[SYS.BLOG]
Blog.
Thoughts on AI agents, software architecture, and building products.
July 15, 2026
OpenAI Codex Micro Alternatives (2026)
OpenAI's $230 Codex Micro is a Work Louder macropad with a keyset tax. A $100 Stream Deck Neo or a $60 VIA macropad replaces it for Codex and Claude Code.
July 9, 2026
What Are Text Embeddings? Visual Guide (2026)
Type sentences, watch them cluster by meaning. Here's what text embeddings actually are, with the real cosine-similarity numbers I measured building it.
July 9, 2026
Claude Code Session Files: JSONL Format (2026)
Every Claude Code session is stored as a JSONL file on disk. Here's how the format works, the token-counting gotcha it hides, and a free tool that parses it.
May 4, 2026
Codex /goal: How to Enable and Use It (2026)
Codex /goal turns the Codex CLI into an autonomous agent that runs for hours on one mission. Enable it with codex features enable goals, then meta-prompt it.
April 14, 2026
Best Free Claude Code Alternatives (2026)
Codex runs free on ChatGPT, OpenCode is open source, and Oh My Pi feels like Claude Code. My honest picks after Anthropic nerfed Opus and cut rate limits.
April 14, 2026
Hermes Agent: Best OpenClaw Alternative (2026)
OpenClaw is buggy and insecure. Hermes Agent is the self-hosted AI agent I switched to: it codes, emails, and schedules over Telegram without the holes.
February 21, 2026
Claude Code vs Codex vs Cursor (2026)
Codex vs Cursor vs Claude Code from a daily user. Comparison table, best-for picks, pricing, and when to use each AI coding tool in 2026.
February 18, 2026
Gemini Nano Banana MCP Server (2026)
An open-source MCP server that brings Gemini Nano Banana image generation to Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP IDE. Custom aspect ratios up to 4K, no square limit.
February 18, 2026
Open Source YouTube MCP Server for AI Agents
An open-source MCP server that lets Claude analyze YouTube videos with Gemini: summaries, Q&A, transcripts, and frame extraction, no downloading required.
October 21, 2025
Claude Sonnet 4.5 Built a Cyberpunk Shooter
I pitted Claude Sonnet 4.5 against GPT-5 Codex High to build a game from scratch. Sonnet won on visuals and worked first try. Play Neon Streets: 2084 in the browser.
October 20, 2025
Cursor for Non-Technical Founders (2026)
How non-technical founders use Cursor to ship real software. A hands-on workshop on AI prompts, local testing, Git, and Vercel deploys, no prior coding required.
August 21, 2025
Aphasia Coach: AI Speech Recovery App
After a family member's aphasia, I built an open-source AI speech therapy app. Personalized exercises, spaced repetition, and voice-first practice, free to use.
July 21, 2025
Architecture in the Age of AI Agents
How to structure your codebase so AI coding agents don't create tech debt disasters. Includes a complete architecture template for agent-driven development.
June 6, 2025
Structuring Projects and Repos for AI Agents
Best practices for setting up projects so autonomous AI agents can work on them effectively and safely. Covers PRDs, repo guidelines, testing, and CI/CD.
May 6, 2025
Why I Built NeuroNav: Productivity for ADHD
NeuroNav is an ADHD-friendly assistant with AI focus mode, voice capture, and task chunking. Why I built it and how it fits how ADHD brains actually work.
April 21, 2025
SysDesignLab: Learn System Design Hands-On
SysDesignLab teaches system design hands-on: a drag-and-drop sandbox, guided tutorials, and a scenario simulator to stress-test your architectures. Free to start.
April 8, 2025
I Built Testimonial Genius in 3 Days
How I built and shipped an AI testimonial analysis tool in 3 days with Next.js, FastAPI, and Gemini. A micro-SaaS experiment in rapid AI-native development.
March 24, 2025
Building Vibe Coder: Local AI Coding Agent
Vibe Coder is a privacy-first CLI coding assistant powered by local LLMs via Ollama. Why local matters, how agentic AI changes coding, and the build details.
March 21, 2025
Thoughts on Vibe Coding and Cursor (2026)
Best practices for vibe coding with Cursor, including the dual-model workflow, advanced prompting techniques, context management, and common pitfalls to avoid.
March 21, 2025
From Vision to Reality: Building AIdeaHub.ai
AIdeaHub helps solo founders turn AI ideas into launch-ready businesses with brainstorming, market research, and Business Model Canvas generation. The build story.
March 7, 2025
Dream Pixel Forge: Local GUI to Web AI Studio
Dream Pixel Forge is an AI image web app for thumbnails, product photos, virtual staging, and book covers. It grew from an open-source local Stable Diffusion GUI.
January 10, 2019
Procedural Dungeons Unity Toolkit Released
An open-source Unity asset that procedurally generates dungeons and mazes at runtime from tiles or room prefabs, with procedural object population. MIT licensed.
December 20, 2018
Cubenaut Alpha Released
Cubenaut is a procedurally generated space exploration game by Studio Frog. Explore a new universe each run, upgrade your satellite, and relaunch when you run out.
April 16, 2018
Zombie Town Mobile Port Released
Zombie Town is now on the Google Play Store for Android: wave-based zombie survival with headshot bonuses and endless waves.
February 27, 2018
VR Education Toolkit: HackIllinois 2018 Winner
My HackIllinois 2018 team project: a VR Education Toolkit that lets educators build VR lessons without coding. Won the Fulcrum GT commercial viability prize.
February 16, 2018
WebVR Unity Exporter Test
Testing the Mozilla WebVR Unity exporter with three scenes (Campfire, Island, and an interactive default scene) targeting GearVR.
February 13, 2018
Introducing Space Jumper, a Platformer
Space Jumper is a precision Lunar Lander-inspired platformer for PC and Android, with open-source code on GitHub.
January 15, 2018
ZombieTown VR Port WIP
Early WIP of ZombieTown running on an HTC Vive, with advanced weapon interaction, holstering, and explosive zombie kills.
January 15, 2018
Zombie Town 2 VR Preview
Early preview of Zombie Town 2 VR with work-in-progress enemy AI and damage systems.
January 3, 2018
ARCore Virtual Forest
A quick ARCore test where users tap to place randomized trees, rocks, and bushes onto detected planes to build their own virtual forest.
December 29, 2017
Introducing Zombie Town, a Low Poly FPS
Zombie Town is a free low-poly endless zombie shooter featuring water effects on PC and performance optimizations on WebGL, playable in the browser.
February 2, 2017
ESP8266-Powered LED Matrix Clock
Building an NTP-synced LED matrix clock using an ESP8266, a 3V–5V logic level shifter, and a MAX7219 LED matrix module.
January 5, 2017
Nerf Gun Tracked in Virtual Reality
Modding a Nerf Barricade into an HTC Vive tracked controller. A digital trigger wired to an Arduino gives real tactile feedback in VR.
December 8, 2016
HTC Vive Shooting Range Test 2 (Unity 5)
Updated HTC Vive shooting range demo featuring working reload mechanics and destructible targets.
December 7, 2016
Mobile Augmented Reality Using Vuforia
Building mobile AR apps with the Vuforia SDK to visualize multi-variable Calculus 3D shapes overlaid on real space.
November 27, 2016
3D Modeling and Texturing
A showcase of 3D weapon models created in ProBuilder Pro and textured in Substance Painter 2, including embedded Sketchfab models.
October 16, 2016
Zombie Island: An Android FPS
Zombie Island is a free low-poly wave-based zombie FPS set on an abandoned island, available on Android.
August 15, 2016
HTC Vive Shooting Range Test (Unity 5)
Testing a simple virtual reality shooting range in Unity 5 on an HTC Vive.
August 15, 2016
Spedix S250 Pro Racing Quadcopter Test Flight
First test flight of the Spedix S250 Pro racing quadcopter with FPV goggles. This thing really maneuvers quickly.
June 15, 2016
DJI F450 Quadcopter Flyaway (NAZA)
Building a DJI F450 quadcopter for an independent study, and losing it: on its third flight a control lockup sent it flying away for good. The drone was never found.
May 15, 2016
3D Printed Hubsan X4 Shell
Designed and 3D printed a protective crash shell for the Hubsan X4 mini-drone to make it safer to fly around people.
April 3, 2016
Shatterer FPS Update: Shooting Range Demo
A Shatterer shooting range demo showcasing early gameplay, with scoring and additional target mechanics on the way.
March 28, 2016
Introducing Island VR: Cardboard Experience
Island VR is a Google Cardboard walking experience where you explore a scenic island using the trigger or a screen tap to move.
March 22, 2016
Shatterer FPS Update: SCAR-H and Gun Optics
Shatterer devlog: added the SCAR-H rifle, holographic sights, a sniper scope using render textures, and a working tactical flashlight.
March 15, 2016
App Released: Campfire VR
Campfire VR is now on Google Cardboard, a relaxing experience that places you beside a glowing campfire in a night forest.
March 10, 2016
3/9/2016 Shatterer Dev Update
More explosion testing with actual particle effects in Shatterer, preparing the groundwork for AI and enemy systems.
March 9, 2016
Shatterer FPS Update: Weapons and Platforms
Shatterer devlog: added a railgun, ACR, and exploding platforms that apply physics force to surrounding objects.
March 8, 2016
WIP FPS: Shatterer
An early look at Shatterer, a sci-fi FPS with baked navmesh level design, render-texture scopes, multiple weapons, and the first pass of character animations.
February 26, 2016
Destruction Physics in Unity 5
Testing mesh destruction physics in Unity 5 using the Exploder plugin for a turret-based sci-fi shooter, with a playable WebGL demo.
January 25, 2016
My First App: VR Solids of Revolution
My first published Android app, a Google Cardboard VR experience for visualizing Calculus Solids of Revolution, built with Unity and the Cardboard SDK.