Tips · two-minute reads
Learned the real way
I build games, apps and music with AI every day. When something goes wrong, or right, I write it up here: what happened, a before and after, and one thing to try.
17 October 2026
How I built a YouTube live-stream blocker with Claude in one evening
My first message asked for the wrong thing. Claude checked the rules, changed the plan and had it working in under an hour. What I asked, and how it was tested.
Read the tip16 October 2026
Claim the free API credit in your Claude Max plan
Claude Max now includes $100 to $200 a month of Claude API credit. Here’s what it covers, how to claim it, and the trap that stops Claude Code working.
Read the tip8 October 2026
Let your Claude work out its own best setup
I tested 10 ways of splitting work between Claude models, judged blind. Here’s what won, and a prompt that makes your Claude write rules for how you work.
Read the tip6 October 2026
Ask your AI where the time went
When an AI project feels slow, ask it to split the time into making, checking, fixing and waiting. The numbers tell you what to change.
Read the tip5 October 2026
Ask your AI which of your instructions it didn’t follow
AI sometimes decides it knows better and quietly bends your rules. One line at the end of your request brings those choices into the open.
Read the tip4 October 2026
Ask a second AI to check the first one’s work
An AI will tell you its work is finished. Another AI, asked to look for problems, often finds some. How to set that up.
Read the tip3 October 2026
Read the licence: search for “territory”
Free AI tools are not always free to use where you live. Two words to search for before you build on one.
Read the tip2 October 2026
Back up, check the backup, then delete
Clearing out old files is easy. Getting them back is not. The three-step order that keeps a clear-out safe.
Read the tip1 October 2026
“Done” means you’ve seen it live
An AI can finish a job, pass every test, and still leave it sitting on your computer. How to know it is really done.
Read the tip30 September 2026
Tell your AI what not to save
AI tools that build things save everything by default. One small file stops your project quietly filling up.
Read the tip