The log
Weekly notes on shipping apps, work, rentals, family, and faith in South Texas — the wins, the numbers, and the things I got wrong.
Notes on designing an AI harness for my day job, inspired by how a small X team built its web app with coding agents: shared instructions, skills in the repo, and guardrails on every commit.
After a week with the iPhone Duo: the best apps I have found that support it, four of my own, the big apps still missing support, and how the battery is holding up.
A room-by-room rental inspection checklist you can print or copy, plus how to document condition so security deposit deductions hold up at move-out.
Meet Beige Box, a coming-soon retro computer app for iPhone Duo, iPhone and iPad, with five original machines, web browsing, BASIC and games.
When a landlord has to file a 1099-NEC for a plumber or handyman, the new $2,000 threshold for 2026 payments, the January deadline, and the W-9 habit that makes it easy.
Coming from an iPhone 17 Pro Max: using the Duo mostly folded, great battery life, missing the camera zoom at soccer, and building apps with AI.
Lampleaf Illustrated Bible is on the App Store, my iPhone Duo arrives tomorrow, and a family update on school, sports, church, and celebrating 75 days of commitment.
A checklist of common rental property deductions, the costs that aren't deductible right away, and the records to keep so nothing gets missed at tax time.
A plain-English walkthrough of Schedule E Part I for landlords: which numbers go on which line, what trips people up, and how to have them ready before tax season.
How introductory and win-back offers differ in App Store Connect, the rules Apple sets for each, and the two offers I'm testing on my subscription app Heirloom.
Sales and Trends and Analytics show different numbers for the same day. Why that happens, what each report is for, and how to avoid fake trends in your data.
Display sizes in points, safe areas, size classes and fold behavior measured in Apple’s iPhone Duo simulator, plus Apple’s guidance on the fold region and hinge API.
What AI presenter ads cost me with ElevenLabs and fal.ai, how I cut the cost, what broke along the way, and the results so far, including the parts that did not work.
Which apps will actually use the iPhone Duo’s two displays? A simple look-at-the-screen test, what to check before you download, and what the three levels of support mean.
How RaceJoy, Strava Beacon and HypeLap differ for friends and family following a runner: what spectators need, what they see and what they can send.
Sousbook is live on the App Store: save and scan recipes, build grocery lists, and cook from your personal cookbook. Our first app with iPhone Duo support.
A simple way to log, prioritize and follow up on rental repairs, from the first tenant text to the paid invoice.
Preview Halloween and Christmas themes for While We’re Here, our conversation card app for church groups and gatherings, inspired by Not Just Sundays.
Keep every contractor, job and payment in one list so you can find the right person fast and know what you've paid them.
Keep service payments, invoices, and receipts organized before year-end, with examples for Halloween decorating, Thanksgiving cleaning, and Christmas lights.
Follow a runner’s race progress and send cheers with HypeLap. Friends and family watch free in a browser and send messages, sound effects, and voice notes.
Know who's paid, who's late and which lease ends next without a spreadsheet or a memory test.
A recipe organizer for iPhone Duo: save and scan recipes, build grocery lists, and cook with ingredients beside steps. See Sousbook in the simulator.
A practical way for indie developers to read App Store reviews, find recurring product issues, respond thoughtfully, and prioritize changes without treating every request as a roadmap.
A simple routine for logging rental expenses by property, unit and category so you're never hunting for receipts in the spring.
Create AI UGC-style app ads with ElevenLabs voiceovers, fal.ai lip sync, real product screenshots, and reusable hooks. My Heirloom workflow, with a video example.
Small wins, real downloads, and lessons in value, paywalls, and showing up consistently. Grateful for the progress, and all glory to God.
The short-video workflow I use to market Heirloom, the rules that keep it honest, and the new readheirloom.com website that is now online.
A repeatable way for indie developers to turn one real app demonstration into distinct, useful short-form videos for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
A week of experimenting with AI, improving GetMandalo and UseManifest, and making room for the people and community that matter.
Rise & Capy is now live, Heirloom gained another annual subscriber, church connections are growing, and I placed second in a work innovation challenge.
App Store Connect shows a download but RevenueCat shows no customer? A pending report isn't a zero. The data mix-ups that make indie app analytics look broken.
A trip to San Antonio, a great night with Mike, steady app progress, a meaningful Heirloom milestone, and a good season for the family.
A physical deck called Not Just Sundays convinced me conversation cards work. While We’re Here is the iOS version I wanted in my pocket — 100 questions, four decks, offline, one payment.
Seven months of daily App Store data across 12 apps shows a 46x gap between my best- and worst-converting listing — and it is not the app people assume.
How GPT-6 Astra carries an app from idea to a verified result in Codex: one working session across SwiftUI, App Store metadata, websites and releases.
Turn a feature list into a roadmap of questions: tie every change to a user problem, a product question, or a learning goal. A method for small app portfolios.
A small app usually needs more than code. These are the three playbooks I use to move from an idea to a released, measurable product.
A small app portfolio gets stronger when every change is tied to a real user problem, product question, or learning goal.
A growing app portfolio needs priorities, boundaries, and shared systems—not equal attention for every product.
Focused apps can compound through shared infrastructure, clearer feedback loops, and disciplined product decisions.
Heirloom and Fillbook are still awaiting review while the rest of the portfolio keeps learning from users and getting better.
Heirloom and Fillbook are headed through App Store review while Rally Track, Bean Hunt, and Real Estate Manager continue to improve.
Small apps do not need to reach everyone. They need to reach the right person at the exact moment a problem becomes urgent.
What a solo developer learned from shipping more apps and learning distribution: why shipping isn't the finish line, and what early ads and growth data showed.
Telegram topics are working, OpenClaw is getting sharper, and Will is turning into a more useful daily operating layer instead of just another chatbot.
A birthday weekend at South Padre Island, Fourth of July with family in Corpus Christi, World Cup nights with the in-laws, FamilyStop launching, and a redesigned blog.
A work project is live, more apps are published, my birthday is tomorrow, and I am deeply thankful after walking away from a serious accident with no injuries.
Kids out of school, a new app shipped, church every Sunday, a go-live date locked in, and a birthday beach trip on the horizon.
I launched CapShare, a simple way to collect graduation photos and videos with a single QR code.
A strong week at work, progress on projects, Grayson having a few birthday parties, and some good time with friends
A busy stretch at work, Kenzie losing her first tooth, a strong week with the Data Services and SRE teams in McAllen, Mother’s Day dinner at Ambra, and serving more at church
Recovering from being sick, getting buried at work, replacing an A/C at the Alton apartment, enjoying time with the kids, and locking in a beach Airbnb for a birthday trip this summer
Easter at home with the family, work and projects moving well, getting more active, the kids counting down to summer, and a new app plus OnCallAgentAdvisorService in progress
Family time at the Gladys Porter Zoo, Easter prep with the kids, and celebrating Rally Track and Bean Hunt finally shipping to the App Store
Taking a breath during spring break — fishing with the kids, enjoying Tres Lagos, and celebrating Rally Track hitting the App Store
Two apps submitted, finding balance between work and building, and reflections on a productive but exhausting week
Getting comfortable at Tres Lagos, celebrating with family, shipping a new game, and starting work on Bean Hunt — a coffee discovery app
Moved to Tres Lagos, team ski trip with work, learning to treat anxiety differently, and handling Fillin app setbacks with more grace
Shipped 3 apps in weeks. Now I am building the tools that help other people ship faster.
Shipped my 3rd iOS app, productive week at work, family time, a church lesson that hit different, and Super Bowl BBQ with the whole crew
Wordle-inspired word game, Figma design workflow, and the portfolio strategy behind shipping apps regularly
After building it over the holidays, my property management app for small landlords is officially out. Here is what it does and why I built it.
iOS app finally launched on my phone, rental property surprises, and balancing the work grind with ski trip dreams
Got praised at work, dealt with property chaos, and my son turned one. Plus that house decision is still eating at me.
2025 performance review landed well, and now building an enterprise AI assistant inspired by Clawdbot
How I built a daily reflection system with AI that actually works - no productivity theater, just real introspection
Back-to-back meetings, design pressure, a couple SPX wins, and a shift toward Codex
Long workday, AI and Payments work in Architecture, kids back in school, and Clawdbot PR #435 landed
Contributing forum/topics support to Clawdbot so my AI assistant can actually track different conversations in group chats
First week back in 2026 - setting up systems, AI assistance, and getting organized