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Content Repurposing System: one transcript into 4 platform-ready posts in 18 seconds. THE PROBLEM Every video cost me two hours turning it into posts for Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Skool and Instagram. The writing wasn't hard. The context switching was. Four platforms, four tones, the same idea rewritten four times. Built during the Skool x Hostinger n8n hackathon, Dec 2025. Still my daily workflow. STACK: n8n on a Hostinger VPS, OpenAI, Google Sheets. 13 nodes. HOW TO BUILD IT Manual Trigger. Swap for a Form or Drive trigger if you want it hands-off. Set node "Set Transcript", one string field: transcript. Leave a real sample transcript in the default value so anyone can hit execute and see output immediately. IF node "Check Transcript", two conditions with AND: transcript is not empty, and {{ $json.transcript.length }} > 50. False branch goes to a Stop and Error node. Four minutes of work. It's why I've never burned 5 API calls on a blank field. OpenAI node "Analyze Content", model gpt-5.4-mini, Simplify Output OFF: You are a content analyst. Analyze this video transcript and extract: Main topic/theme 3-5 key insights or takeaways Target audience Tone (educational, motivational, technical, etc.) Any specific examples, statistics, or stories mentioned Transcript: {{ $json.transcript }} Provide your analysis in a structured format. I don't send the transcript to four writers. I send it to one analyst first, and all four writers read that analysis. This lifted quality more than any prompt tweak: the posts share one reading of the material instead of each model guessing. The stronger model goes here for the same reason. Wrong analysis, four wrong posts. 5-8. Four generators, all gpt-4o-mini, Simplify Output OFF, all wired from Analyze Content's single output. Each pulls the same two inputs: Content Analysis: {{ $('Analyze Content').item.json.choices[0].message.content }} Original Transcript: {{ $('Set Transcript').item.json.transcript }} Then its own rules. Twitter (temp 0.8): hard hook, under 280 chars, one insight, no hashtags. LinkedIn (0.7): 150-250 words, 2-3 line paragraphs, ends on a question, no hashtags. Skool (0.8): 100-200 words, always a numbered list of actionable takeaways, ends by inviting replies. Instagram (0.8): 125-175 words, 5-8 hashtags, plus a detailed "Visual suggestion:" for a designer or image model. LinkedIn needed a tone block after v1 read like a press release: talk like you're with a colleague over coffee, use I and you, never "leverage", "in today's landscape", "fast-paced". Naming banned words works. "Write conversationally" does nothing. Merge node "Collect All Posts", 4 inputs, one generator per index. Aggregate node, mode All Item Data. Puts all four posts on one row instead of four. Code node "Format Output". Reads each generator by node name, each in its own try/catch, so one failure still writes a row. Builds a readable timestamp, a 100-character transcript_preview, and status: 'Generated'. Google Sheets, Append Row, Map Automatically. THE SHEET Seven columns, headers in row 1, named to match the Code node exactly: timestamp, transcript_preview, twitter_post, linkedin_post, skool_post, instagram_post, status. Status is a dropdown: Generated > Reviewed > Scheduled > Published. The system drafts, I decide. FOUR THINGS THAT COST ME HOURS Turn Simplify Output OFF on every OpenAI node. Every expression reads choices[0].message.content, which only exists in the raw response. Leave Simplify on and you get four empty columns with no error explaining why. No title row above your headers. I had a merged title in row 1, headers in row 2. Map Automatically stopped seeing my columns and silently built duplicates beside them. Extend data validation down the whole column (G2:G1000, not G2). I set the dropdown on one cell and every appended row arrived as plain text. Kill markdown in the prompt, not after. I wasted an evening regex-stripping ** in the Code node. The fix was upstream: tell Skool and Instagram plain text only, CAPITALS or "quotes" for emphasis. Zero artefacts since. Post-processing cleanup means your prompt is underspecified. RESULT Two hours per piece became 18 seconds of runtime plus 5-10 minutes of review. I tested 20 transcripts across five content types (tutorial, interview, news, explainer, motivational). Most were publishable with light edits. The failure mode never changed: rambling transcript, vague analysis, four vague posts. Which is exactly why the analyst node gets the better model. Budget 30 minutes to rebuild. The prompts are the product. Copy the structure, then rewrite the platform rules in your own voice. That's what decides whether it sounds like you or like everyone else.

Sometimes I want something good to read but don’t know exactly what. Finding the right book, article, or story means searching through existing content and hoping something matches my current mood and interests. Generative AI creates another option: instead of finding something to read, I can create exactly what I want to read right now. I created a personalized Reading Experience Generator that acts as an on-demand writer rather than a recommendation engine. When I tell it I want something to read, it asks me a few questions—one at a time—to understand what I’m in the mood for. It determines whether I want fiction or nonfiction, the tone and mood, the subject or setting, and any particular angle I’m interested in. Once it knows enough, it writes an original 1,000–2,000-word piece specifically for that moment. The key instruction is that it never recommends existing books, authors, stories, or articles. Its only job is to create something new. Step-by-step: 1. I create instructions that give the AI a single role: when I want something to read, it should write something original, not recommend existing content. 2. I tell it to begin each new reading experience by asking 2–4 questions, one at a time, and to stop asking as soon as it has enough information. 3. I have the questions establish whether I want fiction or nonfiction, my desired mood or tone, the subject, setting, or genre, and any particular angle I’m interested in. 4. I explicitly prohibit recommendations of existing books, authors, articles, or stories. This prevents the assistant from turning the experience into a conventional recommendation engine. 5. I define a target length of roughly 1,000–2,000 words—long enough to become immersed without requiring a major time commitment. 6. I tell the AI to begin writing immediately once it understands what I want. There should be no outline, explanation, or preamble; the next thing I see should be the piece itself. 7. When I want something different, I start again. The AI repeats the short interview and creates a completely new reading experience based on what I’m interested in at that moment. Instead of choosing from a fixed library of things other people have already written, I get an effectively unlimited supply of original reading material personalized to my interests and mood. The interesting shift is that I’m not using AI to help me write. I’m using AI as the writer, and I’m the audience.

I have an electric car, solar panels on my home, and a home battery. On cloudy days, charging my car drained the battery and drew power from the grid, which I wanted to avoid. I used Claude to write code for my EV charger and inverter. The code monitors my solar panels’ output and adjusts the charging speed so the battery still receives some charge without drawing power from the grid. Step-by-step: 1. I identified that charging my EV on cloudy days was draining the home battery and drawing power from the grid. 2. I asked Claude to write code for my EV charger and inverter. 3. I set up the code to monitor the output from my solar panels. 4. I configured it to adjust the EV’s charging speed based on that output. 5. I used the adjusted charging speed to ensure the home battery received some charge while avoiding grid power draw.

I write murder mysteries, and like every author, I need an editor to help carry a story from the first raw idea to a finished, publishable script. The trouble is that good editors are rare. The insightful, reliable ones are expensive, and they are often slow. My first murder mystery took the better part of six months to edit. Even after all that time, I still found typos and clumsy sentences that should have been caught during the line edit and proofreading. That is not a criticism of editors; it is the reality of a manual, human-paced process that does not scale to the way I want to work. I do not use AI to write my stories. The voice, plot, and subtext are mine. But line editing and proofreading are different jobs, and that is where I started using AI. Basic paid ChatGPT got me part of the way, but it was not enough. In February, I switched to Claude, and it was a quantum leap: sharper suggestions, better reasoning, and output I could actually trust. I wanted more than a clever assistant. I wanted a process. Rather than wait for the perfect human editor—affordable, brilliant, and available precisely when I needed them—I built my own. My Claude Editor-in-Chief contains my entire editing workflow, along with a few innovations of my own. At its heart is a framework I developed: the Tension Coefficient (TC), ReaderGrip, and StoryDrift. These three lenses show whether a scene is pulling its weight, whether it keeps its grip on the reader, and whether the story is quietly wandering off course. Everything feeds into a dashboard, so I can see at a glance what is working and what needs fixing. The result is a workflow that turns editing from a six-month slog into something that takes a fraction of the time and, more importantly, produces a cleaner, tighter manuscript. I stopped waiting for help and built the editor I always wished I could hire. Step-by-step: 1. I kept the creative work—my story’s voice, plot, and subtext—in my own hands and used AI specifically for line editing and proofreading. 2. I started with basic paid ChatGPT, then switched to Claude in February after finding that it provided sharper suggestions, better reasoning, and output I could trust. 3. I built a Claude Editor-in-Chief around my full editing workflow instead of relying on Claude as a general-purpose assistant. 4. I added my Tension Coefficient (TC), ReaderGrip, and StoryDrift frameworks to evaluate whether scenes are effective, maintain reader engagement, and stay on course. 5. I connected those evaluations to a dashboard that shows what is working and what needs fixing. 6. I use the workflow to reduce editing time and produce a cleaner, tighter manuscript.

I used AI to help investigate a family mystery that had remained unresolved for decades: identifying the biological family of my maternal grandfather. The challenge was not a lack of information. It was almost the opposite. I had DNA matches, family trees, names, dates, historical records, old photographs, obituaries, Facebook genealogy groups, and conversations with possible relatives. The difficult part was connecting all these scattered clues without jumping to conclusions. I built a research workflow in which AI acts as an investigation partner, not as the source of truth. Step-by-step: 1. I gathered the information I already had from genealogy platforms, DNA matches, family trees, historical documents, and family records. 2. I used ChatGPT to organize the evidence into people, dates, locations, relationships, DNA connections, documents, and unresolved questions. 3. I separated the information into three categories: confirmed facts, hypotheses, and missing information. 4. Instead of asking AI, “Who was my grandfather's biological father?”, I asked it to analyze possible family connections and identify which hypotheses were compatible with the available evidence. 5. For each hypothesis, I looked for supporting evidence, contradictory evidence, and information that was still needed. 6. I treated AI-generated connections as leads rather than genealogical proof. The goal was to use AI to decide what to investigate next, not to have it find the answer. 7. I used AI to compare family branches, surnames, generations, locations, and possible relationships among DNA matches whose family connections I did not immediately recognize. 8. When a promising connection appeared, I returned to the original genealogy and DNA sources to verify it. This gradually turned a long list of DNA matches into a smaller number of research paths. 9. I used AI to draft respectful, personalized messages to DNA matches and members of genealogy communities, including people in another country and language. 10. In each message, I explained what I was researching, what connection I suspected, what information I already had, and what I hoped the recipient might be able to confirm or rule out. 11. I treated their responses as new evidence and repeated the investigation loop: evidence → AI analysis → hypothesis → verification → human contact → new evidence → updated hypothesis. The final result is not an “AI-generated family tree.” It is a human-led investigation in which AI helps manage complexity, ask better questions, and identify the next useful action. The most important lesson I learned is that AI is particularly useful in genealogy when you do not ask it to give you the answer. Ask it to help you build the investigation.

I am a Mohs surgeon who built and shipped an iOS app without formal software engineering training. The surprising part was not only getting AI to write the code; it was getting AI to remember what it had already done. I built ErgoSherpa because up to 90% of surgeons in my field report musculoskeletal symptoms, while our training fails to address them. I wanted to help surgeons improve their health easily between cases. It is free on the Apple App Store and at ergosherpa.com. The bottleneck was maintaining coherence over time. Many sessions seemed to start from zero: I would re-explain the architecture, then watch a fix quietly undo something I had solved earlier. Three habits fixed that. First, I created persistent project documentation: a `MEMORY.md` index file plus separate topic files for architecture and business decisions. I update them at the end of every session so a new session can read the files first and pick up where the last one stopped. Second, I stopped handing one model the whole job. I use three models and match them to the task. Claude Fable audits only. I open a separate session, point it at the codebase, and require a prioritized checklist with the file path, the problem, and the fix in one sentence—without writing code. A model that did not write the code and has no memory of the project reviews it more honestly than the session that built it. I paste that checklist into a Claude Opus session, which handles the codebase repairs. Claude Sonnet handles routine work such as content updates, image processing, and scheduled maintenance, often from handoffs written by Opus or Fable. Nothing gets implemented on the auditor’s word alone: I have Opus flag any decision that needs human input. This workflow caught a deep-link handler that accepted authentication tokens from any URL and a database policy missing its write-side check. Third, I verify against production, not just the code. Some of the most frustrating parts of the project involved fixes that were correct in the file but wrong on the user’s screen because of a cached asset, a stale database row, or an iOS process that needed a force-quit. I no longer consider anything fixed until I have checked the live app. Step-by-step: 1. I keep a project memory directory with a `MEMORY.md` index and separate topic files for architecture and business decisions, updating them at the end of every session. 2. I open a separate Claude Code session running Claude Fable and prompt it to audit the codebase and return only a prioritized checklist: file path, line number, the problem in one sentence, the fix in one sentence, with no code or commentary. 3. I keep the auditor in its own session with no project history so it reviews the code independently instead of defending work it wrote. 4. I paste the checklist verbatim into a Claude Opus session and have it work from the top down, reading each file and making each change. 5. I tell Opus to flag anything it believes is a false positive instead of implementing it, keeping a human in the loop on key findings. 6. I use Claude Sonnet for routine work such as content updates, image processing, and scheduled maintenance, often from handoffs written by Opus or Fable. 7. I verify every change against the live production site rather than the local files because cached assets and stale database rows can make correct code behave incorrectly for users. 8. I append confirmed lessons and architectural decisions to the project memory so the next session starts from the project’s current state.

I was overwhelmed by the thousands of emails I receive in my Outlook inbox every month. I didn’t have time to analyze them all, generate relevant responses, or track the replies and progress of each case. I used an Outlook feature and the virtual assistant Perplexity to help handle the task. Here’s the process: Step-by-step: 1. In Outlook, open the correct folder and select all the emails. 2. Go to Export/Import and follow all the required steps. 3. Export the emails as a `.csv` file, name the file, and save it in a specific location. 4. In Perplexity, attach the `.csv` file. 5. Use a prompt such as: I am a strategy manager and would like to propose a collaboration to my colleague David. The dashboard should list all topics discussed, proposed actions for each topic, and the remaining work to be done.

I am 65 and recently retired, and I have been asking AI for advice to keep my plants alive. It tells me whether they need more or less water, more or less light, or soil amendments such as perlite or coconut.

I built an autonomous learning workbook in ChatGPT Projects to help me stay ahead of where I am and where I need to be. Keeping up with that gap has been a labor of love and tears. The goal of the project is to catalog: - What I know - What I’ve forgotten - What I’m currently learning - What skills I need for my career goals - What has changed in healthcare, AI, and my industry - The single highest-value thing for me to do next I use the following prompt in ChatGPT Projects. It may take some tweaking for your personal needs, but feel free to use it as you see fit: > Engineer dashboards for: Learning Progress, Competency Growth, Learning Hours, Weekly Progress, Monthly Progress, Retention, Knowledge Coverage, Executive Readiness, Upcoming Reviews, Learning Recommendations, Skill Heat Map, Learning Velocity, Credential Progress, Continuing Education Credits, and Certification Status. Step-by-step: 1. I created an autonomous learning workbook in ChatGPT Projects. 2. I defined the information I wanted the project to catalog, including my current knowledge, forgotten material, active learning, career-skill needs, industry changes, and highest-value next action. 3. I sent ChatGPT Projects a prompt to engineer dashboards for learning progress, competency, retention, reviews, recommendations, credentials, continuing education, and certification status. 4. I planned to tweak the prompt and dashboards for my personal needs.

I uploaded five years of echocardiograms to Claude and asked it to analyze them as though it were a medical technician. Step-by-step: 1. I uploaded five years of echocardiograms to Claude. 2. I asked Claude to analyze the series as though it were a medical technician.

I asked Claude to help me build a weekly and monthly habit tracker as an artifact. I prompted it to conduct a Q&A with me so it could understand everything I wanted to include. I also asked Claude to add an insights tab and provide tips for improving my own compliance. Step-by-step: 1. I asked Claude to build a weekly and monthly habit tracker as an artifact. 2. I prompted Claude to conduct a Q&A with me about the features and details I wanted included. 3. I asked Claude to add an insights tab. 4. I asked Claude to provide tips for improving my compliance with the habits.

A reusable Claude Skill called `trust-due-diligence`, packaged as a `.skill` file. It is not a single report; it is a methodology made up of a `SKILL.md` file and three reference documents that teach Claude a repeatable process for investigating a named person, company, coach, or offer before you commit money or trust to them. Once installed, it activates automatically whenever you ask something like “deep dive on X” or “is this legit,” so you do not need to explain the process each time. Step-by-step: 1. Package the `trust-due-diligence` Claude Skill as a `.skill` file. 2. Include a `SKILL.md` file and three reference documents. 3. Use the files together to teach Claude a repeatable due-diligence methodology. 4. Install the Skill so it activates automatically for prompts such as “deep dive on X” or “is this legit.” 5. Use it to investigate a named person, company, coach, or offer before committing money or trust.

I built a digital Second Brain after trying several approaches, including OpenBrain and LLM Wiki. OpenBrain and LLM Wiki are useful frameworks for building a digital brain. The theory is solid: flat Markdown files, AI-first conventions, and an ingestion pipeline that turns raw inputs into searchable knowledge. But when applied in practice, the process can be bumpy and may require adjustments—or an entirely different approach. I adapted the ideas to fit how I actually think and work. I kept what worked, discarded what didn’t, and built my own digital brain. The result is documented in a single file containing everything an AI needs to understand, maintain, or rebuild the system from scratch. Step-by-step: 1. I tried several digital-brain frameworks, including OpenBrain and LLM Wiki. 2. I evaluated their approaches, including flat Markdown files, AI-first conventions, and an ingestion pipeline for turning raw inputs into searchable knowledge. 3. I identified where the frameworks were difficult to apply in practice and adjusted my approach. 4. I kept the ideas that worked for me, discarded what didn’t, and built a digital brain suited to how I think and work. 5. I documented the system in a single file so an AI can understand, maintain, or rebuild it from scratch.

I’m sharing “The Architects of Reality,” a short film created as part of an experiment with a multi-agent AI workflow for long-form content creation. Off-the-shelf AI video platforms are brilliant for short clips, but as the duration increases, the challenges compound: character inconsistency, narrative drift, visual discontinuity, and expensive iterations when the output doesn’t match the creative vision. Instead of asking one AI to make a film, I created an AI film crew. Specialised agents and sub-agents take on roles including Director, DOP, Cameraman, VFX Supervisor, Sound Engineer, VO Artist, and Audio Mixer to support the filmmaking process. Creative review and approval are built into every stage, so individual elements can be regenerated before expensive final rendering. This helps optimise tokens, budget, and creative control. It’s been a fun journey building these agents—and even more fascinating to watch the output improve in capability and efficiency as they learn every day. Step-by-step: 1. I set up a multi-agent AI workflow for long-form content creation. 2. I assigned specialised filmmaking roles to agents and sub-agents, including Director, DOP, Cameraman, VFX Supervisor, Sound Engineer, VO Artist, and Audio Mixer. 3. I built creative review and approval into every stage of the process. 4. I regenerate individual elements when they do not match the creative vision, before moving to expensive final rendering. 5. I use the workflow to optimise tokens, budget, and creative control while producing the short film “The Architects of Reality.” 6. I observe how the output’s capabilities and efficiencies improve as the agents learn every day.

I’m on a GLP-1 medication that heavily suppresses my appetite, and I’m also managing a bilateral vestibular condition that causes balance and gaze issues. I needed a way to hit my protein and calorie targets despite having a low appetite, track body composition accurately, log vestibular symptoms, connect my actual training data, and get coaching guidance that reflects my situation instead of generic fitness-app advice. I built FuelStrong: three connected apps created with Claude over many sessions. They include a daily tracker for meals, water, energy, and training check-ins; a Progress and analytics module; and a standalone Vestibular symptom tracker. They share a Cloudflare Worker and D1 database backend, with KV for cross-device sync. I describe a feature or problem to Claude in plain language. Claude proposes structural options, I push back or choose a direction, and Claude writes the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I program my lifts in Fitbod using an Upper/Lower/Upper split, with an arms-and-back priority and the Build Muscle goal. I export those workouts as CSV and drop them into FuelStrong’s import zone, which parses exercises, sets, reps, and volume into my training history. Custom foods receive macro estimates through a Claude API call routed through my own Worker endpoint. Evolt body-scan data feeds dynamic calorie and protein targets based on BMR × activity factor, minus a deficit, with hard floors instead of static numbers. The Vestibular module intentionally uses open text fields for now, so Claude and I can identify which data matters before formalizing the inputs. Everything syncs across devices through Cloudflare KV. The coaching layer uses a three-tier framework—evidence floor, confirmed operating range, and aspirational target—to drive every recommendation. Two calorie floors, a daily target of approximately 1,000–1,100 kcal and a weekly average of approximately 1,300–1,400 kcal, reflect that chronic under-eating—not missed protein—is the real GLP-1 risk. Muscle mass has remained stable since my February 2026 baseline, so the coaching treats that as a genuine win rather than a plateau. Vestibular-training coaching connects dry-needling focus areas—SCM, suboccipitals, and splenius capitis/cervicis—to gaze-stabilization symptoms, since cervical proprioception substitutes for non-functional vestibular canals. The result is one dashboard that brings together training, nutrition, body composition, vestibular symptoms, and coaching logic. My muscle mass has held stable through it all. Step-by-step: 1. I describe a feature or problem to Claude in plain language, review its structural options, choose a direction, and have Claude write the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. 2. I use FuelStrong’s daily tracker to record meals, water, energy, and training check-ins, while the Progress and analytics module tracks body composition and related trends. 3. I program my Upper/Lower/Upper workouts in Fitbod with an arms-and-back priority and the Build Muscle goal. 4. I export Fitbod workouts as CSV and import them into FuelStrong so it can parse exercises, sets, reps, and volume into my training history. 5. I route Claude API requests for custom-food macro estimates through my own Cloudflare Worker endpoint. 6. I use Evolt body-scan data to calculate dynamic calorie and protein targets from BMR × activity factor, minus a deficit, while maintaining hard floors. 7. I log vestibular symptoms in the standalone Vestibular tracker using open text fields while Claude and I determine which inputs should eventually be formalized. 8. I sync the three apps across devices through the shared Cloudflare Worker, D1 database, and KV backend. 9. I use the evidence floor, confirmed operating range, and aspirational target framework to guide recommendations, including the daily and weekly calorie floors. 10. I connect vestibular-training coaching to dry-needling focus areas and gaze-stabilization symptoms, then use stable muscle mass since the February 2026 baseline as a positive outcome rather than treating it as a plateau.

I keep a long wishlist on Audible, but whenever I want a new audiobook, I face the same question: does my library already offer it for free through Libby? Checking hundreds of titles manually feels like too much work, so I often spend a credit instead. I had Claude build a workflow that checks for me. It reads my Audible wishlist and cross-references every title against my library’s Libby catalog, sorting each one into three categories: borrow now, join the waitlist, or not available. The important part was learning to interpret Libby accurately. Badges and time estimates can make an audiobook look ready when it isn’t, and a pending hold can look like an active one. The reliable signal is the exact text on the button: “Borrow” means I can borrow it; anything else means I should wait or move on. Step-by-step: 1. I gave Claude a workflow to read my Audible wishlist. 2. I had it cross-reference every title against my library’s Libby catalog. 3. I had it sort each title into “borrow now,” “join the waitlist,” or “not available.” 4. I configured the workflow to interpret availability using the exact button text rather than relying on badges or time estimates. 5. Before spending an Audible credit, I check whether Libby already has the audiobook ready.

My mum’s 80th birthday is next week, and my dad, sister, and I wanted to create a photobook of her life. My dad scanned hundreds of photos from over the years and sent them to me to clean up. Because we were working to a tight deadline and I was away on holiday, I didn’t have time to open and edit each image individually in Photoshop. I asked ChatGPT to build a tool that accepts a folder of scanned images in various formats, including scans containing single or multiple photos, overlapping photos, and photos cut off by the scanner. The tool processed each scan, cropped and straightened the individual photos, and provided a UI where I could review the results and make manual adjustments to the cropping and orientation before saving the changes to new files. I then had the tool upload the images to Google Drive and create a spreadsheet with thumbnails of every image, along with a rating system. I shared the spreadsheet with my dad and sister so we could use it as a central place to rate the photos we wanted to include in the final book. This saved me hours of work and meant we could complete the photobook in time for my mum’s birthday. Step-by-step: 1. My dad scanned hundreds of photos and sent them to me as image files in various formats. 2. I asked ChatGPT to build a tool that could process scans containing single or multiple photos, overlapping photos, and photos cut off by the scanner. 3. I used the tool to crop and straighten each individual photo. 4. I reviewed the results in the tool’s UI and made manual adjustments to the cropping and orientation where needed. 5. I saved the adjusted photos as new files and had the tool upload them to Google Drive. 6. I had the tool create a spreadsheet containing thumbnails of all the images and a rating system for each photo. 7. I shared the spreadsheet with my dad and sister so we could rate the photos and choose which ones to include in the final photobook.

For years, my family has run a shared birthday fund: five of us contribute a fixed amount for each birthday, while the person whose immediate family is celebrating that month is exempt from paying. Tracking everything in a payment app and a chat thread meant nobody knew the balance, who was behind, or what the next gift would cost. I rebuilt the fund as a small web app with Claude. The app itself isn't the only reason I'm writing this up. The same build is also the demo I use to teach clients and students how AI-assisted product development actually works, including the parts that go wrong. Step-by-step: 1. I described the real rules instead of presenting Claude with a generic app idea: the contributors, the fixed amount per person, the family-exemption rule, and birthdays with birth years so ages could be calculated automatically. Claude built the app as a single, self-contained HTML file with no build step or server, so it opens in any browser. 2. I worked in phases and asked Claude to explain its reasoning at each stage. Instead of using one giant prompt, I added one layer per session: the calculation engine, the setup screen, then reports and CSV export. The explanations made the sessions reusable as teaching material. 3. I required the app to be configured through its own interface rather than by editing code. This was the turning point. Claude removed the hardcoded demo family and added a full setup screen for the group name, contributors, deposits, birthdays, amounts, and alerts. I can now build a family from scratch live in front of a class in about [X] minutes without showing a line of code. 4. I let a data-loss incident shape the next phase. I entered the real family data, then the browser tab closed and the download link I had been using to open the file broke. The data was stored in browser storage tied to that exact URL, and I had no backup. Nothing was recoverable at the time. 5. I turned that failure into features. Claude added CSV export for both reports, CSV import that automatically detects which file it is reading, and a backup reminder that appears in the app's alert banner when the data has never been backed up or has not been backed up for seven days. We also discovered that birth year was missing from the export, which meant a re-import would have silently lost everyone's age. 6. I had Claude test its own work. Before each handoff, it ran a jsdom test suite in a sandbox. By the end, the suite had 46 tests covering the exemption math, empty states, CSV round-trips, and backup logic. Several real bugs surfaced there instead of in front of a class. 7. I made a second version for a different audience. One prompt produced a fully English, left-to-right translation with flipped directional CSS, Latin typography, US date formatting, dollars instead of shekels, and Venmo and Zelle instead of local payment apps. It was a genuinely different build, not a find-and-replace translation. The project took 14 sessions over one week and six hours total. It had no hosting cost, dependencies, or accounts. The data still lives in the browser's local storage on each device. Opening the file on my phone and laptop creates two unrelated pools, so CSV import is the manual bridge between them. There is no authentication or sync; this is a personal record-keeper, not shared infrastructure. The data-loss incident was not a Claude failure. I failed to build a backup path before entering real data. If I did it again, I would add export before adding a single feature. The highest-leverage prompt in the whole project was not a feature request. It was: "let me configure this through the interface instead of the code." That shift turned a static demo into something my family actually uses and my students can watch being built from an empty screen. The broader point is that the failure was the most useful part of the project. A polished demo teaches people that AI makes building easy. Losing the data and rebuilding the safety net around it teaches them what building actually involves—and that is the lesson that survives the workshop.

I built an archery app that uses AI to detect arrows and bullseyes on an archery target. It groups the arrows, measures how tight the groupings are, and calculates each arrow’s distance from the bullseye. It also shows the arrows’ locations and their relationship to the bullseye—for example, whether a shot is too far left, right, high, or low, or is dead on. The app can use targets from competition standings to score a shoot according to different standards. After shooting a set of arrows, the archer takes a photo, and the AI detects the target, identifies one or more bullseyes, predicts which arrows are intended for each target, and completes the measurements and scoring almost instantly. The results can then be sent to a coach, who can provide feedback, tips, and techniques to help improve the archer’s shooting. I trained my own model using 3,000 photographs that I took and hand-labeled with the bullseyes and arrows identified. I ran a series of training sessions over several weeks and refined the model to improve its accuracy. It currently achieves about 95% accuracy for arrows and about 90% accuracy for bullseyes. Step-by-step: 1. I took 3,000 photographs of archery targets. 2. I hand-labeled the arrows and bullseyes in those photographs. 3. I trained my own AI model in a series of sessions over several weeks. 4. I refined the model to improve its detection accuracy. 5. An archer shoots a set of arrows and takes a photo of the target. 6. The app detects the target, one or more bullseyes, and the arrows, then predicts which arrows are intended for each target. 7. The app groups the arrows, measures grouping tightness and distance from the bullseye, identifies each arrow’s position relative to the bullseye, and scores the shoot according to the selected standard. 8. The results are sent to a coach for feedback and advice on improving the archer’s shooting.

I built Timelanes so you can type any topic into one text box, such as “The Space Race” or “my grandfather's war years,” and generate a visually engaging, sourced, shareable timeline in seconds. Step-by-step: 1. Type a topic into the text box. 2. Let AI generate the timeline with dated events, short descriptions, and source links. 3. Review citation coverage for each event to see what's verified at a glance. 4. Edit and reorder events, add images and milestones, and choose a theme. 5. Publish the timeline with one click to create a shareable page and embeds that auto-render in Substack and Notion. 6. Export the timeline as a PDF, Markdown file, or CSV. Bonus: Compare mode places two or more timelines on one shared axis so overlaps stand out.