Notes
A collection of evergreen ideas and connected thoughts. These notes grow and evolve over time, building a network of interconnected knowledge.
Browse by Topic
Evergreen — Well-developed ideas
Ways of Working to Ship Small and Learn Fast
A blueprint for an engineering culture that values shipping small, learning in public, and high autonomy. Where code is the tool and outcomes are the point. Shifting from 'software engineer' to 'product engineer'.
On Ideation: Harbor for Hobbyists
Already published on blog.tinkerer.tools.
On Journaling: The Wheel of VOMIT
Already published on blog.tinkerer.tools.
On Reading: Empire of Silence, a fascinating slog
Already published on blog.tinkerer.tools.
Growing — Work in progress
Harbor for Hobbyists
A tool to streamline personal backlog management for hobbyists.
Building a Proper Dev VM on the Homelab
How I stopped fighting browser-based IDEs and built an SSH-native dev playground on TrueNAS — plus a cross-device Claude Code config that travels with me.
Browser SSH via Cloudflare Tunnel
Open a full SSH terminal to the NAS from any browser, anywhere — no client, no keys, no VPN. Email OTP via Cloudflare Access drops you straight into a shell.
Running a Multi-Agent AI Company on a Homelab
How I set up Paperclip, MemPalace, and Playwright MCP on TrueNAS SCALE to orchestrate 9 AI agents shipping a real product.
Self-Hosted Media Pipeline
How I replaced paid streaming services with an automated, self-hosted media pipeline on a TrueNAS box.
The VOMIT System
A journaling prompt system for clarity and growth.
Seeds — Early stage
Running Ironsworn with Claude as Oracle
Survey of community Ironsworn tooling and a scoped design for a local `/ironsworn` Claude skill — rules-of-engagement + journal-append helpers, no dice automation.
A Rubric for n8n Workflow Quality (v0)
Six dimensions I'd use to review an n8n workflow, and the workflow that applies them. Written as part of a job application to n8n — expect it to be wrong in specific ways.
Building Clinch
Designed and built /clinch, an end-of-session ritual that surfaces loose ends, proposes memory writes, and walks every dirty repo through verify-commit-push with per-repo confirmation.
Building a Cross-Device Claude Code Configuration
How I set up a symlink-based Claude Code config repo that syncs skills, memory, MCP servers, and settings across devices.
My Homelab Journey
Operating Under Fire
What to do when a doc lands with seven simultaneous fires and a 30-day deadline.
Self-hosting Atuin on TrueNAS SCALE
Step-by-step guide to running the Atuin shell history sync server on TrueNAS SCALE with Postgres and Tailscale access, plus four gotchas to avoid.
AI-Enhanced Engineering Management
A practical guide for small tech teams.
Antifragile — Highlights
Kindle highlights from Taleb's Antifragile.
Being the Boss — Highlights
Kindle highlights from Lineback's book on management.
Building a Second Brain — Notes
Reading notes on Tiago Forte's book.
Combining Zettelkasten and Building a Second Brain
How the two systems compose.
Comfort Zone
Critical Success Indicator
Drive
Essay on motivation and how it can't be outsourced.
Game Evaluation Framework
Heuristics for wishlist pruning, buying, and backlog.
Growth Mindset
Leadership Self-Assessment for Engineering Managers
Nugget 1 — Ruthless Clarity on One Thing
Nugget 2 — Build Visible Momentum
Nugget 3 — Reduce Context Switch Cognitive Tax
Nugget 4 — Ride Your Ultradian Waves for Peak Performance
Roles and Responsibilities
Streamlined Dynamic Workflow
A workflow framework for engineering managers.
The Dip — Summary
Summary of Seth Godin's The Dip.
Toolkit for Receiving Feedback
Based on Stone & Heen's Thanks for the Feedback.
Understanding an Underperformer
VUCA Model
Five tries to drop a pin
Five coordinate sources, one building in Arrecife, ranked by what actually landed.