---
title: "Archive — Sam Couch"
description: "A drafted index of every article on samcouch.com."
canonical: "https://samcouch.com/articles/"
language: "en"
---

# Archive.

Writing about software, AI, and running a business. What to build, which ideas to pursue, and what I learn along the way.

## All articles

1.  ![](https://samcouch.com/images/articles/the-job-i-want-next-palette.webp)

    2026-09-21 FEATURED

    ### [The Job I Want Next](https://samcouch.com/articles/the-job-i-want-next)

    The job I want next combines software engineering, business judgment, and responsibility for the outcome, alongside a founder, investor, or business leader.

    Career · Business · AI

2.  ![](https://samcouch.com/images/articles/turnkit-ai-orchestration-for-ruby-palette.webp)

    2026-06-04

    ### [TurnKit: AI Orchestration for Ruby](https://samcouch.com/articles/turnkit-ai-orchestration-for-ruby)

    TurnKit is a RubyGem for durable AI agents in Ruby, with agents, turns, system prompts, tools, skills, sub-agents, and Rails persistence.

    AI · Ruby · Rails · Architecture

3.  ![](https://samcouch.com/images/articles/shokunin-in-the-age-of-ai-palette.webp)

    2026-05-12

    ### [The Shokunin in the Age of AI](https://samcouch.com/articles/shokunin-in-the-age-of-ai)

    AI made it almost free to look like a craftsperson. The Japanese idea of shokunin, lifelong devotion to a craft, is more useful now than it has ever been.

    Philosophy · AI · Craft

4.  ![](https://samcouch.com/images/articles/ai-slop-is-good-actually-palette.webp)

    2026-05-08

    ### [AI Slop Has a Place](https://samcouch.com/articles/ai-slop-is-good-actually)

    AI slop is what you get when you let the model run without much wrangling. In R&D, that trade is often worth it: speed and cheap learning now, cleanup once the shape stops moving.

    AI · Philosophy · Engineering

5.  ![](https://samcouch.com/images/articles/when-anyone-can-build-judgment-wins-palette.webp)

    2026-03-07

    ### [When Anyone Can Build, Judgment Wins](https://samcouch.com/articles/when-anyone-can-build-judgment-wins)

    Engineering is no longer the hardest part of building software. The compounding hire now is a product thinker who chooses what to build, in what order, and why.

    Philosophy · Product · AI

6.  ![](https://samcouch.com/images/articles/i-built-a-ui-kit-just-for-me-palette.webp)

    2026-03-06

    ### [I Built a UI Kit - Just for Me](https://samcouch.com/articles/i-built-a-ui-kit-just-for-me)

    I built a private UI kit called Couch Kit so coding agents stop improvising my interfaces and I can ship consistent product UI without re-deciding every detail.

    Design Systems · AI · Architecture

7.  ![](https://samcouch.com/images/articles/what-building-an-ai-orchestration-layer-taught-me-palette.webp)

    2026-02-04

    ### [What Building an AI Orchestration Layer Taught Me About Prompting](https://samcouch.com/articles/what-building-an-ai-orchestration-layer-taught-me)

    I built an AI orchestration API and accidentally 10x'd my understanding of prompting.

    AI · Architecture · Tutorial

8.  ![](https://samcouch.com/images/articles/everyone-wont-build-their-own-software-palette.webp)

    2026-01-12

    ### [No, Everyone Won't Build Their Own Software](https://samcouch.com/articles/everyone-wont-build-their-own-software)

    VCs are betting everyone will build their own software. History suggests otherwise: better tools expand what builders can do, not who becomes a builder.

    Philosophy · AI · Software

9.  ![](https://samcouch.com/images/articles/asymmetric-bets-palette.webp)

    2026-01-11

    ### [The Math of Weird Ideas: Understanding Asymmetric Bets](https://samcouch.com/articles/asymmetric-bets)

    Most people confuse job risk with career risk. The safest-looking paths cap your upside. The weird paths? That's where the math gets interesting.

    Philosophy · Career · Investing

10.  ![](https://samcouch.com/images/articles/ralph-wiggum-coding-palette.webp)

     2026-01-08

     ### [Ralph Wiggum Coding: Ship Features While You Sleep](https://samcouch.com/articles/ralph-wiggum-coding)

     Stop babysitting your AI coding agent. The Ralph Wiggum technique runs your agent in a loop until the work is done.

     AI · Tutorial · Productivity

11.  ![](https://samcouch.com/images/articles/weird-knowledge-compounds-palette.webp)

     2025-12-02

     ### [Weird Knowledge Compounds](https://samcouch.com/articles/weird-knowledge-compounds)

     True original thinking is rare. Not because it's hard, but because most people won't go where it lives.

     Philosophy · Career

12.  ![](https://samcouch.com/images/articles/rl-reinforcement-learning-explained-palette.webp)

     2025-12-01

     ### [RL (Reinforcement Learning) Explained in Plain English](https://samcouch.com/articles/rl-reinforcement-learning-explained)

     You've heard 'reinforcement learning' dropped in every AI conversation. You've nodded along. Let's actually explain it.

     AI · Beginner

13.  ![](https://samcouch.com/images/articles/voice-not-brand-palette.webp)

     2025-12-01

     ### [Voice, Not Brand](https://samcouch.com/articles/voice-not-brand)

     After two decades online, I've stopped conflating 'having a voice' with 'building a brand.' They're not the same thing, and the difference matters.

     Philosophy · Writing

14.  ![](https://samcouch.com/images/articles/beginners-guide-to-idea-exploration-palette.webp)

     2025-10-29

     ### [LLM-Powered Idea Exploration: Prompting Techniques for Divergence, Analogies, and Tiny Experiments](https://samcouch.com/articles/beginners-guide-to-idea-exploration)

     At the starting line, you have almost nothing. Only a spark and a hunch. Here's how to use AI tools to explore ideas before you know if they'll work.

     LLM · AI · thoughts · ideas