Agent Loops, Hardcoding, and Root Cause Audits

The Good Stuff, with Pete and Andy - Episode 21: Remote Vibe Coding & AI Agent Orchestration

Hosts: Pete and Andy (first remote recording - Pete traveling, Andy at the beach)

Episode Overview: Pete and Andy explore advanced AI agent workflows, the evolution of AI coding tools, and strategies for building sustainable development practices while Pete is away doing "vibe coding and freedom tech" work.

Remote AI Development & Wingman Evolution (03:00-15:00)Pete demonstrates how geographic separation enhances AI-powered development, using his Wingman system to continue building while traveling. Discussion of voice-driven ideation versus typing, and the cognitive benefits of speaking ideas into existence without syntax distractions.

Trigger-Based Automation & Overnight Jobs (15:00-25:00)Introduction of Wingman's new trigger system allowing file-based automation and scheduled tasks. Pete's breakthrough with overnight security reviews using "Grug Brain Developer" principles to audit code changes and identify complexity concerns while he sleeps.

Claude Code vs. Goose: The Dual-Agent Approach (28:00-32:00)Analysis of using different AI models for different cognitive tasks - Claude Code as the enthusiastic "drunk writer" for rapid development, Goose as the thoughtful "sober editor" for planning and documentation. The "dog with two dicks problem" of Claude Code's over-eagerness to build.

Documentation Architecture & Anti-Slack Philosophy (32:00-40:00)Strong critique of chat-based interfaces for knowledge work. Pete's systematic approach to moving valuable insights from chat conversations into structured Obsidian documentation, and why real-time messaging tools damage business focus and inspiration.

AI Agent Loop Problems & Root Cause Analysis (41:00-50:00)Technical discussion of when Claude Code gets stuck in debugging loops due to hard-coded values and scope creep. Solutions include using different AI models for root cause analysis and implementing background auditing agents to catch coding mistakes.

Design-First Development & Planning Orchestration (50:00-59:00)The importance of spending more time in ideation and design phases before coding. Discussion of missing orchestration tools to convert comprehensive documentation into manageable work packages, and the trade-offs between YOLO development and structured planning.

• Segregated Computing: Using dedicated machines for AI development provides security and eliminates local environment dependencies
• Voice-Driven Ideation: Speaking ideas creates more fluid thought processes compared to typing with its syntax distractions
• Overnight Labor: AI agents can provide 16 hours of cleanup and maintenance work while humans sleep
• Dual-Agent Strategy: Different AI models excel at different cognitive tasks - planning vs. execution
• Documentation Philosophy: Structured knowledge systems beat chat interfaces for long-term value creation

"If I can buy a bucket of cognition for $1 instead of $100,000, why is the truck that big? What changes?"

"I feel like it's evolved from an expensive SaaS to a cheap worker. If you said you can hire somebody for a hundred dollars a month, you'd be like, yeah, that's excellent."

"I don't want the robots to give me nice documents on a plate and serve them to me as I sit in my armchair. Come on guys, if we're going to have robot labor, why are we going to these great lengths to make it easy for them?"

"Everything's just like in Slack and you have to constantly chase people to figure out versions because nothing's being managed in a sensible way anymore."