Built with care

A craftsman lived by a narrow bridge. Every time he built a better tool, figures appeared at dusk and praised his generosity. “This could help many,” they said. “Why keep it behind a door?” At first he argued. Then he explained. Then he felt guilty. And while he was explaining, his table stayed empty, his roof leaked, and the tools that should have fed him lay half-finished in other people’s hands. One morning he noticed the real pattern: they never asked first about the tool he had actually offered for sale. They drifted straight toward the workbench, the molds, the jigs, the hidden templates. Every time they came, they seemed wealthier, more ethical and hungrier. That day he painted four words above the bench: Offer. Method. Gift. Keep. Before speaking, he would place each thing into one of the four. If guilt rose in his chest, he treated it as weather, not law. He would exhale once, then turn back to the next paid, shippable step.

  • Learning: (Smaller) independent businesses.
  • Publishing format: Markdown, created in Markdown-centered editing software.
  • Production: Some AI assistance.
  • Development setting: During stages of development I’d be found at coworking spaces.
  • Payment processor: Stripe.
  • Social media: YouTube, previously X.
  • Video production: Kdenlive
  • Infrastructure: Details are intentionally hidden for cybersecurity reasons.

02 / Interactive map

Determinism

Map who or what wants an outcome, and how those demands shape what happens.

A life under pressure

Your map
0 tributaries
Pressure converging on an anonymous figureUse the editor or text view to inspect the map.01 TRIBUTARIES02 DOWNSTREAMTHE LIFE
Unwanted pressure Desirable influence Still open
Read map as text

A tributary is a demand feeding an outcome. Name who or what wants something and what they want.