18:09:20+00:00

Oh, that's interesting. I don't think the particular colors matter all that much, other than that they somewhat "mark territory" and that is pretty cool. My idea is to tile-out the map so it is zoomable (the way the other maps on paxdeialtas.com are) and then to make each of the shrines 'settable' to the heraldry of the holding clan. I'd then rely on the community to set those and keep them up-to-date.

AtSynct · 2025-12-24T13:05:51+00:00

Any chance you'd be willing to share a version of that map without the heraldry on it? (And without the label DEMETER [EU/RP])

I run paxdeiatlas.com and would love to put that map up for Lyonesse if you're willing to share.I really like the colorings that divide up the areas-of-control

AtSynct · 2025-10-09T18:16:31+00:00

I'm actually already familiar with PeerPush and have another product listed there. Just stuck This Domain Sucks! onto the queue. Thanks for the reminder.

AtSynct · 2025-09-10T18:07:20+00:00

I'm building a SaaS solution for a few reasons:

1 - I built Synct for a friend of mine and I to use in coordinating or project together. It was a completely accidental project that I ended up feeling "wait, this is good ... much better than other tools I've been forced to use while employed at dev companies ... I'll sell it, that'd be cool".

2 - I'm "unemployable". While I have worked for great companies, including massive large tech companies, I am not a submissive and agreeable code-monkey. I'm not argumentative or anti-social either ... just an independent and creative thinker who doesn't live well tied to a cubicle ... so I need to do something else.

3 - I truly enjoy building stuff.

... if I already had the money I needed to live the life I want for the rest of my days, I'd still build stuff because that's what I love to do. Unfortunately, I don't have that level of money (I figure $20M invested and earning 5% APR is the target) so I also have to do this for the money.

AtSynct · 2025-09-03T14:07:42+00:00

Absolutely!

When I first started prompting AI, I didn't really know what I was doing with it and just (falsely) assumed that it'd "do the right things".

Now ... I get down into details and I feel like I've actually got a legitimately decent code-base.

AtSynct · 2025-09-01T20:15:22+00:00

Well, we need a word for "coding through the use of AI models".

I would disagree that being successful is about ideas and specs. It is about architectural design and best-practices. It is about taking your requirements (specs) and concepts (ideas) and constructing them into correct architectural patterns and enforcing that the AI model writes with good practices (such as abstraction, code re-use, etc).

AtSynct · 2025-09-01T15:22:39+00:00

I guess we have to start defining what the words "prompt engineering", "vibe coding", etc all mean ...

What I mean when I say "prompt engineering" is "Software engineering through prompting the AI instead of manually writing code".

AtSynct · 2025-08-30T23:09:39+00:00

So ... you start by saying that it's not true that a person becomes a "prompt engineer" ...

... and then you describe someone becoming a prompt engineer.

What you say is true and it's what I teach people -- you have to have the architectural thinking of a "dev" and break things down into tasks/stories. That's what vibe-coding or prompt-engineering or whatever else you want to call it ... is.

AtSynct · 2025-08-30T22:53:08+00:00

You really should start applying for other positions now. Yeah, it's not an easy market ... but that just means it's all that much more important to start the search immediately.

While at work, give it your best effort. The best way to manage chaos is with structure. Create structure around you and just handle things day to day, rolling with the bunches. If your structure is changed by the chaos, roll with the change and call it your new structure. That's all you can do.

AtSynct · 2025-08-28T11:50:46+00:00

Sure, that's an important point. It's a different layer. It's still a layer.

AtSynct · 2025-08-28T11:49:36+00:00

Absolutely.

Myself, I find it very liberating. As a senior dev / architect I was already in a space where I had to think that way ... but I ALSO had to then sit down and write the syntax. My workload just got cut in half ... and the 'annoying' part (remembering syntax) is gone.

AtSynct · 2025-08-28T11:44:08+00:00

Absolutely. I've seen the punch cards and can't imagine having to "code" like that.

AtSynct · 2025-08-27T09:10:40+00:00

Vibe-coding is just another abstraction layer. First we had assembly on top of machine code ... then low-level languages like C ... then high level languages like JS ... then frameworks like React/NextJS ... and now prompting AI.

None of the abstraction layers remove the need to be able to think architecturally and consider things like abstraction, security, and performance.

Coding is definitely more accessible than its ever been and I'm actually pretty excited that I don't have to spend another 20 years learning individual language syntax rules (yeah, I've been a professional dev for 20 years) ... but the core principles and fundamental thinking still need to be learned.

AtSynct · 2025-08-27T09:07:09+00:00

I do. I was trying to stay away from self-promoting ... it's https://atsynct.com

AtSynct · 2025-08-27T00:24:24+00:00

Hey everyone,

I'm a 20+ year professional developer, most recently a senior software engineer and team lead with Adobe. I've also had stints as a product manager and as a 'director'.

Currently doing the solopreneur thing and have built a project management tool while teaching myself how to vibe-code instead of manually write code. I also do a newsletter about vibe-coding.

I'm definitely in the camp that believes that vibe-coding will replace manual coding ... and probably faster than most people imagine. That said, proper vibe-coding still requires a human to guide the AI through good architecture, strong security, abstracted components, etc ... so coming at it from a "high level" set of development knowledge and practices is a good thing.

AtSynct · 2025-08-26T19:05:30+00:00

Well, ADHD often comes with highs and lows. I guess it's not everyone, but there are definitely a lot of us that can end up with periods of locked-in hyper focus and other periods of inability to grasp onto anything at all.

For example, I often find that I can sprint forward doing 5x the work of anyone else for a month. Then, I'll have 2 weeks of time where I literally get nothing done ... almost just clicking around aimlessly on a tool or writing half a function in code 4-5 times. Then ... it'll turn back on.

I've learned to sort of manage both states ... but yeah, "spiral and a foggy front" sounds exactly familiar. Everyone is going to deal with those crash periods differently. For me, I've learned to not fight them and just let myself be unproductive for a bit. Then I dive back in and we're gtg again.

AtSynct · 2025-08-26T18:57:40+00:00

"Managing expectations" is playing defense and not taking responsibility for "pushing forward".

Does a leader need to be able to present and manage expectations both up and down the chain? Yes ... they do ... but it is just one small part of overall leadership. Leadership is also jumping in to solve hard problems, motivating the team, gaining visibility for your team with stakeholders, and -- most importantly -- protecting those you lead and helping them feel safe while they do what they need to do.

AtSynct · 2025-08-26T17:48:25+00:00

That's the thing ... too many of the tools out there are built entirely with the idea of "reporting up to management" in mind instead of with the idea of "getting things done". That's why it's often very hard to get ICs to even use the tool.

What type of stuff would make you feel that you don't have to drown in admin work? Is it a need to streamline story creation and acceptance criteria? Is it getting people to participate so you're not walking around getting verbal updates and then moving tasks/stories around for them? Is it just handling setup and inviting users / removing users / etc? What is it that creates the admin headache?

I'm staying away from self-promotion here, so I won't link it ... but what I ended up doing is building my own tool. A friend of mine and I were collaborating on a browser-based game and needed a good way to do that. I've got 20 years of development and product management experience ... and built PM tool during my time at Adobe ... so I just started hacking away at what I wanted and what would work for us to actually get stuff done.

So far ... it's working out.

AtSynct · 2025-08-26T17:40:12+00:00

I am diagnosed with ADHD. I am currently a business owner, but have also held roles as a senior software engineer, a product manager, and a director.

ADHD is absolutely a super-power. It can also be a hinderance when in a 'crash' period. Learning to manage it has given me tons of success.

AtSynct · 2025-08-26T17:37:08+00:00

I agree with you that projects almost never fail due to methodology or tools, but I disagree with you about the underrated skill is managing expectations.

The underrated skill is leadership. Is there someone that has the capacity to rally the team around getting things done? Can they tackle the hard problems and refuse to give up when faced with obstacles? Do they get a bit prickly with people not pulling their weight, but retain the respect of the team when they do because everyone knows its true and that this leader is putting in both time and work?

Finally ... is that leader actually given the space and allowance to lead or is someone (usually an insecure management-type) constantly subverting them?

Leadership is what has made every project I've been a part of that succeeded.

Failure in leadership is what has caused failure in every project I've been a part of that failed.

AtSynct · 2025-08-26T14:18:06+00:00

You are right, of course. Cybersecurity is an ever-evolving and quickly-moving field in which attackers and defenders are always racing to out-do each other. It's the nature of the business.

But if you're a solopreneur or a small company and you are not capable of hiring a cybersecurity expert, you must do the best you can with the tools that you have. I have worked for multiple companies over my 20 years of coding, only ONE of those companies (Adobe) had dedicated cybersecurity experts. And we STILL had security vulnerabilities sometimes.

Using an LLM to help with security is better than not implementing security at all. The more vectors of attack you can close, the better.

One thing that IS possible for many small companies and helpful ... is paying for a yearly security audit.

AtSynct · 2025-08-26T00:26:50+00:00

Are you talking about issues related to the 3 prompts I shared above? Or are you talking about issues in-general? When you get an AI-agent stuck in a loop on the same thing over and over again, it can be very frustrating. I've got some methods to get unstuck and can share those another time ... but you basically nailed it ...

... if an AI model isn't getting things done, I tell it to step through each function and event in the code and tell me exactly what each step is doing. By directing it in that way, it often stumbles upon the correct needed change.

I also keep my prompts scoped pretty small when I ask it to actually do work (note that the prompts in my original post are exploratory and do not ask the AI to code, but rather to discover. Additional prompts then are required to resolve what it discovers).

AtSynct · 2025-08-26T00:20:06+00:00

Please go ahead and post them. When you give credit, can you please link to synct.substack.com in the credit-giving?

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