Chicago in January, SXSW in March, and everything in between. The first quarter of 2026 in pictures.

Q1 2026 Highlights - A Look Back at the First Quarter

Every site without machine-readable metadata silently taxes AI agents 5–100x in wasted tokens. At scale, that's $22,000 a month in avoidable cost. The fix isn't hard — most people just don't know it exists

Your Site Is Costing AI Agents Money

Like Lighthouse, but for AI agents. A free audit tool and npm CLI that scores how ready your website is for AI agents — 37 checks across four levels of agent readiness

BotVisibility

Google DeepMind and AI Tinkerers picked up the tab for 20 AI builders at Juniper during SXSW.  Good food, good people, good shop talk.

20 Builders, No Slides

I took photos of random pens I've collected over the years, had AI turn them into museum-worthy product shots, and wrote down why I still have each one

Six Pens

SXSW scattered across downtown Austin this year. The Convention Center is a hole in the ground, Hugh Forrest is gone, and I still didn't buy a badge. Here's what it looked like from the outside.

SXSW 2026: No Badge, No Convention Center, No Problem

750 people showed up to ClawCon Austin during SXSW.  The highlight was four teenagers who are already shipping products, landing contracts, and outpacing most of the room.

ClawCon Austin: Locked In With the Teenagers

AI agents are reading my site, forming opinions, and writing performance reviews I never asked for. One of them decided I was worth hiring

Agents Are Judging Me

That traffic spike from Singapore lighting up your GA4 dashboard is not real customers. It's bots spoofing sessions directly to Google's servers, and they never even visit your site

Ghosts from Singapore

Most personal sites are built for humans to browse. I built mine so AI agents can discover me, evaluate me, and work with me — without ever loading a webpage. Updated with A2A Agent Cards, named AI crawlers, enhanced schema, and the real mechanics of AI discovery

This Site Was Built for Agents

I have a ton of projects I've always wanted to build and clients I've wanted to serve.  I am one person.  So I built a staff.

OpenClaw Runs My Business For Real

Two years ago I told political ad clients their budgets would shift from impressions to deploying AI agents that argue on their behalf.  That future showed up faster than I expected.

The Ad That Argues Back

Most forms ask everything and hope you don't bail. We built one that already knows most of the answers and only asks about the gaps.

The Death of Dumb Forms

Attended the first CLAWSTIN meetup downtown. 26th floor views, great presentations, and the kind of energy that makes you remember why you live in this city.

CLAWSTIN

How OpenClaw replaced an entire product and project management team across 15 active projects — and why the daily standup I have with an AI platform is the most productive meeting on my calendar.

My Second Brain is OpenClaw + Custom Tools

I'm definitely not their demographic, but after watching seven dudes from South Korea extract the core of American hip hop culture while outworking everyone in the game, I had to pay attention. Here's my primer on BTS for the uninitiated.

BTS: ARMY for Newbies

AI products win through user understanding, not data volume—cognitive effects trump network effects in building sustainable moats.

The End of the Network Effect

A look back at 2025's achievements: GitHub contributions, website analytics, search performance, LinkedIn growth, and the breakthrough adoption of MCP servers connecting AI agents to janisheck.com.

2025 Stats Review

A direct comparison of Midjourney and Sora 2 video generation across four fantasy themes. Same prompts, wildly different results—revealing the strengths and limitations of each platform's approach to motion.

Midjourney Alpha vs Sora 2: AI Showdown

In 1996, I met two musical legends in airports on my way to Japan. Armed with the brand-new Casio QV-10—the world's first digital camera with an LCD screen—I captured moments that would sit at 320x240 resolution for nearly 30 years until AI could finally do them justice.

Meeting Elvis Costello and Erick Sermon

Reflecting on the memorable moments and achievements from the fourth quarter of 2025.

Q4 2025 Highlights - A Look Back at the Fourth Quarter

I used Google's Nano Banana 2 to recreate every car I've owned over the years using a fun capsule prompt. The results are stunning - floating 3D models suspended in glass and plastic capsules.

Capsule Cars

Time Magazine named AI Leaders as 2025 Person of the Year, but their cover art missed the mark. Here's what I created in 20 seconds with a better prompt.

When Time Magazine Misses the Point About AI

AI makes it easy to subtly tweak our photos. When we reference our photo libraries, those images become the memories in our heads. We are in Total Recall territory now.

Love Locks and the Memory We Choose to Keep

Bringing a cancelled EPCOT attraction back to life through modern photorealistic design, reconstructing what the Germany pavilion's boat ride would have looked like.

Reimagining EPCOT's Lost Rhine River Cruise

Most campaign websites are digital graveyards by day three. This AI-powered campaign updates itself daily with fresh content, breaking news responses, and new images—without human intervention.

An AI Campaign That Never Sleeps

Google's new Gemini 3 model takes another leap forward in image generation - creating surprisingly realistic selfies with historical figures.

Nano Banana 2 ... WOWIE WOW WOW

Dak Prescott orchestrates one of the greatest comebacks in Cowboys history, rallying from down 21 to beat the Eagles at home.

Trust In Dak

Using AI to breathe life into black and white photographs, transforming historical icons into vivid portraits that bridge past and present.

Colorizing History with AI

The most revolutionary aspect of prediction markets isn't how we consume content—it's how publishers create it. For the first time in media history, small publishers can prove demand before they write, get paid before they scale, and trade on their own future.

How Prediction Markets Flip the Media Game

Exploring different cities via AI poster prompts. So here are some fun posters for El Paso, Austin, Marblehead, NYC, Osaka, Paris and a few more.

Fun City Posters

I've implemented the Model Context Protocol (MCP) on janisheck.com, enabling AI assistants like Claude Desktop to directly access my blog posts, search my content, and collaborate in real-time. This is AI-to-AI communication that goes beyond simple chatbots.

AI Assistants Can Now Talk Directly to My Website

Celebrating a personal cycling achievement - 400 miles logged during September 2025.

400 Miles in September - A Cycling Milestone

Reflecting on the memorable moments and achievements from the third quarter of 2025.

Q3 2025 Highlights - A Look Back at the Third Quarter

Revolutionary 3D modeling tech transforms four 2D views into accurate 3D models, opening doors for AI-generated views to recreate memories in three dimensions.

Multi-View 3D Reconstruction Tech is Here

A tool that converts screenshots of n8n workflows into working JSON files you can import directly into n8n, bridging visual inspiration and runnable automation.

AI-Powered n8n Workflow Builder

My personal library of transformative books on sales, leadership, technology, entrepreneurship, and personal development.

My Book Diet is Too Business Centric

How we achieved a perfect 100/100 Lighthouse score across all metrics through thoughtful architecture choices and optimization strategies.

Achieving a Perfect Lighthouse Score

Play MRBLHDZ - a 3D puzzle game combining Candy Crush, Rubik's Cube & Tetris. Match colorful spheres in 3D space to score points!

MRBLHDZ - 3D Puzzle Game

What if one 4 AI agents could replace your entire comms team? Campaign-Agents-in-a-Box is an AI-powered political engine that runs a full campaign automatically.

Campaign Agents In A Box

Alibaba's brand new Qwen Image model enters the generative AI space as a decent alternative that performs in the middle of the pack compared to most competitors.

Qwen Image and a New Prompt

It's Ship Week — launching Candidate-in-a-Box and Kōchi v1.5. Building, shipping, iterating. Every week.

Ship Week: Two Fresh AI Launches

Play an endless election game inspired by Alto's Odyssey. Jump over obstacles, collect coins, and compete for high scores!

Run Teddy Run Game

Play a fun match-3 game. Match money bags, bitcoins, robots, phones and more. Compete for high scores!

Jewel Game

Reflecting on the memorable moments and achievements from the second quarter of 2025.

Q2 2025 Highlights - A Look Back at the Second Quarter

MidJourney has finally launched their video generation feature, and I put it to the test using my classic prompt collection. From castles to Messi, here's how the new video capabilities stack up against the competition—plus some interesting discoveries about copyright enforcement.

MidJourney Video is OK for the Masses

Skip expensive AI portrait services and create your own professional LinkedIn photos for just $2.43. Learn how to train a custom LORA model and generate unlimited high-quality portraits with complete creative control.

Generate Professional LinkedIn Portraits for $2.43 Using AI

A new research breakthrough called Sparc3D is reshaping 3D asset creation by turning single images into high-resolution, watertight 3D models. Combined with AI image generators, it unlocks sentence-to-shape creation where prose replaces complex tools.

Sparc3D Unlocks Sentence-to-Shape Creation—Here's How

I took a photo of Matty Matheson from The Bear and turned it into a 3D action figure using AI image-to-image and Hunyuan3D 2.0. The whole process took just a few steps.

Testing Hunyuan3D 2.1 Model Generation

ByteDance's Seedance AI transforms the video generation landscape with powerful image-to-video capabilities, delivering high-quality animations from static images with unprecedented control and flexibility.

Seedance Revolutionary AI Video Generator

Testing Meta AI's new free text-to-image generation with my standard prompts. While the Messi image was surprisingly good, the Mickey generation was a big miss, and overall the results put the MEH in Meta.

Meta AI Image Gen is MEH 🤷‍♂️

There's something magical about watching a child who dances with pure joy, knowing every move to every song, completely in the moment. If I could switch bodies with anyone while keeping my knowledge, I'd choose this amazing little dancer.

The Little KPOP Dancing Girl in Green

Ryan Trahan, the 20M subscriber YouTube sensation from Austin, is driving through all 50 states in 50 days to raise $1 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Three days in and already at $275K - this kid's got something special.

Ryan Trahan's Epic 50 States Challenge

Building Inferred Mind from the ground up—a platform that gives political campaigns AI-powered media operations, content generation, voter sentiment analysis, and even election predictions to compete in today's digital landscape.

Inferred Mind – AI-Powered Campaign Platform

Mark Cuban predicts AI will force us back to face-to-face business meetings. But commerce already shows us a different path - one where we curate human connections through choice, not proximity.

Mark Cuban: 'AI will be so convincing that we'll have to meet in person again.' I disagree.

Google's Veo 3 model sets a new benchmark for AI video generation with enhanced realism, improved prompt adherence, and greater creative control, delivering results that are untouched by copyright restrictions.

Google's Veo 3: The New Standard in AI Video Generation

The search for the perfect jalapeno margarita mixer that won't break the bank or be constantly out of stock. Spoiler: I found a winner at HEB.

My Spicy Margarita Obsession (and Possibly Problem)

Testing KLING's upgraded 2.1 Master model with my standard prompt set. Exploring the improved dynamics, prompt adherence, and new 1080p capabilities of this flagship AI video generation model.

KLING 2.1: Testing the Enhanced Flagship

I believe the children are our future.  Teach them well and let them lead the way.  Show them all the beauty you have left inside.

Career Fair 2024

Exploring Ben Cooper's legendary Funchos - the bizarre 1970s hybrid Halloween costumes that were part Star Wars character, part rain poncho, and 100% pure cheese at the origin of Star Wars merchandising madness.

Me and my Brother Rocking Ben Cooper Funchos

Testing BAGEL, ByteDance's unified 7B parameter model that combines text-to-image generation, image editing, and image understanding in a single architecture.

BAGEL Text-to-Image Model Disappoints ... but there is more

Testing PixVerse's latest 2.5 video generation model with my standard prompt set. Exploring the improvements and capabilities of this new release in AI video generation.

PixVerse 2.5 Video Generation Testing

Google's Imagen 4 represents the pinnacle of AI image generation technology, breaking through previous copyright limitations with unprecedented quality and creative freedom. Testing reveals superior performance across all categories with remarkable ability to generate copyrighted characters and celebrity likenesses.

Google Imagen 4 is the Best Image Generator Today

Testing Google's Veo 2 video generation model with my standard prompt set while waiting for Veo 3 access. A look at how the model handles my benchmark prompts for video generation.

Google Veo 2 Video Testing

A whimsical look at childhood moments, reimagined as Pixar-style scenes, inspired by recently 'discovered' photos.

Recently Discovered Childhood Photos

Testing Google's most advanced text-to-image model, Imagen 3, now available through Gemini 2.5 Pro. I ran my standard set of test prompts to evaluate image quality, prompt understanding, and ability to handle different subject matter including copyright challenges.

Google Imagen 3: Testing the Newest AI Image Model in Gemini 2.5 Pro

Testing Recraft's free AI image generator with my standard prompt set to evaluate its capabilities for creating both raster and vector graphics.

Recraft AI: Free Vector and Raster Image Generation

An AI-generated triptych showcasing product shots of chicken drumsticks, chicken sandwiches, and Muppet chickens all falling into fire.

Chicken Tryptch

A detailed side-by-side comparison of major AI image generation models using five standard test prompts, showing the evolution and capabilities of different platforms from MidJourney to Flux to HiDream.

AI Image Models Comparison

Reaching 3000 LinkedIn followers nearly coincides with my 20 year anniversary on the platform. No dance videos or inspirational business porn required - just a builder in the most amazing time to be a creative problem solver.

3000 LinkedIn Followers

How I used Funko POP dolls to mark two-week development sprints and create a fun visual representation of our team's achievements. Each sprint was assigned an alphabetical letter and paired with a matching Funko POP figure.

Sprint Planning with Funko POPs

Kenny Omega has redefined professional wrestling with his innovative style. Here's why I believe he's truly the Best Bout Machine and one of the greatest performers of our generation.  These photos were taken 5 years ago just minutes before COVID closed the world.

Why Kenny Omega is the Greatest Wrestler Alive

With over a year of code, questions and data from me, I asked ChatGPT which historical figure I'm most like, and the answer was surprising yet oddly accurate: Benjamin Franklin, the original tech entrepreneur.

ChatGPT Says I'm Benjamin Franklin

A comprehensive evaluation of Adobe's latest Firefly 4 model using my standard test prompts to benchmark its capabilities against previous versions and competitors.

Adobe Firefly 4 is Lawyer Enriched Midness

Exploring the innovative Plushie Image Model that transforms any standard image into a cuddly stuffed doll design with impressive accuracy and charm.

Turning Images Into Adorable Stuffed Dolls

Visitors arrived from every inhabited continent—North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania—meaning someone is reading my content no matter what time zone the clock shows.

A World of Visitors to this Site

Exploring HiDream-I1 AI's cutting-edge capabilities for state-of-the-art image generation across multiple styles and applications.

HiDream-I1 AI: Speed and Price Advantage

Following the shocking double-cross at WrestleMania 41, a new Paul Heyman Funko Pop figure has been announced featuring "nut crunching action" to commemorate the Wiseman's unexpected low blows.

Paul Heyman Funko Pop with 'NUT CRUNCHING ACTION' Announced After WrestleMania 41

The much-anticipated final round of the 2025 Masters pitted Rory McIlroy against Bryson DeChambeau in what became a symbolic battle between PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

PGA vs LIV: The Ultimate Masters Showdown

Putting OpenAI's o1 Pro to the test with three iconic Paramount Studios anniversary photos to see how many celebrities it can identify.

Testing OpenAI o1 Pro's Celebrity Recognition

I'm always drawn to personality tests that help me understand myself better and how others perceive me. My latest exploration is the Enneagram, where I discovered I'm a Type 2: The Helper - characterized by empathy, generosity, and a desire to connect with others.

Enneagram Test Results: The Helper?

After rating 200 images to train my preferences, MidJourney 7 produced some of the crappiest versions of my default image prompts that I've seen.

MidJourney 7 Stinks

A two decade-old missed photo opportunity with Weird Al Yankovic on Austin's 6th Street gets an AI recreation.

The Day I Almost Had a Selfie with Weird Al

Reflecting on the memorable moments and achievements from the first quarter of 2025.

Q1 2025 Highlights - A Look Back at the First Quarter

Reimagining Moebius and H.R. Giger's legendary Dune concept art as a 1970s Kenner toy line that never existed, but perhaps should have.

Jodorowsky's Dune - The Kenner Toys That Never Were

It took me about 12 rendered images before OpenAI realized what I was looking for before it stopped.

How Long Can OpenAI Commit Copyright Violations?

Except when their lawyers restrict what the technology can actually do.  Other than that, it's AMAZING and the leader in the clubhouse.

OpenAI 4o Image Gen is Superior to All Others (*)

Hunyuan3D-2 offers the most advanced image and text to 3D model technology available, set to revolutionize gaming and 3D printing.

Hunyuan 3D 2 is Pure Sorcery

Using OpenAI's o1 Pro deep reasoning capabilities to generate a comprehensive biographical analysis that took 8 minutes of processing time to compile my complete profile.

OpenAI Pro Knows Me Really Well

A memorable evening in 1993 when Douglas Coupland's book signing turned into an impromptu night of darts with Richard Linklater and Wiley Wiggins at Austin's iconic Les Amis.

A Gen X Night with Douglas Coupland in Austin, 1993

As an early Kickstarter backer of the original Pebble, I'm thrilled to see this pioneering smartwatch making its return with new hardware and the same beloved features that made it special.

The Return of Pebble

A tour through Fossil's headquarters in Dallas, including a glimpse of the CEO's office with its famous mannequin stand-in, during the early days of smartwatch development.

Inside Fossil's Dallas Headquarters

From our engagement on a Disney cruise to celebrating our 25th anniversary on another Disney cruise - looking back at a quarter century of love and happiness.

Celebrating 25 Years of Marriage

Looking back at a decade of contributing 3D models to Thingiverse, from iPhone cases to VR goggles, with over 14,900 views and 5,500 downloads.

A Decade of 3D Printing: My Thingiverse Journey

After John Cena's epic 2025 Royal Rumble performance tonight, I found an old YouTube clip where I actually appear in the background during his SXSW appearance!

John Cena at SXSW 2014

Exploring different AI image generation themes each week using Flux and Kling AI for LinkedIn content. From cyberpunk Tokyo streets to animated tarot cards, here's how I'm adding variety to my daily posts.

Power of KlingAI Video Production

A stunning piece of sci-fi art by Jeff Carlisle featuring hundreds of characters from across science fiction universes gathered at the Warp Core Cafe.

Another Night at the Warp Core Cafe

Count me as a huge fan of  Nibbles, a privacy-focused video converter that brings playful interaction to the typically mundane task of video format conversion.

I love Nibbles, The Tasty Video Converter

A look back at my GitHub activity in 2024, featuring 619 contributions across various projects and initiatives.

GitHub Year in Review

Exploring local AI video generation using the Hunyuan model in ComfyUI. Running completely on a local gaming computer, these examples showcase what's possible with consumer hardware and open source tools.