we wrap up exploring the shift from prompt engineering to context engineering, agents and code-based tool calling, and why bridging linguistics and computer science could unlock the next wave of progress.
full episode: 🎧 compiledconversations.com/19/
5/5
he's deployed billion-parameter models at mastercard and jp morgan chase, and co-authored LLMs in Production (which i'm a huge fan of). we dig into the gap between demos and production systems, and the operational challenges that make deploying at scale uniquely hard.
4/5
from there we go deep on the fundamentals - transformers, tokenization, embeddings, context windows, the training pipeline from self-supervised learning through RLHF to fine-tuning.
3/5
we start with how a graduate seminar on python and machine translation in 2017 pulled chris from linguistics into NLP. studying how humans create meaning in language for years turns out to be the perfect background for understanding where LLMs shine and where they completely fall apart.
2/5
Ep. 19: From Linguistics to Large Language Models with Chris Brousseau
i've been wanting to do an episode that really digs into what #LLMs actually are under the hood, and Chris's journey from linguistics into ML made this the perfect conversation to do it 👇
🎧 compiledconversations.com/19/
we end with how AI tools like Claude Code are transforming architecture work - code analysis, refactoring, living documentation. Nick shares his guardrails approach: linting, test coverage, complexity limits for agents, and multi-agent workflows.
🎧 compiledconversations.com/18/
5/5
we dig into socio-technical alignment - how domain models drift from business language over time (semantic drift), and Conway's Law shaping your architecture. Architecture Modernization Enabling Teams (AMET) help bridge these gaps between business needs and technical reality.
4/5
one key concept is "Death Valley" - the dangerous hybrid state during migration where you're running old and new systems in parallel, keeping data stores in sync. Nick also explains the "month three milestone" - balancing analysis with showing demonstrable progress.
3/5
we start by reframing legacy systems - they're not failures, they're successful products being asked to solve problems they weren't designed for. Nick introduces his four-pillar framework: business strategy, design discovery, architecture, and execution.
2/5
Ep. 18: Architecture Modernization with Nick Tune
i've been a fan of @nick-tune.me's books, writing and talks for many years, so it was great to be able to have a conversation about all things architecture modernisation 👇
🎧 compiledconversations.com/18/
1/5
I had the please to speak with @eddmann.com about event sourcing lessons learned from 10 years of production and a bunch of related patterns and concerns that have surrounded this architectural choice.
I'm glad that we were able to cover a lot of non-introductory material here.
we also cover testing with given-when-then patterns, synchronous vs asynchronous projections, and why DDD isn't a methodology - it's a pursuit of understanding your domain. lots of practical wisdom from someone who's been building these systems for over a decade.
🎧 compiledconversations.com/17/
a practical pattern that eliminates versioning and data retention headaches: design aggregates that exhaust quickly. at his payment processing company, event streams terminate within 30 minutes. no long-lived aggregates = no painful migrations, no GDPR nightmares.
4/5
the core insight: events aren't just for messaging - they become the actual source of your model state. we dig into how this differs from event-driven architectures, the relationship with CQRS, and why capturing intent matters more than capturing CRUD operations.
3/5
shawn's journey started around 2012 while working on laravel.io when a friend introduced him to domain events. that discovery pulled him deeper into the DDD community and eventually led to creating Event Sourcery - a free video course on domain modeling and event sourcing.
2/5
Ep. 17: Event Sourcing with Shawn McCool
@shawnmc.cool shares how event sourcing fundamentally changed how he thinks about modeling software. if you've felt stuck in the "way we've always done it" mindset, this one's for you 👇
🎧 compiledconversations.com/17/
1/5
designed for both humans and machines, following traditional unix philosophy - composable, plays nicely with jq and pipes.
have been using them in place of these servers for the past couple of days.
github.com/eddmann/whatsapp-cli
github.com/eddmann/strava-cli
github.com/eddmann/garmin-connect-cli
spent some time exploring cli + agent skill as an alternative to the mcp servers i built a few months back.
built whatsapp, strava, and garmin-connect clis to explore this space.
give an llm a discoverable, well-documented cli - it can do a lot!
1/2 👇
absolutely. the beam was decades ahead of its time. just needs more adoption - elixir is helping bring it to a wider audience but still feels criminally underused for what it offers.
we wrap with ai and architecture docs - mcp tools providing context-aware assistance, while recognizing that business context and ubiquitous language still need human understanding.
full episode: 🎧 compiledconversations.com/16/
5/5
we dig into the realities of solo bootstrapping - open core business models, building for developers, pricing traps, and why talking to customers matters more than shipping features.
4/5
so he left to build event catalog full-time. what started as a christmas side project is now used by devs, architects, business analysts, and product owners - each finding different value in the same tool.
3/5
we start with his time at aws - 2+ years helping teams with eventbridge and distributed systems. the same problem kept coming up: event architectures are 10-15 years behind api docs when it comes to governance and discoverability.
2/5
Ep. 16: Building Event Catalog - From AWS to Solo Bootstrapping with David Boyne
@boyney123.bsky.social shares his journey from aws serverless advocate to solo bootstrapper. really inspiring chat 👇
🎧 compiledconversations.com/16/
1/5
the whole thing runs client-side. create your draw, set exclusions, generate unique links for each person. all state is encoded in the url - no backend, no accounts, just share and play
🔗 play it: eddmann.com/secret-santa...
💻 code: github.com/eddmann/secr...
🎅
❄️ snowball slingshot
aim and launch snowballs to knock 5 ornaments off the christmas tree. angry birds vibes
prob. my fav ❤️
🎁 gift stack challenge
balance and stack 6 falling gifts on a moving platform. harder than it sounds 😅
🧦 stocking fill match
classic memory game: match 6 pairs of holiday icons to unlock your recipient
🦌 reindeer delivery dash
fly santa's sleigh through the sky, collect 4 stars while dodging obstacles
🎄 santa maze
navigate a peppermint maze, collect 3 ornaments, then reach the present to reveal your match
