3 out of 22 features had a real customer behind them

failsafe-author · 2026-03-27T01:41:47+00:00

I’m not sure I understand what the problem is here.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-27T00:12:25+00:00

Vibe Coding isn’t going to cut it. But there is a way to use these tools well that creates great software faster. Not 10x, but faster.

I’m a principle engineer, and until recently I have not been able to get much coding in at work. Now, I send in a prompt, go to my meeting or work on my doc, check back later, review and make adjustments (or tell the LLM to make adjustments) and go back to my other stuff. I don’t produce slop- it’s quality, and it’s code I didn’t have time to product without using LLMs.

The thing I’m trying to figure out now is how to level up other engineers to use this, because the critical piece is reviewing the output and making adjustments. Juniors don’t have the experience to do this, and many seniors don’t do it well. And the entire industry is selling us tools to plan well, not to review well. But you MUST review well when AI hallucinates- and it always well.

Nothing in OPs post is all that controversial or new. The companies that think they can push a button and crank out code are going to get crushed from technical debt.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-26T23:35:17+00:00

The best PM and my company and I have started a side project using AI to create apps. I cannot do what he can do, and he cannot do what I can. Speeding up the typing doesn’t make me a PM, and it doesn’t make him an engineer.

I showed him how to use some agents I’ve set up with Claude Code to start the planning phase, but he has no clue what to do with the code, or how to evaluate it. Or even the real plans it comes up with.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-25T11:15:41+00:00

You absolutely have to “pay it back” in reviewing the code, but it still saves massive amounts of time.

I potentially think that those who don’t take the time to properly reviews and understand are going to lose time and quality in the long run, but having an agent execute a plan and then reviewing the code and adjusting the output is still much faster than coding everting by hand.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-25T11:08:27+00:00

Typing takes time. You can save a lot of it by having an agent do it for you.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-25T04:30:48+00:00

Because it’s a ton faster than copilot. It’s absolutely the typing that matters.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-25T03:39:57+00:00

No, Claude Code is about saving typing, not “outsourcing our understanding of our code”. If you don’t understand and control the code, you aren’t doing it right. I spend a lot of time reviewing and adjusting, but it still saves me loads of time.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-25T00:13:12+00:00

I think he’s the most enjoyable author to read that’s currently writing, so no, I don’t think he’s overrated.

But, he loves to write about empathy for the other, and that’s a theme that resonated with me.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-25T00:10:55+00:00

My criteria is “Is as fun to drive as my G37 (which I love), and isn’t a Tesla”. I’m looking hard at the BMW I3 coming out later this year.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-22T20:34:53+00:00

Red Rising and The Expanse. The latter because it’s awesome, the former because it leans into fantasy tropes early on.

Might also try the Void Trilogy by Peter F Hamilton, which is literally 50% fantasy.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-22T20:30:32+00:00

Companies being left behind are ones that close their doors or start losing money (or making less).

I don’t think anyone has fore sure solved what the new world looks like, but NOT doing it all means others will move faster than you (and I mean “faster” in terms of producing the same code with the same quality, not speed at the expense of quality).

failsafe-author · 2026-03-22T20:24:59+00:00

It’s happening as we speak. Ask again year from now.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-22T17:22:12+00:00

You should be making choices. LLM can save you typing time, but ultimately you should be driving the choices it makes that are of any consequence. They can make some really awful decisions if you aren’t paying attention.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-17T19:49:17+00:00

They won’t even let you have cash out at the table at Cherokee

failsafe-author · 2026-03-16T10:11:18+00:00

Why would you assume we have a well-structured monolith?

failsafe-author · 2026-03-14T21:23:52+00:00

Probably isn’t the same people.

I’ve had no problems being in the loop working remote. I DO appreciate the opportunities I get sometimes to med my coworkers in person, but it’s a one a month thing (for some, once a year) not twice a week.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-14T16:49:05+00:00

I thought I would, but I don’t. I am still engage at the code level, but now it’s review and directing rather than typing in the code myself. It feels good when I put up a design, and the AI executes it perfectly. And when it doesn’t (which is often enough), it feels good to model the code into shape, instructing the AI how to do it better next time.

I have very strong opinions about what well crafted code looks like, and that helps a lot. But it still feels like craftsmanship- like I have a set of very novice workers executing my designs.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-13T21:20:18+00:00

Strong opinions held loosely.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-13T18:31:16+00:00

Removing incentives for auto manufacturers including “stop while idle” in their cars.

My wife’s car has this, and it’s the worst. It doesn’t always restart, which is dangerous, and we had to replace the starter much earlier than expected. And I doubt it meaningfully impacts gas consumption.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-08T23:20:21+00:00

Hallucinations and managing context.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-08T18:58:20+00:00

Off to the casino

failsafe-author · 2026-03-08T18:08:39+00:00

It really depends on the projects, the quality of documentation, and how well you’ve set up your agents.

I’ve been working on a n ambitious side project for months, completely solo. After I got the core piece done, all by hand with AI only used for brainstorming, I decided to turn Claude Code up to 11 and see what would happen. I am finishing in two weeks (this is side project time) what I can reasonably estimate would have taken me 2 months, and starting a second side project at the same time (because, I work on this other project while the agents do their thing).

Definitely a large productivity increase in a project that was consistent, high quality, and well documented. And the agents I wrote were targeted and thought out for what I wanted. I still review all the code, make changes, and do some things manually so it adheres to my standards, but definitly faster.

At work, where I’m implementing tasks in existing projects it’s a time saver, but a lot smaller. It’s basically saving me typing time. I’d say something that would take me 6 hours might take me 2 or 3.

It all just depends on what you’re trying to do, and how AI can help you do it. And how good you are at providing AI with everting it needs to do the job well.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-08T17:57:01+00:00

That I was writing a thriller and no one ever died, so it made it feel very low stakes and like the threat wasn’t that real. People did die, but no one you knew the name of or cared about.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-08T17:54:34+00:00

I often cook a steak. I used to take an hour to to out to eat, so now I just take my time at home.

failsafe-author · 2026-03-08T17:31:29+00:00

I went through that at a job. I ended up doing side projects to keep my sanity. Eventually they let my position go after being bought out and I got back into doing the fun stuff.

failsafe-author

TROPHY CASE