Java Snippet - Using SecureRandom
A better random number generator ```java
import java.security.SecureRandom; ... public static SecureRandom random = null; static { try { random = SecureRandom.getInstance("SHA1PRNG"); random.setSeed( random.generateSeed(256) ); } catch( Exception e ) { e.printStackTrace(); } }
The Cutler.sg Newsletter
Weekly notes on AI, engineering leadership, and building in Singapore. No fluff.
Loop Engineering: The Loop Was Never the Hard Part
Stop prompting, start looping — but the loop is the easy 20%. After a year shipping agentic loops (and a $500 runaway), here's the part the hype keeps getting backwards: the done-check and the verifier.
Two Papers That Puncture the Hype
One paper shows frontier models degrade as context grows — even on trivial tasks. The other shows reasoning models hit a wall and think less as problems get harder. Read carefully, both point at the same engineering response.
The 30 Principles for Agentic Engineering — Part 5: Calibration and Reality
Principles 26–30. The calibration layer that catches what the rest of the framework would miss: a PR-noise budget, independent verification, model-swap regression discipline, the 15-tool-call rule, and protecting junior development.