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Practical, Straightforward AI Coding Tips Without the Hype and Noise

👋🏻 I'm Rob Conery and I spent the last few years at Microsoft building amazing tools and helping internal engineers become more efficient with Copilot and AI tools. It was a thrilling time, and I'm bringing that experience to this site.

I absolutely hate AI marketing hype because it dilutes the power of this tool that is here to stay. It's something you must learn, and I'm here to help you do just that.

AI Is Changing How We Code. This Is a Good Thing.

 

AI-assisted development isn’t about pushing buttons and watching the magic happen. It’s about learning how to leverage context, guide the machine, and stay in control of your workflow. It’s pair programming on steroids if you know how to use it.

This is your unfair advantage: while the noise focuses on quick wins, you’ll be building faster, thinking deeper, and staying ahead. You’ll learn to prompt with clarity, refactor with precision, and automate the boring stuff so you can get back to building the things that matter.

What You'll Find Here

 

I've built a reputation for creating hype-free content that solves a problem for my audience. I have learned a lot during my time at Microsoft, and I'm bringing it all here for you.

No Fluff Posts Get You Up To Speed Quickly

I love writing and diving deep on singular topics. My goal: something actionable and relevant, at least once a week.

Polished Videos For Deeper Concepts

I have been creating video content since 2004, and started one of the very first online training sites for programmers: Tekpub (acquired by Pluralsight). I've built a reputation for both quality and focused content.

Entertaining and Informative Workshops

I built Copilot presentations and workshops for internal engineering teams at Microsoft, both virtually and in-person, and I can do the same for your company too.

Latest Posts

 

I try to post semi-weekly. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Opinions are, of course, my own. They're also plentiful and, hopefully, useful.

Creating a Markdown Compiler

Creating a Markdown Compiler

One of the most powerful things that AI can do for you is to create a script that does a thing you don't want to do. Mind-numbing, boring tasks, like compiling markdown documents into a format for a documentation site, or, in my case, a course template.

Copilot
Claude
Walkthrough
Video

Using Claude Code to Learn Something New
Members

Using Claude Code to Learn Something New

Using an LLM to learn something new is a fun process that comes with a few caveats, such as "how can I trust what I'm seeing isn't complete crap?" I'll address all of this in today's video.

Claude
Investigation
Video

How To Write a Prompt

How To Write a Prompt

AI is a simple tool that our code editors are mangling into an over-engineered mess. Underneath all of the confusion is a simple way of thinking which I'll get into here.

Walkthrough

How Did You Learn AI Tools?

How Did You Learn AI Tools?

I can't go for more than a few hours without reading someone's "horror story" about using AI for coding. I've had sessions which surely aren't fun, but I've never had a complete disaster like some people are having.

Walkthrough
Learning

Online Courses are Toast

Online Courses are Toast

It'll take a few years, but it's going to happen: interactive learning with AI is here, and it's going to replace horrible, boring video courses (and the good ones too).

Opinion
Learning

Major Healey from I Dream of Jeannie opening the bottle for the first time

The AI Genie in the Bottle

I went to a startup pitch night a few days ago, and it was quite interesting. Every deck featured some form of AI integration, but a few actually centered their entire business model on the idea that AI will carry out the core operation of their business. Is this a good idea?

Opinion

Stay in the Loop. Build What’s Next.

 

AI is changing how we write software, but not everything worth knowing is on Twitter, YouTube, or in a launch thread.

The Newsletter is a semi-weekly email for developers who want to keep their edge while building with clarity and purpose.

Every issue includes:

  • One actionable task or concept that you can try immediately.
  • Lengthy exploration of topics with the goal of learning what's new.
  • Zero spam. Zero hype. Zero sales-y nonsense. Just the good stuff.