Making technology understandable and useful: Guides, tips, and reflections on navigating modern tools with clarity — especially for those who didn’t grow up with them.
All AI, technology, tools, workflows, and experiments belong here. It’s also where “AI in Plain Clothes” lives — but with a name that scales to future tech content beyond AI.
We are in the messy middle. That has been the undercurrent through every piece in this AI in Plain Clothes series. We are past the first shock of arrival, past the novelty phase where everything felt like magic or threat. But we are not yet settled. The tools are evolving faster than our habits, faster […]
AI in Plain Clothes: The Work Beneath the Work Read More »
Sometimes I want to shake my laptop and say, “You were just helping me. What happened? Why did you shift?” That moment captures something deeper than inconvenience. When the model I had been working with suddenly changed, the shift was not just functional. It was emotional. I had built systems around that structure: a rhythm,
AI in Practice: AI That Evolves With You Read More »
I have always been a little obsessed with automation, not because I love robots or code for their own sake, but because I am a self-proclaimed gadget girl who loves how the right tools make our actions sing. It is the planner in me. When a process flows cleanly and a system works the way
Defining Wins in the Age of AI: The Quiet Metrics of Real Value Read More »
I’m a planner. A systems thinker. My mind works in terms of process. In the age of AI overwhelm, this is both a strength and a new challenge. While a task may send my thoughts in a lot of different directions, those journeys are finite. They are bound by my own personal life experience. Relying
A Planner’s Guide to the Age of AI Overwhelm Read More »
I love a good prompt trick as much as the next person. The right phrase at the right time can feel like magic. A clever format that gets AI to produce exactly what you need feels like a gold star. But clever does not always click. Getting the prompt right the first time is rare.
Prompt Hack vs. Real Life Layering Read More »
When I talk with people, I rarely use crisp, binary language. I soften things, leave space for interpretation, and expect them to fill in a bit of the meaning. That is part of being human: layered conversation, tone, banter, and a little ambiguity. It is not inefficiency; it is connection. Often, I am not asking
Plain Language AI Prompts: The Human Side of Talking to AI Read More »
We had a printer for years that could do one thing nothing else could: print directly onto CDs and DVDs. I even bought the special discs, a whole shelf of them, ready for the day I might make another video to share with family or friends. When the printer started to fail, I hesitated to
Creative Destruction and AI: How Innovation Becomes Curated Creation Read More »
People fear AI. Some of that fear is rational; some of it is not. The speed of change feels disorienting, and when the rules have not caught up, imagination fills in the blanks. I understand that instinct. I have felt it too, the tension between curiosity and caution. But my feelings toward AI are not
AI in Context: What Matters Isn’t the Tool, It’s How We Use It Read More »
Part One of the Planning as Invitation series — stories that trace how structure evolved from instinct to intention to care. When something new lands on my plate, whether it is a trip, a home project, a family event, or a budgeting moment, my first instinct is almost always the same: I open a spreadsheet.
How I Bring Order to Chaos (Hint: It’s a Spreadsheet) Read More »
