OLD METAL. NEW FIRE.
The Commons
Read it. Use it. Take what you can from what I learned, I already paid the tuition. Then go make something. If you make something good buy me a coffee.
Enter the Commons →The Guild
Mentor not online guru. I'm an older man now and really enjoy setting my own rules. I'm up for mentoring just a select few. Like-minded. Vetted. Obstacle learning is not for everyone, but as a shared experience it can be a less brutal experience. This is the only place you get direct access to the real me and how I learn.
Apply to the Guild →The Loop
The system rigs everything so you can't win by playing fair. So you go around it. You buy used. You buy from China. You don't pay to play. You steal your power back. Mine was film — I survived by staying ahead of every move. DV instead of film, DSLR instead of DV, SD cards instead of tape. Now it's local AI, ComfyUI and permaculture. The riddle isn't the tool. It's the will to wield it.
Learn the Method →NOT A COURSE. A LOOP.
Sometimes you don't see the change before it happens. That doesn't mean it's too late. TemperedWorks exists for the people who can see the shift coming and to help those who have already been displaced by it.
Uncertainty brings fear, so be certain and commit, build, learn and yeah, fail. If you are committed the failures are just part of the process of building something new. A learning loop.
THE RIDDLE OF STEAL.
Our Tree of Woe.
Don't pay to play. They rig their system with infinite paper. The more they create, the less you have. Choose people over paper. Community. Buy second hand, be smart — go around, not through. If you need to buy something, give the money to another person, not to shareholders.
EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY.
My mom died recently. No LinkedIn. No Facebook. She had a great story, but no one to tell it. So I did.
The people we love who gave or lost everything deserve more than an emoji or a funeral home slideshow with stock piano music. Now we can bring personal moments to life. You bring the memories and the love. I bring the tools and the understanding to get it right. I've been there.
Visit the Memorial →ASK. ANSWERED.
No scheduled newsletter. No "value bombs." Just questions from people trying to do something, and the answers I give when I have something worth saying.
Stop waiting for the perfect setup. I started with a used RTX 3060 12GB I found on Facebook Marketplace for $220. That's enough to run ComfyUI, generate images, and even do basic video workflows. If you don't have a desktop, look for a used Dell OptiPlex 7020 SFF ($100–150) and drop the GPU in. Total build: under $400. Yes, it's slower than a 4090. So what? By the time you outgrow the 3060, you'll know exactly what you need next.
— Answered June 2026
How to Ask
I don't have a contact form. If you want to ask something, you have to find me. That sounds difficult because it is.
GET IN TOUCH.
Whether you're looking to apply, partner, or talk shop.