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Future of AI is not public
If all you can do is to refresh the Status Page, then you are not in control. Relying on public AI SaaS providers is not a long term future play. You have to take control if AI is integrated to everything you do.
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[Review] PostgreSQL Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
If you are running PostgreSQL in production at any sort of scale, then you need this book on your shelf, as it will lift the lid on some of the things that will make your database sing.
![[Review] PostgreSQL Mistakes and How to Avoid Them](https://alan.is/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/mycousinvinny-small.png?w=643)
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Five Nights of Vibe Coding: A Game Experiment
I built a game with Claude using vibe coding. The game works and is fun, but I feel no pride of ownership. Is the game my creation, Claude’s, or the millions of developers to which Opus learned to code from? The whole experience has left me feeling rather flat.
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“Well pick it back up”
Monitoring systems for failure is more art than science, with many systems firing off way too many false positives. Getting your arms around this is not easy, but we all need our “fall detection necklace”
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Vibe-factoring Java with Claude
Writing and refactoring code with Claude AI agents, on the whole was a fantastic usage of AI in software development. Was not completely without hurdles but the code was better for it.
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Planning for the inevitable end
Software maturity requires planning for the inevitable death of your users. You must implement marketing kill switches, clear data retention policies, and account delegation. Stop annoying grieving families by automating bereavement reporting and protecting user namespaces. Building these mechanisms proves your organization handles every user stage with the respect deserved.
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The Shiny Object Trap: Don’t forego the basics
Software quality declines as leaders chase shiny features while ignoring basic reliability. Outlook fails at calendar imports. PowerPoint uses ancient tools. This complexity creates security risks. You must audit your core tasks and fix friction first. Do not add new code until the fundamentals work every time. Reliability is everything.
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Reclaiming Focus: The Lost Art of Downtime
Modern software builds traded the forced tea time of Borland Turbo C for complex YAML pipelines and noisy distributed failures. To avoid burnout and logic errors, you must reclaim your time to think. Build a fake commute, step away from the screen, and go make a proper cup of tea.
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The Silent Decay to Legacy
Software does not age, but the world around it does. Digital systems become legacy when knowledge is lost and environments shift. To avoid the “stagnant” phase, engineering teams must dedicate 30% of their effort to maintenance. Investing in health today is the only way to prevent a museum tomorrow.
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The Hidden “If” in Everything
Our lives are governed by the humble “if” statement. From stubborn car updates to the inner workings of AI, these two letters dictate our reality. Software logic often lacks empathy. We must surface these buried rules and ensure product managers, not developers, define the conditions that govern our daily lives.
the leg-end that is, Alan Williamson.
For over 20 years, I’ve shared my thoughts whenever the muse strikes. It’s unpredictable, honest, unedited, and occasionally witty. I’m living the best years of my life, working harder than ever, and enjoying every second.
Alan Williamson 