Rizel Scarlett

Developers deserve to have fun. There was a time when the internet felt magical. I remember going to the library just to create a character on The Doll Palace. At home, I'd spend hours changing fonts with WordArt. But as I grew up, the industry did too. We've shifted away from marquees and glittery cursors. Grown-up me started using ones and zeros to build reliable systems for insurance, banking, and healthcare companies. There's pride in that, but it's harder to justify doing something just because it's fun.

That's why I tapped into my inner child and used Goose to build a UI that reacts to users' emotions.

Localhost Ports Hoarding​

I'm perpetually drowning in open tabs. Yes, I do need Bluesky, ChatGPT, Claude, Goose, Cursor, Discord, Slack, Netflix, and Google Docs all open at the same time. I've learned that tab management isn't my only vice.

"Hi, my name is Rizel, and I'm a localhost ports hoarder. 👋🏿"

Ratatouille isn't just a heartwarming (and slightly unhygienic) film about a rat chef. It's also analogous to a popular tech trend: AI agents and the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

"Stop using AI," reads yet another viral post. I get it. It's frustrating to review a colleague's auto-generated work, filled with AI's classic giveaways like generic code comments and phrases like "In today's fast-paced world..."

Still, AI plays a pivotal role in my career. I don't rely on AI to do my work, but I use it to help me brainstorm and work more effciently. The introduction of Model Context Protocol (MCP) has made this even easier. MCP is an open standard that gives AI tools the context they need to be useful in the real world. It enables AI agents to interact with APIs, apps, and systems in a structured way. I use Codename goose, an open source AI agent built on MCP.

Here are 11 real ways I use AI Agents without sacrificing authenticity, creativity, or quality:

On Feb 2, 2025, Andrej Karpathy coined the phrase "vibe coding". Vibe coding represents a new approach to coding where developers ask an AI agent to build something, and they go with the flow.

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) makes this practice possible. Before MCP, developers copied and pasted context between applications. This workflow fell short of the promised AI agent automation that everyone claimed. Today, AI agents can work autonomously using MCP and integrate with any application, from GitHub to Cloudflare, YouTube, and Figma.

This shift democratizes coding. For example, it's empowered:

• Web developers to create video games with Unity
• Designers and product managers to prototype full-stack applications
• Business owners to transform their visions into functional products

It's a freeing experience. But too often, we're Icarus with the keyboard, vibe coding too close to the sun.

Question: What happens when you bring 70+ AI enthusiasts, open source contributors, and curious learners together in one room?

Answer: You get an electric night filled with great conversations, hands-on hacking, and mind-blowing insights into agentic systems.

This week, we hosted our very first Goose Meetup in Boston at the Cambridge Innovation Center. The turnout and energy exceeded all expectations! From first-time Goose users to seasoned AI engineers, attendees gathered to explore how Goose and the Model Context Protocol (MCP) are shaping the future of AI automation.

I'm a developer at heart, so when I'm working on a personal project, the hardest part isn't writing code—it's making design decisions. I recently built a calendar user interface. I wanted to enhance its visual appeal, so I researched UI design trends like "glassmorphism" and "claymorphism."

However, I didn't want to spend hours implementing the CSS for each design trend, so I developed a faster approach: screenshot-driven development. I used an open source developer agent called Goose to transform my user interfaces quickly.