Changelog
Progress updates, experiments, and learning in public.
2026-05-31
Built: a locked-down VPS account for my son — His own isolated home on my server with a continuously-synced Obsidian vault, key-based SSH over Tailscale, and read-only access for me.
Tags: #systems
2026-05-22
Built: analysis pipeline refactor — Reworked the data-analysis workflow into full-path and fast-path stages with explicit quality gates and a persistent-errors catalogue carried across the agent handoff.
Tags: #systems #ai
2026-05-17
Decided: an independent practice direction — Committed to a tiered productized-service vehicle for independent editorial-analytics and AI work, built slowly alongside the day job.
Tags: #learning
2026-05-14
Built: a meeting-notes pipeline — Local audio capture plus speaker diarization feeding an automatic signal-extractor, replacing the previous transcription tool.
Tags: #systems #ai
2026-05-11
Built: a two-agent analysis handoff — A plan-then-execute pattern (Prometheus plans, Atlas executes) for data work, with a human review gate between planning and execution.
Tags: #systems #ai
2026-05-02
Built: vault defense stack — After a silent git-revert nearly cost me data, added daily cloud backup, a heartbeat watchdog, a content-anomaly detector, and a safe-op wrapper so the failure cannot recur silently.
Tags: #systems
2026-04-30
Delivered: FY27 traffic diagnostic — Return-cohort analysis (~4,900 rows) restructured as leaky buckets + low-hanging fruit; Insights and Narrative drafted and delivered to the FY27 working group.
Tags: #analysis #work
2026-04-29
Built: monthly-review skill — A reflective monthly review that re-reads the window’s daily reflections, runs theme + goal-gap analyses, walks projects and areas, drives bullet journal migration, and drafts /now + changelog updates. Shipped alongside shell specs for quarterly and annual that encode a cross-skill altitude pattern (runway / projects / areas / goals / vision / purpose).
Tags: #shipped #systems #gtd
2026-04-28
Built: Three-tier write policy + tracker-sync skill — Vault writes now follow a tiered gate (always-gate / show-and-apply / auto) instead of a binary propose-first, matched to model quality and blast radius. Tracker-sync skill mirrors an analysis questions register from a local source through Google Docs and Confluence.
Tags: #shipped #systems #ai
2026-04-27
Built: message-drafting and bujo-reconcile skills — One drafts outbound messages with a voice/style scan and an explicit context pass. The other merges OCR’d paper bullet journal pages into the matching daily note (date inference, dedupe, capture/clarify/route).
Tags: #shipped #systems #gtd
2026-04-21
Built: Morning routine ramp plan — 4-week ramp toward a quiet spine before 6:45am with paired bedtime ramp. Wrote a small Hermes check-in skill alongside to keep me honest without nagging.
Tags: #systems #learning
2026-04-18
Site automation — Set up GitHub Actions deploy pipeline (build + rsync to VPS on push). Added nginx cache headers for hashed assets. Capped writing page at 20 posts. Wired /now page to generate from vault note at build time, so Obsidian edits flow through to the site automatically.
Tags: #shipped #systems
2026-04-01
Site update — Rebranded to John Artman. Updated /now page with current projects and reading list. Added newsletter subscribe CTA and cover images to writing cards. → knowsnothing.org
Tags: #shipped
2026-03-29
Built: I Ching coaching agent — AI-powered Socratic analyst for I Ching practice. Daily orientations and specific-question consultations. Built on top of my personal AI system (OpenClaw).
Tags: #shipped #ai #openclaw
2026-03-21
Delivered: Content access strategy analysis — Audience segmentation and access model analysis for SCMP live blog content.
Tags: #analysis #work
2026-03-15
Built: GTD + PARA knowledge system — Full rebuild of my personal productivity system in Obsidian. Projects, tasks, areas, and reference material in one interconnected vault. Replaced legacy task manager.
Tags: #shipped #systems #gtd
2026-03-08
Started: Voice development practice — Structured writing voice work using an AI thinking partner. Focus: closing the gap between how I write informally (clear, direct) and how I write publicly (managed, flat).
Tags: #learning #writing
2026-02-26
Delivered: Content format performance analysis — Benchmarked a recurring content format against section-wide performance at SCMP.
Tags: #analysis #work
2026-02-11
Delivered: Content archetype analysis — Segmented SCMP’s content into different “jobs to be done” buckets
Tags: #analysis #work
2026-02-16
Updated branding on the site and Substack - Site and Substack branding updated to better reflect who I am and what I’m trying to do. Substack integration added and external links (LinkedIn) fixed.
2026-02-08
Launched personal website v1 — Site is live with home, writing, about, now, and changelog pages. Substack integration coming next. Minimal design with focus on clarity and readability.
Tags: #shipped #milestone
Earlier
More updates coming as I build and ship new features.