Hello Reader, How's 2026 started for you so far? Over the past year, Iāve seen a lot of people fall into the vibe-coding trap. I get it. You skip the fundamentals and jump straight into building things with AI. The problem is, AI tools generate 80% of a project really fast. It feels amazing. But then something breaks. Progress slows. You hit a wall. And that last 20% turns out to require way more understanding than you expected. You end up with impressive-looking code you can't fully explain,...
22 days agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read
Hi Reader, Just popping into your inbox to wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy 2026 š You know that feeling where you're convinced you did absolutely nothing all year... then you actually look back and go "wait, I did a bunch of stuff"? I kept telling myself I wasn't accomplishing anything for most of 2025. But when I finally sat down and wrote it out, here's what my year actually looked like: Travelled to Japan Made 14 YouTube videos (including 3 data science + AI tutorials and 2...
about 2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read
Hi Reader, How is it going? A lot of people have been telling me lately how hard it is to find a job right now. Hiring has clearly slowed down. Here in the Netherlands, I recently heard that one of the largest banks plans to cut more than a fifth of its workforce by 2028. Most of these layoffs happen under labels like ārestructuringā or āimproving efficiency and competitiveness.ā And honestly, I get where the pressure is coming from. The economy is uncertain, and AI and automation forcing...
2 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 3 min read
Hi Reader,Iāve had in-depth conversations with dozens of people who want to build real, practical technical skills in AI. The same patterns keep coming up, especially for people coming from a non-technical background. So I wanted to share with you the three biggest struggles I hear, and what actually helps. 1. Feeling of overwhelm This is what I heard over and over again: You watch tutorials, you take courses, you try different toolsā¦ but you still feel stuck. Itās not because youāre not...
3 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read
Hi Reader,Iāve always loved making data visualizations. Partly because they look cool. But mostly because they make data and insights easy for anyone to understand. The problem? Coding up a visualization - or even better, an interactive, self-explanatory data story you can share - takes a ton of time. Recently, I had a lightbulb moment: What if I tried AI coding agents to build scrollytelling visualization apps? š¤ My final data scrollytelling app created with Cursor coding agent. Not perfect,...
5 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read
Hi Reader, Back in 2019, I decided to start a computer science bachelor degree, specializing in Machine Learning and AI. I was 27 at the time, and I felt lucky to find an online program that let me study while keeping my full-time job. I thought, āGreat, Iāll finish it in 3 years.ā Fast forward 6 years, with plenty of ups and downs in between, and Iām just now finishing the last module š„². If you asked me today whether Iād do it all over again, Iād hesitate. On one hand, the degree gave me...
6 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 3 min read
Hi Reader, OpenAI dropped GPT-5 a couple of days ago, and the internet lit up. Some are calling it brilliant. Others are calling it a major let down after all the hype. After sifting through dozens of tweets and blog posts, hereās my takeaway: GPT-5 isnāt AGI - not even close. Itās more of an incremental upgrade than a godlike breakthrough over previous models. It still makes silly mistakes, has a glitchy ārouting mechanism,ā and struggles with understanding and generating images. Case in...
6 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Hi Reader, If everyone can do vibe-coding, it's tempting to think coding is officially DEAD. But here's the truth: Vibe-coding is not a free lunch. I recently listened to a Lex Fridman's podcast with DHH, a respected programmer. They had a very interesting discussion on vibe-coding, I'd encourage you to check it out. In the past few months, some of you may have dabbled in vibe-coding. Itās a pretty exciting time - anyone can build functional apps with AI-powered coding tools like Cursor,...
7 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 3 min read
Hi Reader, Yesterday, I took the afternoon off and went to the local public library, just to write in my journal and doā¦ nothing. Lately, Iāve been struggling with motivation. Most days feel like a constant tug-of-war with focus, a sense of being lost, or questioning whether my work even matters. Thereās always so much I want to do, learn, and create - but my brain sometimes just refuses to cooperate. Maybe youāve had days like that too. To be fair, there are some big personal changes...
7 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read