context: a few friends and I are circling around the idea of “Local Community Tech Stacks”: interoperable, somewhat vibe-coded, ideally self-hostable apps to help our communities run. While still fairly nascent, we agreed to start publishing our adventures in this space to record and share our insights for each other and the broader world. Savannah runs something called food exchange here in Boulder. Every week, each person creates a number of jars of the same dish to then swap with everyone else for their jar of a different dish.

On Friday July 4 I took a tumble over my handlebars. I’m stable and alright now; it could’ve been much worse. But here’s the full story for your pleasure (or displeasure). Medication station My friend Andrew (check out his Soundcloud) and I had summited Flagstaff Mtn via Chapman Dr. We took the back road to avoid cars because cars are how you get injured. We made great time on the way up, chilled up there sufficiently, and were ready to rejoin the rest of the group for a Fourth party.

location: Roosevelt National Forest, CO at Colorado Mountain Club’s Brainard Cabin length of stay: 2 nights party: Gary, Lauren, Ken, and myself weather: "Highs in the 40s and mostly clear with clouds at sun set. Steady barometer." If ever there was a cabin to describe as analog, this would be it. From the first signage as you approach the door to the closing remarks on the check-out report you sign your name on, this place speaks to you through 97 years of iteratively-defined social practices passed down through pen, sharpie, and patina.

2024 Nano Texture Macbook Pro on the left; 2021 Glossy Macbook Pro on the right TLDR: the Nano Texture performs wonderfully anywhere where light used to be a factor and used to force me to shade my screen or avoid the place entirely. I’m less concerned with where I sit indoors. Coffee shops / offices with skylights or intense lighting are much more comfortable Coding and working outside is now feasible: browsing the internet, writing in Obsidian; all delightful The screen needs more effort to keep clean than a normal screen and comes with a special wipe that needs to be used instead of microfiber Black text on white background (light mode) is considerably more readable than white text on black background (dark mode) Overall a massive step forward for outdoor computing Big thanks to Julie Kruger for the comparison photos and CJ for draft feedback.

In light of all the interesting times going on around us, I was exploring some possible future scenarios. I don’t know how things will go. There are as many wonderful outcomes possible as there are awful ones. But scrolling back from these futures back to the present day, I seem to land on three distinct actions I can take today. These hopefully nudge the space-time around me in slightly more opportune and fortunate futures.