Decomposing on My Sofa for Four Days Is Fine, Actually
It's day two of my four-day staycation and I'm taking a break from decomposing on my sofa to write this. Does a person without a job actually need a vacation? Yes, I do, and it's your fault. Not really, but since leaving my job in March I've been pouring myself into REFACTR.TECH so I can feel busy and therefore like I'm accomplishing something. The result: I burnt myself out again, second time this year. Turns out you can absolutely overcommit your way into needing a break from your own free time. So I'm taking one. No agenda, no deliverables (except for this, I guess), nothing to show for it at the end, and I'm ok with that.
Claude Design
In any given week I'm making graphics for REFACTR events and social media, assets for my personal site (case studies, blogs), and my own social posts. I do still use Canva for some things, but I've made the move to Claude Design. I describe what I want, it builds a first version, and then I refine it in the chat or by editing directly. The biggest feature is the design system. At any given time we've got 5–10 upcoming events listed on Meetup, and loading in the REFACTR brand guide keeps the look and vibe consistent across all of them and then across our social media. I built a design system for my personal site too. It's also the first AI design tool that doesn't make those cringey AI flyers people are always yelling about.
→ VisitAll Things Open 2026
This is my third, or maybe my fourth, time going to All Things Open. It's 18 tracks and 100+ speakers across AI, cloud, security, Linux, DevOps, and community, plus a full day of workshops and co-located community events. ATO is one of the best-run, most welcoming conferences in open source, and Todd Lewis and his team make that look easy, which we know from running events at a fraction of ATO's size, it certainly is not. Beth, Erica, and I have all been, and we always take something positive from the experience that we try to apply to REFACTR.TECH. It's also where I gave one of my first conference talks, to what might still be the biggest and most engaged room I've ever presented to. I'll be there in October, come find me!
→ VisitTubi
Free. I mean really free. Not a free trial, free free, and this while every other streaming service is not so subtly raising their prices. Tubi has everything. Tubi has all the things. It has good movies like Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, Casino, Boyz n the Hood, Rush Hour, and North by Northwest. It has bad movies (the real reason I'm there) like Troll 2, Showgirls, Miami Connection, and Drop Dead Fred. It has classic cartoons like The Flintstones, Animaniacs, and TMNT. I also found a show called Hoochie Daddies season 1 that I will not be explaining, so don't ask me. Did I mention it's free? There is endless content on Tubi. There is NO END.
→ Visit
Finding Balance While I'm Building
I've been balancing moments of hope with moments of anxiety around what I'm trying to build, a tension I'm also seeing in my community with everything going on right now. I've learned that ignoring or trying to force the uncertainty away doesn't work, but shifting our focus to savor the joyful moments can. When we slow down and intentionally savor the good stuff, we give ourselves the fuel we need to stay the course. Keep building, y'all!
Black Women in Data Summit 2026
Our friend and REFACTR 2022 keynote speaker, Dr. Brandeis Marshall, is hosting Black Women in Data's flagship summit September 18–20. Black Women in Data (BWD) is a professional membership organization for experienced Black women leading across data-intensive fields. Check out the summit agenda and get your tickets before it sells out!
→ VisitWAIE+
The AI landscape has dramatically shifted since Women in AI Ethics® was launched in 2018. Since then, they've expanded their focus via WAIE+ (WAIEplus) to include safety, security, and societal impact of AI. WAIE+ is a community of experts working together to build a more safe, secure, and ethical AI future.
→ VisitAuk Mini 2 Indoor Garden
With overlapping food recalls, it's hard to have confidence in what we eat at the moment. My sister finally convinced me to start my own vegetable garden, but I don't have her green thumb so I knew I'd need some help. This 2nd-generation indoor garden from Auk should make it easy to grow everything I need to safely eat salads again.
→ Visit
The CTO's Patient Bet
A good perspective about security in the new AI world — opportunities and risks, and some good questions to ask before opening pandora's box of AI agents!
→ VisitSystems: the purpose of a system is what it does
Thinking about systems and how they work and really an evaluation of how to have an impact and make sustainable change.
→ VisitMimms Museum of Tech + Art
Looks like a bunch of new exhibits to check out — sometimes it's just more fun to see things IRL!
→ VisitFrom the Community
Recommendations from the people who show up.
Elizabeth Jamison
Algorithmic Justice League
The AJL does a lot of work with AI ethics and raising awareness for and fighting bias in AI. They also have a great reading list.
→ VisitAnonymous
Sean Goedecke
He does cool work and posts very insightful thoughts on his blog. He has written a book that has helped me immensely.
→ VisitAnonymous
10 Things I Hate About AI
This recorded devnexus talk gives an overview of the top things people complain about with AI, categorizes these issues and then addresses how to solve the issues.
→ VisitAnonymous
Wake up excited!
Brad Frost explores guests' passions, interests, enthusiasms, and philosophy of life. With everything changing so quickly in tech, especially with AI, it's been great to listen to how guests explore their creativity, curiosity, and living through life with intention.
→ VisitAnonymous
Sterling Point
Sterling Point is about teens on the cusp of adulthood — surprisingly deep and funny — that takes place on a small island in Canada. It kind of makes me want to visit that small island, it looks fun. It has LGBTQ+ representation, one of the main couples actually.
→ Visit