Don't Be Your Agent's Feedback Loop
Stop manually correcting your AI coding agent. Use backpressure: deterministic tools and context-efficient output to keep it on track.
Alex Franz
Recent content on Alex Franz
Latest posts
Finishing my first Marathon: Berlin 2024
Two weeks ago, I finished my first marathon: the Berlin Marathon 2024. Before training for this race, the furthest I had run was a half-marathon as part of an Ironman 70.3, with a personal best of 1:40. This is how my preparation and race went for a sub 3:15 finish.
Render, Fly.io & Railway: PaaS Container Deployment in 2024
A comparison of platforms for deploying containerized applications.
Deploying Container Apps with faasd
Rent your own private server and deploy containerized apps with faasd.
Learning to run again
The joy of running again. Take your time.
How to Start a New Country in the 21st century?
Countries are imagined entities, how can we start new ones using established technologies?
Comeback of the Charter City?
Charter cities had a rough history but we can still learn from them. Implementing rule changes on a subnational level seems to be a way to go.
The 2020 Review
my review of the past year.
The Personal Python Data Science Toolkit - Part 1
how to build a toolkit of frequently used python functions for your Data Science work.
Public speaking as an exercise
Two weeks ago I had the great pleasure to co-organize the AI in Action MeetUp at the office of my employer Sennder. With the MeetUp’s theme centered around mobility and logistics, I had the honor of presenting a talk on Geospatial Feature Engineering. Presenting a talk at the local MeetUp Start small - practice often Public speaking is still considered to be amongst the most dreaded…
2020 Visions - Starting a new blog
I know it’s almost too late for a new year’s speech (rather talk, or blog entry!). Gym owners are most likely already in agony as they see the hordes of new years resolution joiners already quitting those shiny new contracts. But not here! What does this year have in store for me (and for you?). On a general note, I want to use this blog primarily as a practice for my writing and occasional…
About Me
I’m currently working as an AI Engineer at Lucanet. Previously, I worked in various Machine Learning and AI roles at big and small tech companies. Originally from Bavaria (hence my affinity for 🥨), I love training (running, cycling, yoga …), reading and trying out new things in my free time. Sometimes I will also blog about things that interest me, revolving around topics in tech,…
Data
Some sample datasets/code-snippets I use for my tutorials and experiments. Usage example import pandas as pd df = pd.read_parquet('https://alexfranz.com/data/titanic.parquet') # or read the csv file df = pd.read_csv('https://alexfranz.com/data/titanic.csv') csv titanic.csv parquet titanic.parquet
Endurance sports
I am not a professional athlete, but I love to train and compete in endurance sports. I have started participating in triathlon races (up to Ironman 70.3/middle distance) since 2022. Training helps me to stay focused and healthy, and I enjoy the process of setting and reaching goals and improving my performance over time. IM 70.3 bike leg in Portugal (2022) 2026 Goals My main goal for this year is…
Now
This is my Now page (inspired by Derek Sivers), describing in more detail what I am currently doing in my life. It is kind of like the About site but more up-to-date. I think it is useful to have as a way to hold myself accountable for things I intend to do. It also helps me to reflect upon if I spend my free-time in a way that is beneficial to reach my goals.
Projects
I like building small tools that scratch my own itch — sometimes I polish them enough to let other people scratch theirs too. I’ve always enjoyed working with data and code, but ever since AI coding agents entered the chat, my side-project output has suspiciously multiplied. 2026 Active athleteb.io A link-in-bio platform for endurance athletes. Showcase your achievements, connect with…