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Notes from the workbench.

Long-form writing on web systems, AI, search, automation and infrastructure — everything here is something I actually built, broke, or learned the expensive way.

7 essays Updated Oct 2026 No listicles
01/ Featured

Featured note

AI systems AUG 23, 2026 · 12 MIN

Beyond Prompt Engineering: The Five Layers of Reliable AI Systems

A capable model is not a complete system. A practical framework — prompt, context, harness, loop and graph — for turning a clever one-shot answer into work you can verify and ship.

Read the essay →
The five layers
05GraphCoordinates loops, reviewers & people
04LoopVerifies against evidence, not confidence
03HarnessControls tools, files & permissions
02ContextWhat the model can actually see
01PromptThe instruction, right now
02/ All notes
N—01

I gave my AIs a shared brain (and only leaked the keys once)

One shared memory server on my own VPS, used by every AI agent I work with — the build, the bloopers, and what to steal.

Build logAI infrastructure Oct 11, 2026
8 min read N—02

Beyond Prompt Engineering: The Five Layers of Reliable AI Systems

A capable model is not a complete system. The five layers — prompt, context, harness, loop, graph — that turn a clever answer into verifiable work.

AI systemsFramework Aug 23, 2026
12 min read N—03

Why I Chose Matomo Over GA4 — and When GA4 Still Wins

Self-hosted analytics on infrastructure I control: the actual reasoning, plus an honest look at when GA4 is still the better call.

AnalyticsSelf-hosted Aug 23, 2026
14 min read N—04

Dispensary SEO in 2026: A Practical Guide to Maps, Menus, and Local Search

Local visibility, a crawlable menu, accurate store info, technical foundations and compliance-aware content — the full evaluation system.

SEOLocal search Aug 23, 2026
11 min read N—05

Music Venue SEO: How Live Events Become Permanent Digital Assets

Why venues should stop treating concerts as disposable promotions and build a searchable footprint that grows after every show.

SEOLive events Aug 23, 2026
10 min read N—06

React Website Design: What It Is, When to Use It, and What a Good Build Requires

React can power a polished marketing site or a complex application — but it isn't automatically the right tool. When it earns its complexity.

Web devReact Aug 23, 2026
12 min read N—07

After My Laptops Were Stolen, I Learned to Build From Android

Termux turned a phone into a real terminal. SSH connected it to my VPS. Git made sure the work never depended on one piece of hardware again.

Field notesTermux · SSH · Git Aug 23, 2026
9 min read N—08

How a $3 eBay Hosting Account Taught Me to Run My Own Web Infrastructure

A cheap account bought room to experiment — what it actually taught me was everything happening underneath a website.

Field notesInfrastructure Aug 23, 2026
10 min read

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