when you need to bring big tools in a little car I want to build wilder and more beautiful things with my friends. I’ve been trying to live this philosophy for a while. What does that actually mean though? to build = to continuously be learning with and from those around me, be challenged, and to push myself to discover new places and possibilities. To participate in the process of ideating, designing, prototyping, experimenting with, and doing deep engineering, solo and together.

Hello world. It’s been a busy few months. I got sick about six weeks ago and it finally let up about a week ago; I was coughing an annoying cough and the doctors didn’t know what it is. In typical Jon fashion I was starting a new contract job and went full steam ahead while my body should’ve been recovering, and that’s probably what made it last weeks and weeks. It’s been so long since I’d actually been sick, I’d forgotten how to get better.

A few months ago my friend Eli was sharing his screen and opened a new tab on his browser. Instead of the usual inspirational quote or clock extension, commonly-visited tabs, or my personal pet peeve - recent breaking news articles and photos from disaster zones - his new tab was a map of his internet and most important documents: I was enthralled: it was the most useful thing I’ve ever seen on a new tab page, completely personalized to his needs and his perspective on the internet.

Midjourney By the time I got my first computer, connecting to the world wide web was a quiet affair. No longer was it screeching boops and beeps; a process I watched but had only later come to understand as computers talking to each other on the lines we humans built to talk to each other. Now, a simple switch toggled on, and I was in. And how much there was to explore.

Fourth of July Trailhead, Nederland, CO I recently hosted (my first ever) writing workshop on journaling at Burning Man. These are my notes in blog post form - thanks Alex for the idea! The workshop and this post are a spiritual successor to a post from a few years ago. Thanks to Savannah, Nancy, Kristen, and Dave for showing up to my workshop on that beautiful, dusty, windy day.