iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 28/09/2026

SOLID principles are needed in the age of AI-assisted programming. Here’s the S in SOLID www.thepythoncodingstack.com/p/solid-sing...

thepythoncodingstack.com

The Potion Shop That Does Too Much • The S in SOLID

The Single Responsibility Principle • SOLID Ideas • #1

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 25/09/2026

Do you miss chatting to Real People? You've been chatting with agents for too long! Join me for a casual and informal chat at --Real Python Live-- Every Wednesday at 1900 UTC (or see time in your timezone here: realpython.com/live/real-py... @realpython.com

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 06/09/2026

You open a blank .py file in your favourite IDE. You have a blank page in front of you. You start writing code. Or do you? www.thepythoncodingstack.com/p/how-i-code...

thepythoncodingstack.com

How I Code (Late 2026 Version)

Programming has changed. How I code now is different from a few months ago

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 22/06/2026

Chapter 2 in Agents Unpacked is out: Anatomy of an Agent I continue on my journey of learning about agentic AI from my personalised learning mentor agent… www.thepythoncodingstack.com/p/2-anatomy-...

thepythoncodingstack.com

2. Anatomy of an Agent

Authors: Priya & Stephen

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 08/06/2026

There are 113 posters or notices stuck to the wall or notice boards in the doctor’s surgery waiting room. I’m sure someone must have carried out a research project somewhere, some time to show the optimum number is…much, much less than this!

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 06/06/2026

What makes a good 100m start? Is it what commentators on TV want us to believe? Lyles vs Anthony at Rome diamond league--a step by step analysis, literally Here's the link: backonthetrack.substack.com/p/whats-a-go...

Cover image showing the title of the article What's a Good 100m Start?

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Reposted by Stephen Gruppetta

Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 04/06/2026

"You know that street game where the performer (con artist?) has three opaque cups and a small ball. He places the cups upside down on the table, with the ball under one of the cups. He quickly shuffles the cups around and then ... www.thepythoncodingstack.com/p/down-the-i...

thepythoncodingstack.com

Down The Iterator Rabbit Hole

Following the trail when you have a chain of iterators

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 04/06/2026

"…there are no scams when you’re playing the iterator game. Let’s make sure you’ll always win." Read the full post at www.thepythoncodingstack.com/p/down-the-i...

thepythoncodingstack.com

Down The Iterator Rabbit Hole

Following the trail when you have a chain of iterators

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 04/06/2026

"…asks the player to guess which cup has the ball. You’ve seen the game on TV, even if you’ve not seen it in real life. "Following what’s happening when you have a chain of iterators in Python can feel like playing that game. But, unlike the street game, ...

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 04/06/2026

thepythoncodingstack.com

Down The Iterator Rabbit Hole

Following the trail when you have a chain of iterators

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 03/06/2026

I had missed the Agentic AI boat last year, even though I was using LLMs daily… …this is how I caught up/am catching up Second post in this series coming soon (make sure you're subscribed…)

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 01/06/2026

What works for me is not necessarily what works for others, but I was curious about what the current research says… backonthetrack.substack.com/p/the-shoe-d...

backonthetrack.substack.com

The Shoe Debate: Minimalist or Cushioned?

My injuries in my first career were due to many reasons.

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 01/06/2026

What works for me is not necessarily what works for others, but I was curious about what the current research says… backonthetrack.substack.com/p/the-shoe-d...

backonthetrack.substack.com

The Shoe Debate: Minimalist or Cushioned?

My injuries in my first career were due to many reasons.

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 31/05/2026

- And the first in my new as-yet-unannounced series on The Python Coding Stack Better get started to try and publish some of these today…

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 31/05/2026

- An article researching the current research on minimalist vs cushioned shoes for everyday life, running (general), and sprinting - An article on how I noticed an issue with my breathing pattern when sprinting, and my plan to fix it ...

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 31/05/2026

I have several articles across my various fields of interest ready for publication or almost ready--I'll try to make a push with some of them today: - An interesting take on iterables and iterators in Python - The next article in the Agents Uncovered series about understanding AI Agents ...

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 30/05/2026

No more refreshing webpages all day. We also get a nice summary at the end of the day when the meet is over. Now my agent is tidying up to make it easy to launch at the start of every meet.

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 30/05/2026

…scraping the results page, finding new results, finding our club’s athletes, and sending a message to a Telegram channel with their result. I made some adjustments (via my agent, of course) while I was at the meet. All using my phone to talk to my agent. …

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 30/05/2026

Driving towards the venue, I asked my son, who was travelling with me, to type what I dictate to my agent. By the time I got to the track, I had a cron running every five minutes… …

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 30/05/2026

Results are published on a website. All coaches, athletes, and parents are constantly refreshing the webpage during meets waiting for the published results for each event throughout the day. It’s annoying. …

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 30/05/2026

In the series “this wouldn’t have been possible six months ago” I was on my way to a track and field meeting this morning. I’m a coach so I need to monitor results for several athletes. …

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 28/05/2026

I find "claude" is one of those words I need to slow down to type (or I get typos if I don't slow down) Caveat: My touch typing skills are OK but not exceptional Is it just me?

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Reposted by Stephen Gruppetta

Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 24/05/2026

The first post in the Agents Unpacked series. My quest to move from "understanding chatbots and LLMs" to "understanding agents and agentic AI" www.thepythoncodingstack.com/p/understand...

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 24/05/2026

And these posts are a collaboration between me and my personalised tutor agent. Read about this in the preface to the series. www.thepythoncodingstack.com/p/stephens-p...

thepythoncodingstack.com

Stephen's Preface to Agents Unpacked

Why I Build an Agent to Teach Me About Agents, Using My Own Teaching Style

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 24/05/2026

The first post in the Agents Unpacked series. My quest to move from "understanding chatbots and LLMs" to "understanding agents and agentic AI" www.thepythoncodingstack.com/p/understand...

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Reposted by Stephen Gruppetta

Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 21/05/2026

""" I know how I like to learn new things. Over the years, I figured out what works for me and what doesn’t. If you read my articles or attend my courses, then you know how I like to learn since I teach in the same way. ... www.thepythoncodingstack.com/p/how-i-lear...

thepythoncodingstack.com

How I Learn (2026 Version) • My Tutor Agent

…and you'll be able to see my new system at work with two new sections here on The Python Coding Stack

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 21/05/2026

And you’ll experience her teaching, too (not on the Python articles, though, I’ll keep writing those the old-fashioned way.) I’ll tell you more about this below, too, but let me first tell you why this works for me. """ Read the rest of this post here: www.thepythoncodingstack.com/p/how-i-lear...

thepythoncodingstack.com

How I Learn (2026 Version) • My Tutor Agent

…and you'll be able to see my new system at work with two new sections here on The Python Coding Stack

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 21/05/2026

After many decades of learning in the same way, I have now upgraded how I learn thanks to my new tutor, Priya. Yes, I gave her a name. No, she’s not a real person. Priya is my personalised tutor agent. I’ll tell you all about her below. ...

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 21/05/2026

I recently got particularly annoyed learning about the biomechanics of sprinting – I do have non-Python interests, yes – because all three textbooks I read, and lots of the online writing in this field, are just, let’s say, not great. But I now found the solution. ...

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 21/05/2026

The challenge when learning something new is finding resources that are just right for me. And that’s not easy. I know I can learn things better and quicker with resources that fit my style well, but you can’t always find these resources. ...

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 21/05/2026

thepythoncodingstack.com

How I Learn (2026 Version) • My Tutor Agent

…and you'll be able to see my new system at work with two new sections here on The Python Coding Stack

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 04/05/2026

This batch of special methods is the most confusing… in part because of similar/overlapping names… in part because some of them are interlinked and intertwined Here's my attempt at reducing the confusion `__getitem__()`, `__getattr__()`, `__getattribute__()`, and `__get__()`

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 04/05/2026

This article contains the following sentence: > Now, you won’t forget the four “get“ special methods. My son just walked out disapprovingly when he read this! www.thepythoncodingstack.com/p/do-you-get...

thepythoncodingstack.com

Do You Get It Now?

Python's `.__getitem__()`, `.__getattr__()`, `.__getattribute__()`, and `.__get__()` • What's The Difference? • Let's clear the confusion

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 03/05/2026

Update: you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 03/05/2026

When you set out to write a "quick, short article" and you end up with 5,500 words… …I'll try to publish tonight, but there's still all the editing and fine-tuning phases to go…

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 24/04/2026

This has been the longest gap between published articles since I started The Python Coding Stack three years ago—one month between posts. More than one reason. But I’m now back with a vengeance. Stay tuned for several projects I’m brewing at the moment.

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 25/04/2026

I’ll write it down soon in a post. Stay tuned

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 25/04/2026

I’m still very much learning about all this stuff, so as long as you’re fine with an narrative of stumbling from one frustrating mishap to another, then yes (probably once my current setup has settled a bit though so I know whether my conclusions make sort of sense!)

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 25/04/2026

OpenClaw Some love it. Some hate it. For better or for worse, it’s the avenue I chose for exploring agentic AI. Stay tuned. I made lots and lots of mistakes. But I get it now More soon

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 24/04/2026

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 24/04/2026

Sometimes it’s AI-assisted human coding Sometimes it’s human-assisted AI programming www.thepythoncodingstack.com/p/doubling-d...

thepythoncodingstack.com

Doubling Down on Python in The Age of AI

…and why you haven’t seen AI posts on here (yet)

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 24/04/2026

What’s the one feature you’d mention first when describing a `set` in Python. (I bet it’s not the most interesting / powerful feature of sets…)

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 24/04/2026

Doubling Down on Python in The Age of AI I've been missing from The Python Coding Stack for a few weeks – but I'm back now. Like many, I've been thinking a lot about programming and Python in the age of AI. Here are my thoughts at present www.thepythoncodingstack.com/p/doubling-d...

Doubling Down on Python in the Age of AI - person holding a pair of glasses look at a cloudy sky

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 21/04/2026

The real strength of AI tools (for me) is being able to do things I’d otherwise not have time to do myself—stuff that would never have happened otherwise

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 09/04/2026

Maybe I should start running Python workshops in Covent Garden PS: I’ve been having a short break. Normal service will resume soon on The Python Coding Stack

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 09/04/2026

This is what’s missing with technical publications. Most people expect to read for free. So few choose to pay, even though there’s the same mastery, the same experience and professionalism, the same value as that provided by today’s street performer. …

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 09/04/2026

But many didn’t. They walked up to him and paid some money. Not small change—real money. I sent my son with a £10 note. There were five of us and we were entertained for about half an hour. I feel I underpaid. Why do so many pay for a free show? There’s the expectation that you should pay. …

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Stephen Gruppetta @stephengruppetta.com · 09/04/2026

Yet, he performed in a free setting. People could watch the whole show and then walk away. And many did. …

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