An open, practical record of questions, setups, results and the useful failures in between.
In development · September 2026
A community map without the headcount.
Can a map show where a conversation reaches without exposing readers or turning into an audience-size contest?
I’m testing a country-level view using Substack-reported locations. No names, subscriber counts or individual pins; smaller groups are omitted. The current work is about privacy, useful context and what the map can honestly claim.
Private prototype. Screenshot only—not a live reader map.
Early design · Country-level view, not precise locations. Basemap: Natural Earth.
Workbench
Hands-on tests, with the wires still attached.
Real hardware, real setup and a record of what happened before the verdict is earned.
Current · Started August 2026
Workbench #001 — Portable Omarchy Workstation
Question: Can one encrypted AI/dev environment live on an external NVMe, move between the NVIDIA desktop and an ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 with AMD Radeon RX 6700S graphics, and remain useful without configuration drama?
Working with
Omarchy 4.0.1 · encrypted Sabrent NVMe · NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti SUPER · AMD Radeon RX 6700S · Benzinga Pro · ChatGPT Desktop · Codex CLI
Verdict
Portability passed: the same encrypted installation moved from the NVIDIA desktop to the AMD laptop and back without repair. Benzinga Squawk, normal laptop hardware and power profiles worked; the Windows 70% charging limit did not carry into Omarchy.
Next
Decide whether one bounded sustained-workload test earns a place. Before regular laptop use, verify and configure an ASUS battery charge ceiling in Linux.
Current · Started August 2026
Workbench #002 — Can Omarchy Handle a Real Workday?
Question: Can an Omarchy desktop handle an ordinary day of trading, calls and vault work without Windows becoming the rescue plan?
Working with
Omarchy · TradingView Desktop · Google Meet · Obsidian · PipeWire USB audio · GeForce NOW
Verdict
Update, 9 September: Lee is now using Omarchy full-time. Trading, writing, calls, vault work and game streaming have taken it beyond a one-day trial. The migration article is live, and Lee reports that the Windows recovery image passed verification. This is a personal daily-use result, not a claim that every Windows application works or that the system is fault-free.
Next
Keep recording real-world reliability and recovery checks. A calendar-related hang was reported after the 8 September update; its cause is unresolved. Successful image verification is not a restore test.
Current · Started September 2026
Workbench #003 — Local AI That Is Actually Local
Question: Can a local-only AI setup stay private and feel genuinely useful in ordinary work, rather than merely prove that a model will run?
Working with
Omarchy · Ollama · Open WebUI · Docker · Gemma 3 12B · NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti SUPER · OpenSCAD
Verdict
Yes on the tested desktop: native Ollama and local Open WebUI stayed bound to the machine, while Gemma 3 12B ran fully on the RTX GPU. A controlled local check returned in 5.18 seconds cold and 1.36 seconds warm. A separate practical task felt much faster on Linux, but it used different models and runtime versions, so it is not an operating-system benchmark.
Next
Use the exact same model, digest and comparable runtime versions if a cross-platform claim becomes useful. Otherwise, move to one bounded real workload with temperatures and Git checkpoints.
Current · Started September 2026
Workbench #004 — Can Hermes Make Returning Easier?
Question: Can a persistent agent remember useful context and reuse proven procedures, so returning after an interruption takes less effort?
The published account records early tests on 8–9 September: fresh-session preference recall, shared context across providers including a local Qwen model, reuse of a saved health check, and an authorised, bounded run of an existing knowledge workflow. A Gemma configuration failed and was parked. These are reported results, not an independent audit or proof of long-term reliability. Remembering a boundary is not the same as enforcing it.
Next
Test whether the continuity remains useful after time away, and check that remembered instructions still reflect current decisions. Keep permission controls separate from written preferences. The article includes a small continuity-test guide using harmless sample material.
Lab status
Working now
Live questions still being tested in public.
Current · Started August 2026
First Steps
Question: Can a private, browser-based tool help someone turn half-noticed Parkinson's symptoms into a calmer, better-prepared clinical conversation?
Working with
Next.js · browser-only storage · printable report
Verdict
Live early experiment. It keeps entries on the device, produces a printable discussion record, and does not diagnose anything.
Next
Listen for useful friction before deciding whether it needs to become more.
Current · Started September 2026
My Linux Changes — remembering why I changed it
Question: Can a small desktop journal keep the reason for a Linux change alongside what changed, where the backup is and how to undo it?
Working with
Omarchy · Linux · Local change journal
Verdict
A local Omarchy bar prototype is built and in development. It combines deliberately written explanations with observations of installed package and plugin changes. Detection can flag a change; it cannot know why I made it. This is not a public release or a finished reliability verdict.
Next
Use it during ordinary desktop changes and check whether the saved explanation is useful when I return later. Test missed changes and recovery limits before considering a public release.
Current · Started August 2026
A permanent workshop, not another publishing treadmill
Question: Can a site make scattered work easier to understand without becoming a second newsletter to feed?
Working with
Astro · Markdown · local development server
Verdict
The workshop is live: a searchable archive, practical tools and the surrounding work in one place.
Next
Keep it useful without turning it into a platform.
Current · Started September 2026
Where was I? — a way back into the work
Question: Can a quiet bar plugin help me find the note I was working on and pick up one next step, without spending the day inside Obsidian?
Working with
Omarchy · Markdown · Local checkpoints
Verdict
Built and installed, and still in personal testing. I can browse recent Markdown notes, read them from the bar and leave a checkpoint with where I stopped and what comes next. The useful question is whether it helps when I actually lose the thread, not just whether the panel opens.
Next
Keep using it through ordinary interruptions and time away. Record what helps and what gets in the way before deciding whether it is ready for other people. Not a public release.
Lab status
What held up
Finished experiments with a result worth keeping.
Finished · Started August 2026
Five manual note-comparison tests
Question: Can a small, read-only local workflow produce useful, evidence-backed connection suggestions without quietly taking over the vault?
Working with
n8n · Ollama · copied external bundle
Verdict
Four useful outcomes from five test sets; one refusal was the right answer
Next
Keep it manual and bounded; the remaining manual-alternative measure is not yet established.
Finished · Started September 2026
From update confusion to a published Omarchy plugin
Question: I recognised Cursor in an update list. Mise? I had to ask. Could a small bar plugin close that memory/context gap by explaining what had changed, rather than leaving me with package names to decode again?
Working with
Omarchy · Linux · Codex · Python · QML
Verdict
Built with Codex, the experiment combined explanations of completed package changes with Omarchy news. After several days of ordinary use without issues on my machine and fourteen passing automated tests, it was useful enough to release publicly: v0.1.0 under MIT. The marketplace published and automatically verified the submitted snapshot. Marketplace verification is not a security audit, and one machine’s experience is not universal compatibility evidence.
Next
The experiment is finished; the released project remains active. Keep using it and let real problems guide any follow-up work.
Lab status
Useful decisions not to build
Stopped work can still leave behind a better rule.
Abandoned · Started June 2026
The health tracker I chose not to build
Question: Would a carefully designed no-shame tracker help on the days when tracking matters most?
Working with
Obsidian · design notes
Verdict
No — an empty dashboard would become a record of absence, not support
Next
Keep the lesson: a system that demands the most on a bad day has failed its own brief.
