Writing
I write about AI that works at work, a life run on plain text, and the slow practices I keep beside both. The essays and guides live on Face Dragons, the publication I run. The stories from China live here.
NEW ESSAYS
On AI, plain text and practice
Published on Face Dragons in September 2026. Each one opens there.
AI Prompts Are Code. Treat Them Like It.
A prompt inside a live business process is code. Give it a job description you can read back, a way to say it doesn’t know, and a record of every change.
Read on Face Dragons →
Plain Text in the Age of AI
Plain text used to look austere. Now it’s the easiest format for people and AI to work with, and the easiest to take with you.
Read on Face Dragons →
Get Your Garmin Data Off Their Servers
Data on someone else’s server only answers the questions they built a screen for. How to pull yours down and ask it your own.
Read on Face Dragons →
Why I Still Grind Ink
I build AI for a living and keep the slow practices anyway. The reps that build your ceiling can’t be delegated.
Read on Face Dragons →
Your Second Brain Has the Wrong Architecture
Brushes I’ve painted with for twenty years, a laptop I’ll replace within three, and what Chinese brush painting says a knowledge system is for.
Read on Face Dragons →
Nobody Who Can Juggle Is Watching the Balls
Jugglers watch the peak, not their hands. The limit on what you can handle is how many things you can watch.
Read on Face Dragons →GUIDES
The how-tos people search for
Obsidian, Logseq and Getting Things Done: the most-read pages on Face Dragons.
The Best Obsidian Themes
What the popular themes really look like, from minimal to neon.
Obsidian Templates, with Examples
Templates with worked examples, for anyone new to Obsidian.
How to Set Up GTD in Obsidian
Getting Things Done, built inside your second brain.
Logseq Markdown Cheat Sheet
Every bit of syntax you’ll need, with examples.
The Paper-Based GTD Guide
GTD in a notebook, set up from scratch.
Obsidian Plugins You Should Be Using
The plugins worth installing, and what each one does.
STORIES
From China and the road
Written here: the film that sent me to Tianjin, Shaolin’s gate, a rickshaw driver in Lumbini, a night in Siem Reap.
A SERIES
Understanding Chinese agriculture
How the world’s most populous country feeds itself: the three rural issues, the arable land, and the food security strategy.
THE DRAGON’S EYE
New essays by email
The letter from Face Dragons.