Building with AI
The rapid advance of AI production tools has inspired me to build several personal projects.
Boston Sports Hub
My first effort was the Boston Sports Hub iOS app. It features news, scores, and standings from the four major Boston sports teams. I’ve wanted to build this app since my time at The Boston Globe, and I used Codex to bring my vision to life. Download the app here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/boston-fan-hub/id6759392566
The Blizzard of 2026
We got some snow in Boston. A lot of snow. I built a real-time map to track where the most snow had fallen in the Boston area. Providence got socked! Check it out here: https://mww-weather.netlify.app
Snow plowing dashboard
As we began to dig out from the storm, I started to wonder about how well the city was clearing the streets. Luckily, Boston 311 releases data about requests for plowing, as well as how many requests have been cleared. I was able to figure out which neighborhoods had the highest percentage of requests cleared. I also looked at which neighborhoods had the most requests per resident and per street mile. Dorchester is a true snow plowing champion! Check out the dashboard here: https://boston-winter-plowing-dashboard.netlify.app
Sol LeWitt generator
As I worked more and more with AI, I started thinking about the artist Sol LeWitt. Much of his work consists of written directions that are executed by others. With that in mind, I decided to create a Sol LeWitt drawing generator. The page takes one instruction, starts from a blank surface, and “follows” that instruction to place lines, shapes, and marks in the right general structure. It uses a new random starting point each time, so the result changes on every run, but it still checks key rules for certain drawings so the outcome remains recognizable to LeWitt’s direction. https://lewitt-instruction-generator-mww.netlify.app
Dinner party planner
After hearing about Lovable on Lenny’s Podcast, I had to try it out. My first project with the new tool was a dinner party planner web app. Tell the app about the dinner party you want to host (time, date, guests, number of courses, etc.), and it generates a suggested menu, with wine pairings, as well as a preparation plan and shopping list. You can also incorporate your own recipes via copy/paste or by uploading a photo of the recipe. https://dinnerpartyplan.com
The Grainger family letters
I asked Claude to analyze our family’s Christmas letters and write a narrative of the family. Turns out, it could read my grandmother’s cursive better than I could. After toning down Claude’s description of my "extraordinary" family, and explaining that there were two Eleanors and two Michaels mentioned, I had a narrative that I could share with family members. I turned the letters into a digital archive with full transcriptions, an interactive map, and a question-and-answer feature that lets people explore the family story in a more conversational way. https://grainger-letters.netlify.app