<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Novnotes]]></title><description><![CDATA[All my notes in fits of print]]></description><link>https://www.novnotes.com</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!25il!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd0c650c-b382-499d-8609-5f407cd340f6_603x603.png</url><title>Novnotes</title><link>https://www.novnotes.com</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Sat, 16 May 2026 09:48:10 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.novnotes.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Brandon]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[brandonnova@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[brandonnova@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Brandon]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Brandon]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[brandonnova@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[brandonnova@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Brandon]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Vibe Coding to Production: How to Actually Build with LLMs]]></title><description><![CDATA[How to make almost anything you want (*software)]]></description><link>https://www.novnotes.com/p/vibe-coding-to-production-how-to</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.novnotes.com/p/vibe-coding-to-production-how-to</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Brandon]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:17:41 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CLMz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a164d32-52c3-434d-b41a-08d000cc0af9_1487x402.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>1. The Lie Everyone Believes</h2><p>It&#8217;s a new age.</p><p>The best part: anyone can build anything.<br>The worst part: anyone can build anything.</p><p>People think you can just prompt an LLM, get code, and ship something real. And at first, it feels true.</p><p>It works for demos.<br>It breaks for anything that actually matters.</p><p>This isn&#8217;t about standing out. It&#8217;s about getting something that <em>works at all</em>.</p><div><hr></div><h2>2. How to start &#8220;Vibe Coding&#8221; </h2><p>To get started, download an IDE (Integrated development environment) of your choice, which is basically an app on your computer that will link to your folder with all your code. </p><p>Examples: VSCODE (microsoft), Cursor, Antigravity (Google)</p><p>Then once you download it use file &#8594; point at your folder. </p><p>Let&#8217;s say you want to build a simple to-do app.</p><p><strong>Vibe coding approach:</strong></p><blockquote><p>&#8220;Build me a to-do app with login and saving tasks&#8221;</p></blockquote><p>You&#8217;ll get something, for this it might work, but for more complicated things it may break, and you won&#8217;t understand why.</p><p><strong>Better approach:</strong></p><ol><li><p>Ask: &#8220;What are the parts of a to-do app?&#8221;</p></li><li><p>Decide: login, task list, storage</p></li><li><p>Build one piece at a time</p></li></ol><p>Same tool. Completely different result.</p><div><hr></div><h2>3. Treating LLMs Like Employees </h2><p>LLMs are not magic.</p><p>They behave like junior employees:</p><ul><li><p>They follow instructions (if you give them clearly)</p></li><li><p>They don&#8217;t understand your system unless you explain it</p></li><li><p>They will confidently do the wrong thing if you ask poorly</p></li></ul><p>If you treat them like a tool that &#8220;just builds everything,&#8221; you&#8217;ll get chaos.</p><p>If you treat them like an engineer you&#8217;re managing, you get leverage.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CLMz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a164d32-52c3-434d-b41a-08d000cc0af9_1487x402.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CLMz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a164d32-52c3-434d-b41a-08d000cc0af9_1487x402.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CLMz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a164d32-52c3-434d-b41a-08d000cc0af9_1487x402.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CLMz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a164d32-52c3-434d-b41a-08d000cc0af9_1487x402.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CLMz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a164d32-52c3-434d-b41a-08d000cc0af9_1487x402.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p></p><div><hr></div><h2>4. The Actual Workflow (Step-by-Step)</h2><ol><li><p>Problem/Goal explanation (clear + detailed)</p></li><li><p>Ask for approaches (no code)</p></li><li><p>Choose approach + tradeoffs</p></li><li><p>Convert to spec (what you want to make) </p></li><li><p>Break into tasks</p></li><li><p>Execute task-by-task</p></li></ol><blockquote><p>Code generation is the final step, not the first.</p></blockquote><div><hr></div><h2>5. The Failure Modes (Where People Get Stuck)</h2><h3>5.1 Constant Refactors</h3><ul><li><p>Caused by skipping planning</p></li><li><p>Fix: Plan out what you actually want, write/scribble it anywhere you want, draw it on a blank piece of paper, whatever work for you. </p></li></ul><h3>5.2 Lack of Context</h3><ul><li><p>You can&#8217;t summarize a book you haven&#8217;t read, much less explain the implication of the window in chapter 3. </p></li><li><p>Fix: Add a master doc/read me that is incredibly detailed (the model can do this for you, and also help you switch models/providers if you ever need to) </p></li></ul><h3>5.3 Doom Loops</h3><ul><li><p>&#8220;Fix this&#8221; &#8594; random changes &#8594; worse state</p></li><li><p>Fix: Ask it to explain what the problem is, instead of asking it to fix things. If applicable ask if there is a better way. </p></li></ul><h3>5.4 Complexity Collapse</h3><ul><li><p>Asking for too much at once</p></li><li><p>Fix: Break it down, if you really want a bunch at once make sure to use planning mode. </p></li></ul><div><hr></div><h2>6. Why This Works</h2><p>Basically the key to success is setting realistic expectations, it&#8217;s like cooking, you don&#8217;t just throw everything in at once (unless it&#8217;s super simple) </p><div><hr></div><p>Beginners think LLMs replace thinking.</p><p>They don&#8217;t.</p><p>They amplify it.</p><p>If you rely on them to do everything, you get fragile systems.<br>If you guide them properly, you get leverage.</p><p>Good luck building! </p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Everything is Replaceable, Nothing Should Be]]></title><description><![CDATA[Everything and everyone is replaceable.]]></description><link>https://www.novnotes.com/p/everything-is-replaceable-nothing</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.novnotes.com/p/everything-is-replaceable-nothing</guid><pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 16:48:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!25il!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd0c650c-b382-499d-8609-5f407cd340f6_603x603.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Everything and everyone is replaceable. There was that before and there will be that after, as if anything else was known. </p><p>Anything that is irreplaceable would lead to something forever broken, and at best something inideal. Somethings seem irreplaceable, due to the burden of replication or replacement, but at a point it will make sense. </p><p>It is sort of an ideal, however, to be irreplaceable: to be the expert, the glue, the monopoly. Though how nice to be that forever? Maybe a monopoly, yes, but nothing lasts forever. How unfortunate those under what temporarily irreplaceable. </p><p>All that is was once what will be. All is an attempt to fulfill want, want being a specific end to a need, or derivative to do so. Every item has substitute. </p><p>How many autocratic regimes in desperate times played the sweet siren of promised certainty? All is ours. Those that were gone, and those that will go, all will. </p><p>Then what? How trapped? At the mercy of whatever system of choice, or better yet, a predetermined luck!? </p><div><hr></div><p>Though it&#8217;s a freedom, and simultaneously an attention earned. It means all is replaceable, but what is there is chosen. </p><p>It&#8217;s a greater meaning in a way. It was all guaranteed nothing would be earned. A game with unlimited currency and level, it all becomes nothing, and all fake anyways. But a game where one may lose, and often do, and most do, try on. </p><p>Best of luck to all those trying, and especially those not trying. </p>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>