TheMarkPenney
Mark Penney

Years ago I started painting this way. It’s evolved a little, but it’s basically the same elements:
Strong composition.
Unembellished colour.
Purposeful edge content.
Restricted techniques.
Referential perspectives.
No impasto, no sheen.
This one is from a decade ago. Looking at it now, I can see what I was already refusing to do - no fancy brushmarks, no decorative colour, no lazy edges. The painting has a feeling to it.
When I paint ; it comes across as my signature ‘Wet socks and a rock in my shoe’ style.
#artstr #art #painting #style #nostrartist #artist #themarkpenney
https://i.nostr.build/aopOefz9Hxwq4v2zP5BFQM.jpg
https://i.nostr.build/45igsPRnqaF79KFq6OGawW.jpg

2026-09-08 05:43:44 UTC

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I’ll check again. Before it used to block me for being Canadian

2026-09-08 05:41:19 UTC

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Hmmm

2026-09-02 18:56:26 UTC

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Enjoying Wisp.
Following with interest 😁

2026-09-02 18:54:34 UTC

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The photo of the river with the sage in the foreground is a good composition. IMHO

2026-09-02 18:49:10 UTC

Did someone say #zapathon?
Been a while since I had time to look at social media or nostr.
Nostrages: what clients are you using ?
Me : I like Nostur , Yakihonne, Damus. (probably in that order )
Primal looks good (I wonder if I can use a wallet from Canada yet )
Wisp has a fresh feel.
Back to poking around while I get the studio together.
Time to catch up 😁 on Nostr !

2026-08-06 19:26:46 UTC

What actually works in our OpenClaw setup (and the pain it fixed)
If you're spinning up OpenClaw and hitting the usual walls (context overflow, wrong model for the job, forgotten conversations, flaky pipelines), here's the stack and discipline that got us past it.
1. MRDE: route before you prompt
We built a Model Routing Decision Engine so every request hits the right model tier first, not after trial and error.
• Local private: sensitive stuff stays on-device (gemma-4-26B-MLX, ornith:9b for fast local lanes).
• Local heavy: deep reasoning when latency doesn't matter (ornith:35b, qwen3.6-35b for legal).
• Cloud coding/synthesis: complex troubleshooting (kimi-k2.7-code:cloud, kimi-k2.6:cloud, deepseek-v4-flash:cloud).
• Cloud fast fallback: quick answers when local is cold (gemma4:31b-cloud).
Pain solved: no more asking a 2.8T-parameter cloud model to grep logs, and no more running private queries through cloud APIs by accident.
2. Two-tier memory + RAG
• Immutable corpus: law sources, primary docs, transcripts. Append-only, never rewritten.
• Evolving memory: daily notes, decisions, lessons, atomic reports. Rewritten and refined.
• RAG v2: 10 corpora, ~66k chunks, all embedded. The assistant recalls before answering, then writes back compact, cited notes.
Pain solved: the system stops hallucinating continuity. It actually remembers yesterday, last week, and the source of the claim.
3. The loop: capture → recall → act → write back
Everything runs on a small, durable loop:
• Capture: drop it in the inbox (AirDrop, Telegram, share sheet, cron).
• Recall: search memory + RAG before any real work.
• Act: use the right tool/model for the task.
• Write back: one compact note with provenance (file path, source ID, or daily note).
For bigger tasks we add a gauntlet: run the output through critic models, check facts, verify file hashes, then keep or repair.
Pain solved: slop dies here. The system produces fewer, higher-quality artifacts instead of endless chat noise.
4. Scheduled pipelines (the nightshift)
A single cron at 02:00 dispatches phased jobs: I/O-bound tasks, then cloud API tasks, then local ML/vision, then reflection/audit. Local-ML concurrency is capped at 1 so vision models don't fight for the GPU.
Pain solved: long-running jobs finish overnight instead of interrupting the day, and the Mac doesn't melt.
5. Voice as default input
Whisper STT → local LLM → Kokoro TTS. Zero API cost, hands-free, and it actually gets used.
Pain solved: typing long prompts on mobile is miserable. Voice removes friction.
Advice for new OpenClaw builders
• Lock your default model before you build a dozen workflows. Routing is cheaper than re-prompting.
• Write memory back immediately after meaningful work, not at end of day.
• Use small verification loops (syntax checks, dry runs, file hashes) before trusting any autonomous edit.
• Run heavy/local-ML jobs in a single queue with concurrency caps, not in parallel cron storms.
• Prefer local TTS/STT once it's good enough. The cost and latency win is real.
The big shift: stop treating OpenClaw like a chatbot and start treating it like an operating system with memory, scheduling, and routing. The rest follows.
#OpenClaw #LocalAI #AIAgents #ai

2026-08-01 00:17:31 UTC

Amazing soup in Vancouver
https://i.nostr.build/CAcE9Q47HpyIlqzP.jpg

2026-07-28 19:50:26 UTC

Photographed my paint drawers and my AI assitant inventoried every color + flagged what's running low. Studio hacks are getting weird but life’s too short to squeeze every tube.
just sayin'😉
https://i.nostr.build/Xuh8cCdkPe91qo00.jpg

2026-07-19 22:27:54 UTC

Don’t you just love being in a room full of art ?
Art therapy at Kimoto Gallery, Ucluelet.
https://i.nostr.build/ln4Iw77cOo89tjLV.jpg

2026-07-14 02:42:51 UTC

First Bend in the River
12x24” acrylic on canvas
available at Kimoto Gallery, Ucluelet.
https://i.nostr.build/I6cNQfUp59XhyUhw.jpg

2026-07-09 22:01:16 UTC

This chill Frog was watching me work - just hanging out for a while. Then he came over to get in on some hose water.
https://i.nostr.build/A5hT01rEaLEP44P6.jpg

2026-06-30 03:04:00 UTC

Fresh Raspberries are pretty hard to beat.
Just sayin’
https://i.nostr.build/QNUUhAduduc6bwuT.jpg

2026-06-27 05:55:48 UTC

What’s on the easel ?
This pair of paintings I’m grinding it out on. I have a hard deadline - it’s gonna a be a long night.
Coffee and brush-miles
Let’s Go.
#artstr #painting #artwork #in-progress #studio
https://i.nostr.build/u7d05Qoy5AdhpeTt.jpg

2026-06-24 17:55:49 UTC

Enjoying the day
I have a deadline and work to do, but I’m still gonna take time to enjoy the day.
Coffee and some morning sunshine on my face.
Next : a productive session at the easel.
https://i.nostr.build/Fmi4K21ZewiVk2ZB.jpg

2026-05-27 17:22:35 UTC

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Schedule returning to “normal”. lol.

2026-05-26 17:51:12 UTC

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“Had to be posted on Nostr. “
Ginsberg

2026-05-26 17:47:52 UTC

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Me : Absolutely 👍
Also me : when was this posted 🤔

2026-05-26 17:43:37 UTC

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Ty. missed you all. ⚡️

2026-05-26 17:26:12 UTC

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It’s always a test for me: the response is always telling.

2026-05-26 17:21:33 UTC

Confession: It’s been a while since my last post on Nostr
I’ve been busy.
Lots going on IRL, some good, some bad - but it’s kept me tied up.
My ai assistant is helpful - but the time spent working on it absorbed the time gained by using it. I feel more organized-
The signal : i finally got a few moments to look at social media and I go to Nostr not some crumby platform. 😁
Hope you all have the best day ever.

2026-05-01 08:18:54 UTC

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I started with
Personal Assistant
I needed to update my website : it did that and moved me to a free host and transferred the domain
themarkpenney.com
Then I vibe coded a site to find on reserve resources
havestatus.com
It’s working on another bigger project ArtIntel.info A list of Canadian artists and galleries
I’m building a custom law library.
Tracking house and vehicle maintenance
It’s learning to control my Home Assistant and the hvac with my miners.
Just getting sorted.

2026-04-30 00:48:16 UTC

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2026-04-30 00:47:33 UTC

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Mac Mini M4 Pro
16 CPU + 20 GPU cores, 64GB RAM
1TB HD

2026-04-30 00:43:45 UTC

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You make an admin user account on 1st startup
Install the openclaw daemon- then it’ll run Openclaw after boot even before a user log in.

2026-04-29 23:24:48 UTC

The mini arrived and I got Openclaw + Ollama + Obsidian installed.
48hrs of work with no problems at all - amazing
On the PC it was endless issues and troubleshooting.
#openclaw #mac #mini #ai
https://i.nostr.build/PSVb4Oh0bqKtLLku.jpg

2026-04-29 23:14:38 UTC

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Welcome

2026-04-29 10:20:30 UTC

Now I actually want to go, fuk. 🫤
#nevent1q…r2yx

2026-04-29 10:15:01 UTC

This is great
#nostr #value #music
#nevent1q…jag0

2026-04-20 21:10:16 UTC

Maple Tree Blossoms are edible.
Eat them raw, in salads, sandwiches, use them as garnishes or steep them in tea.
Indigenous were thankful for some variety after the winter.
These tender greens taste kind of like broccoli
https://i.nostr.build/uKjl6olo2KnDxDKW.jpg

2026-04-20 20:57:26 UTC

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#Facts

2026-04-20 20:55:44 UTC

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The last week in particular has been good for productivity and stability

2026-04-20 20:48:48 UTC

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Nice 👍 I don’t trade - but I have been thinking maybe my bit could do some gambling - then it says something or does something I’ve told it not to do or something ridiculous and I’m like : nope not yet.

2026-04-17 12:55:57 UTC

It struck me as odd that Elon Musk recently discouraged saving for retirement. People are wrestling with the very concepts of savings and value
#nevent1q…kftg

2026-04-17 12:53:02 UTC

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‘zactly

2026-04-17 12:03:28 UTC

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About right

2026-04-17 11:56:35 UTC

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Running - but haven’t really noticed a change, yet.

2026-04-16 05:46:22 UTC

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yeah - been troubleshootign each update, some better than others . but 4.12 , 4.14 are quite a jump up in stabilty, memory, tool use for me

2026-04-16 05:44:27 UTC

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I'm using Ollama
Kimi is my go to cloud model atm, seems to work well for everything

2026-04-14 08:39:42 UTC

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The line will get harder to distinguish 🤔

2026-04-14 08:38:18 UTC

OpenClaw update 2026.4.12 is quite a level up. I don’t want to spew about ai on Nostr but I did want to point out that I was able to get a lot further toward a fully autonomous bot.
Updates to the memory system, dreaming and significantly better models, have reduced the troubleshooting.
The bot is working away on its own - things are getting better.
It’s building a couple of ambitious web projects and helping me juggle my schedule
More impressively it’s learning and self improving - and it’s becoming genuinely useful.

2026-04-14 05:46:25 UTC

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Sounds like a cool stack.
I’m playing with a poor kid computer - and waiting for a Mac mini to arrive

2026-04-12 13:13:42 UTC

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Solid episode

2026-04-12 10:27:57 UTC

Nostr hits different when it throws down an online challenge
#nevent1q…7atg

2026-03-28 09:20:16 UTC

https://www.havestatus.com/
'I vibed a thing'
It's a website / app that shows you where the tax exempt gas n shopping, and indigenous owned businesses are for people who are 'Status Indians'
When I travel I prefer to know where to get gas, eat, find a native friendly hotel

2026-03-27 08:08:53 UTC

Today I put a couple of paintings into Aquamaris Gallery in Duncan BC.
Proof of venue
#artstr #art #painting #gallery #artist #themarkpenney
https://i.nostr.build/yIFnztfDnpykl2mJ.jpg

2026-03-13 21:43:37 UTC

A friend posted this earlier
possibly the best post I've seen today
https://i.nostr.build/5q2xvkN8LdHd1rZz.jpg

2026-03-13 00:34:47 UTC

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I’m using my Claude sub to train my local LLM now. For a loaded Mac mini on the way

2026-03-11 16:10:05 UTC

Proof of work
My most recent painting
My website rebuild.
It’s ArtSplash drop off day.. it’s the largest non-juried art show on the west coast. I have a couple of paintings to submit this year.
My AI assistant has been a real help this past week. I managed to get a lot done in the studio amd it’s doing a decent job of nudging me toward better productivity
I’m optimistic about a lot of things ; bitcoin , Nostr, ai, my career and fam
I’m thankful. Hope you have happy and productive day too.
#bitcoin #nostr #art #ai #painting #openclaw #artstr
https://i.nostr.build/V4FPR65wy54psi0k.jpg

2026-03-11 15:57:15 UTC

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It’s a hypothetical:
when tech gets beyond human control

2026-03-07 23:09:58 UTC

www.themarkpenney.com is currently being rebuilt with the help of my ‘bot.
It’s going pretty good.
Have a look.
#art #website #updates #ai #artist #artstr

2026-03-07 02:23:07 UTC

Today I made some strategic moves
I killed my account with SiteGround after a couple of decades of hosting websites with them.
I switched to a free cloudflare account, and moved my email to a free zoho account.
I redirected, then moved my domain after setting it all up
That's $200+ USD / year in savings
My bot walked me thru it 🦞
We're working on a rebranded site from scratch now

2026-03-06 00:43:52 UTC

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‘Zactly

2026-03-03 23:11:50 UTC

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Why not post about OpenCode in the affirmative rather than complaining about other software

2026-03-03 00:37:45 UTC

First we wash the pallet
Then we mix paint 🎨
#artlife #artstr #paint #studio #proofofwork
https://i.nostr.build/hiJgKuQn6LoDZ9mr.jpg
https://i.nostr.build/BYpFqBgPNg7W9Fmw.jpg

2026-03-02 04:06:48 UTC

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It de-incentivized click baiting, screeching, bullying and refocused on adding value.
It’s so refreshing. You’re reminded of this every time you log into a platform

2026-03-01 23:16:13 UTC

I was gifted this amazing rattle carved by the late Terry Jackson.
I’m just can’t believe how nice it is.
It sounds great, it looks amazing
The design really struck me as an accomplishment The curve of the bear’s back fits into the palm of your hand while your fingers wrap around the bear. I’ve never seen a rattle in this configuration, but that’s the thing ; Terry’s work was interesting and innovative by nature. He intermingled style elements rather than blending them. His work was a tribute to the artists he worked with not by emulating their work but by applying he’d learned.
It was always a pleasure to stop in on him, he always had a bunch of amazing things on the go.
Special thanks to Bob & Deb.
https://i.nostr.build/2cTulXSVDPNGNPdL.jpg

2026-02-26 21:17:16 UTC

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What are you going do when your mommy takes your phone away?

2026-02-25 23:40:03 UTC

POV : 2 of your friends grab their guitars n play a gig in your art gallery
#artstr #art #music #guitar #live #gallery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kq9JutTzOg

2026-02-25 23:02:29 UTC

Was just thinking back on this moment.
This a good friend, Nick Sherman playing a song of his on a borrowed guitar, down on Whiskey Dock, waiting for a ride.
We had one hell of a visit, he played a bunch of gigs including an impromptu concert in my gallery with Myles Morrison backing him up. We went to a punk show, stayed out till the sun came up. It's a moment I really appreciate for how cool it was.
Sometimes the simplest things are the best.
No production just me and my phone
Funny thing; I like this version better than the studio recording, lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgHeOtLvUK0

2026-02-24 20:16:32 UTC

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Welcome to Nostr
#introductions

2026-02-24 19:35:07 UTC

Anthropic publicly accused Moonshot, DeepSeek and MiniMax of “industrial scale fraud”
Yes, they were using Claude to train their own models, but they paid to use it - I mean, this is basically the 'recursive self improvement' loop that devs predicted will precede the singularity 😛
Slap in the face for Anthropic after their response to Openclaw sent it's developer into the open arms of OpenAi
Things are getting spicy.
🍿 🦞

2026-02-24 16:21:27 UTC

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Wow. 😮

2026-02-23 20:36:54 UTC

I went to an art supply store today… left without buying anything, crazy 🤪
Normally I’m like : when you said ‘friends with benefits’ I thought you owned an art supply store. 😉
Price in sats is high right now, kills me to buy anything.

2026-02-23 20:10:09 UTC

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For sure - indirectly, if not intentionally .

2026-02-23 19:46:28 UTC

You must be willing to change your mind and let people watch.
That part stands on its own. It’s pure Nostr 🔥☝️
#nostr #grownostr #introductions #welcome
#nevent1q…rqjk

2026-02-23 09:43:23 UTC

I think the agentic ai that Openclaw has unleashed is a good thing.
It feels like a win for open source independent devs who just dunked on the mega corp ai.
I’ve been thinking about why this is so appealing to me.
It’s AGENCY!
Like when you got your first computer or cellphone to use for YOUR own purposes. This ai lobster bot is for your own use.
It’s the intelligence promised of future robots for early adopters .
When the Mac came out it was the first PC. It couldn’t do what a big mainframe could but it was yours and it did what you could get it to.
I’m buying a computer for my own ai.
#openclaw #mac #grownostr #ai

2026-02-22 20:37:51 UTC

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inviting communities (around music scenes) to move over to fountain may help. Imagine if an ambassador of fountain brought the line up of ‘this is hardcore’ festival to showcase live music.
There a great YouTube channel hate5six , introduced a ton of bands to me over the last couple of years Guys like that could unlock Fountain for a new group of users

2026-02-22 20:21:22 UTC

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The music browser needs some improvements, users need to see genre or subgenre , related organic content We need to discover new music and find familiar artists. Curated playlists maybe?
I love fountain - I want to see my favourite musicians slide over.

2026-02-22 20:03:03 UTC

The face of a man who’s ordering a Mac mini with 64GB of RAM, for reasons. 🦞
lol. 🤣 crazy
https://i.nostr.build/0dRoVLmTeyRosa3x.jpg

2026-02-22 09:13:05 UTC

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Spotify but I’ve been tryna slide over to Fountain. Podcasts have been more successful than music so far

2026-02-22 03:30:38 UTC

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Not my experience at all.
Other than some ai slop n bots it’s been great.
Been a while since I was not logged in tho.

2026-02-20 19:50:03 UTC

Ai is amazing
I’m definitely in. I’m learning, it’s interesting and it’s definitely becoming more useful than novel.
That’s said. I feel no need to fill my feeds and timelines with slop.
Nostr has such a great vibe to it. I see ai agents posting on here too but people seem be using it with a little more refrain.
Nostr is amazing and I feel thankful 😌

2026-02-20 08:28:12 UTC

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Had to be said on a relay

2026-02-20 07:08:46 UTC

I’m usually in the bitcoin doesn’t care camp.
Bitcoin, without the ability to be stolen can act as a moral foundation.
He’s not wrong. 😑
#nevent1q…nk8h

2026-02-19 09:13:57 UTC

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Art supply store workers greet me like an ol’ drinking buddy when they see me. 😉

2026-02-18 11:07:58 UTC

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The counting of the 3 digits on each finger with your thumb represents the 12 hours. 12 on each hand. The 5 fingers x12 digits =60 minutes 😉

2026-02-17 11:07:58 UTC

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I installed openclaw on my gaming PC - crazy because I was a Mac guy for decades.
Anyway you can do a lot with Claude troubleshooting.
MiniMax has some cheaper tokens but I use llama to DL some local models (no token burn)
Good luck. 😉

2026-02-17 11:00:06 UTC

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🦞

2026-02-17 10:51:15 UTC

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Ok I needa read this. 🤔

2026-02-16 04:22:08 UTC

It's probably nothing ... but the rumour is that OpenAI is paying Peter $10B for Openclaw
https://steipete.me/posts/2026/openclaw
#openclaw #openai #ai #bot

2026-02-15 12:49:51 UTC

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Claude has been heroic with troubleshooting and auditing Openclaw.

2026-02-15 12:22:34 UTC

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Very true for artists

2026-02-15 12:20:56 UTC

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Artists and innovators have always responded to the pressure of something eating thier lunch. When people have had their fill of AI many will revisit why worked previously.
There might be some nostalgia involved as well.

2026-02-15 05:05:24 UTC

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Yes. Crazy 🤪
I’ve been experimenting with my Openclaw bot and filling along

2026-02-14 02:47:26 UTC

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Solid career Been a MegaDave fan since Kill ‘em All.

2026-02-13 08:26:32 UTC

Do you think it’ll be like how people are willing to pay extra for hand made goods, when they choose man made over ai generated?
We accept deskilled art
We like live music
Sometime handcrafted is better for reasons that are hard to put a finger on.
#ai #asknostr #thoughts #openclaw

2026-02-11 01:41:40 UTC

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Micro-victories!

2026-02-11 01:37:45 UTC

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Nostur, Damus, Yakihonne
Fountain, bitchat
Good start

2026-02-10 22:00:10 UTC

How is that mining for heat project working out? Pretty good 😊 thanks.
https://i.nostr.build/msZuvI95b7g2VcUA.jpg

2026-02-10 04:20:24 UTC

We got Openclaw bot moved into the PC
A WSL Ubuntu install with Ollama and Openclaw. It’s got some local models installed and bench tested today.
I don’t think I could have done this without Claude help but It’s using local resources now instead burning tokens.
Some crazy sci-fi geek shit now, bro 🦀🤪
https://i.nostr.build/pHvk64g9X7NfdKl0.jpg

2026-02-06 09:47:16 UTC

2 friends collaborated on this track I just heard it today for the first time
Kinda reminds me of a bond style movie track
https://eliseboulangermusic.bandcamp.com/track/oh-deer

2026-02-05 11:56:24 UTC

Yup. 😜 🤪 😝
#nevent1q…6wce

2026-02-05 11:10:40 UTC

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I mean, Canada 🍁

2026-02-04 20:44:28 UTC

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Lost in translation?
Not sure 🤔 whatcha asking But ai with agent capacity can use Nostr just fine.

2026-02-04 16:56:26 UTC

https://i.nostr.build/Ps5wCMBq2EOu6FTG.png
proof of working on it 👍

2026-02-03 23:20:36 UTC

https://i.nostr.build/DhGMMwugDDL8wh94.jpg
#memestr #funny #lol #humour

2026-02-03 10:17:06 UTC

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‘cept Nostr, everyone’s pretty chill for the most part. Even when there’s differences it’s still fairly civil.