The New Site Is Live

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 12:03:50 +0100

I just finished a retrospective (opens in a new tab) with Claude and asked it how I did. It started as a funny idea to see what would happen, but it actually turned up some useful stuff!

Some context

Last week, I rebuilt the site for Tend and Flow. It had been a placeholder and mid-Summer seemed like a perfect time to do it properly. I used Opus 5 in VSCode as my main workbench (everything is happening in either VSCode or Cowork these days!). Based on my brief to make the attack surface as small as possible, we ended up deciding to orientate around markdown files (it’s a low volume site). I used Claude Design to decide the type, palette and wireframe. We built the first version to check the content workflow. Then, again in Design, created and implemented a more thematic aesthetic based on my branding. After the release of v1, I created a specific maintenance skill for ongoing checks, did the tidy up and compacting. Nothing particularly innovative, but it took about three days (of which 60% of the time was really spent on content).

Is AI Dismantling the Skills Ladder

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 19:45:01 +0100

“Apprentices spend months just learning how to wring out hot towels. After that, they are taught how to prepare the fish. And then, finally, they are allowed to cook the rice. It is not an easy path.”

Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011), IMDB

The framework is this: mastery develops in three stages. The Apprentice follows instructions - recipes and algorithms, the explicit steps that produce a known result. The Journeyman has internalised enough of those recipes to begin modelling behaviour - adapting, blending, responding to context with a working knowledge of what good looks like. The Master operates from principles. They are no longer following a map or copying a pattern. They are navigating from a deep, internalised understanding of why things work the way they do.

Notes on Tend and Flow

The New Site Is Live

Some context

Is AI Dismantling the Skills Ladder