AI Tools Articles
Working notes on ai tools, written from real client projects and what I've learned building brands online.
Opus 5 Is Just Fable 5 But Cheaper, In Both Directions
After a full build session on Opus 5, my verdict is that it's Fable 5 at a fraction of the price. The discount is real, and so is what you give up for it.
The Apple–OpenAI Breakup: What Tech's Messiest Divorce Teaches Marketers
Apple and OpenAI went from the biggest distribution deal in tech to a trade-secrets lawsuit in two years. Here's what the breakup teaches marketers about borrowed distribution.
AI Vendor Lock-In Is the Real Risk Right Now: 3 Smart Moves to Make
Anthropic is running Microsoft's old playbook on AI subscriptions, and the bill is coming. Here's what to do before AI vendor lock-in catches everyone flat-footed.
Building Openclaw: One Agent, Many Pipelines, Zero Mondays at a Blank Doc
Why I stopped trying to be consistent on my own and built an agent to run my owned-media operation instead. The boundary between me and Openclaw, and what it actually catches.
The Day My AI's 'Thinking' Ate 97% of the Token Budget
A debugging story about a pipeline that logged success and posted nothing. The culprit: a reasoning model that consumed almost the entire budget on intermediate thinking before the content tokens fired.
GLM 5.2 Review: My Honest Take After Daily Use vs Opus 4.7
A GLM 5.2 review after daily use against Opus 4.7, including migrating Draftly.blog across WordPress, Vite, and Next.js. The closest thing to Claude at any price.
Limit Testing: How One Valorant Habit Taught Me Exactly What AI Is Good and Bad At
Limit testing is a Valorant habit where you push a skill until it breaks. Here's how it taught me piano, writing, and exactly what AI is good and bad at.
Siri AI VS ChatGPT: Why Apple Should be Scaring OpenAI
Apple's Gemini-powered Siri AI matches paid ChatGPT for most things real people use it for. The Siri AI vs ChatGPT shift will eat the free tier and pressure the $20 paid one too.
Bolt.new Review: 4 Honest Observations from Someone Who Built With It
A bolt.new review from someone who used it to build Draftly.blog. Great for first-time builders, rough for anyone thinking about scale.
Gemini vs ChatGPT: An Honest Review After Daily Use
My honest Gemini vs ChatGPT review after using both every day. Gemini wins on images, memory, and cost. ChatGPT is less lazy on long tasks. Here's who actually wins.
Higgsfield Review: Great for AI Agents, Rough Everywhere Else
An honest Higgsfield review. The MCP makes AI agent image generation easy. The UI is clunky, the checkout is a minefield, and credits vanish fast. Here's the real experience.
Minimax vs GLM: A Retrospective on 3 Months With Chinese AI Models
After 3 months building my openclaw bot, Claude got too expensive. Here's my Minimax vs GLM retrospective: GLM crushes coding, Minimax orchestrates, and how I run them together.
The Best AI Image Generation Workflow I've Found (Gemini + Canva)
My best AI image generation workflow uses Gemini to create the image and Canva Magic Layers to clean it up. Here's the exact process I use to get images that actually look good on a page.
Gemini vs Claude: A Practical Review of Two AI Tools I Pay For
A practical Gemini vs Claude review. Gemini wins images and video. Claude wins vibe coding and 'it just works.' Context is a wash. Here's how I actually split the work.
Marketing that actually moves the needle
Occasional notes on SEO, paid ads, and growth, plus every new post, straight to your inbox. Written for operators, not skimmers.