The 80-Day Project

Building TVLens in public, one post a day, from the code to what it taught. The reasoning behind the bigger calls is written up separately, in the decision records.

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• Day 32-40SlowA slow week to close the round.September 4, 2026
• Day 31PapercutsRecommender is complete. Now a bit of polish.September 2, 2026
• Day 30Persistent ratingsRatings are persistent even when the catalog updates.September 1, 2026
• Day 29It's Okay Not to BuildA badge that would have marked the shows a five-star rating already marks.August 31, 2026
• Day 28Leaner can be betterThe catalog is half the size it was, and better for it.August 30, 2026
• Day 27The need for speedTVLens is now faster.August 29, 2026
• Day 26Quality controlNo code. 305 tests, 50 lint findings, and the dedupe order confirmed.August 28, 2026
• Day 25What Next?What to Watch Next moves to the homepage, above Side Quests.August 27, 2026
• Day 24Bolster the FoundationFour issues triaged, and the foundation shored up before the last stretch.August 26, 2026
• Day 23A Day OffA day of no scheduled activity.August 25, 2026
• Day 22Search Is HereSearch, with operators and a fuzzy fallback.August 24, 2026
• Day 21Sundays Are for PapercutsTrailers shipped. So did six small annoyances.August 23, 2026
• Day 20Use It FirstFive problems found by using the site.August 22, 2026
• Day 19Ask FirstSide Quests, and an agent that said no.August 21, 2026
• Day 18Compare FirstTop Picks, ranked by lift over the crowd.August 20, 2026
• Day 17Listen FirstRatings, so the app can learn from a user.August 19, 2026
• Day 16Decide FirstDesigning personalization before writing any of it.August 18, 2026
• Day 15Compute OnceStoring recommendations instead of rebuilding them.August 17, 2026
• Day 14Lifting the CapMoving the lookup into the database.August 16, 2026
• Day 13Scale HardeningSQLite's 999-variable limit, found early.August 15, 2026
• Day 12Context BoxesExplaining a connection instead of listing names.August 14, 2026
• Day 11Wireframe CodingThe wireframe, built into a real page.August 13, 2026
• Day 10WireframeWireframing the show page with Claude Design.August 12, 2026
• Day 9From Linear to GitHubMoving issues from Linear to GitHub.August 11, 2026
• Day 6-8BreakThree days of travel. No work.August 8, 2026
• Day 5Clean UpA data health check and a fallback rule.August 7, 2026
• Day 4An Agent Named TonyAn engineering agent, set loose on the weights.August 6, 2026
• Day 3Quantity isn't always qualityCounting episodes, not just credits.August 5, 2026
• Day 3Business rulesThe rules of the eighty days.August 5, 2026
• Day 2Crew ConnectionsAdding crew to the connections.August 4, 2026
• Day 1Starting with the RecommenderConnecting shows through the people who made them.August 3, 2026
• Day 0Here we goAnnouncing TVLens and the eighty-day clock.August 2, 2026