I’m mostly talking to myself in this one. 

I don’t think our world can sustain the status quo any longer. It’ll be the poor that suffer first and most, but everyone but the richest people are in for a tough ride. I think we all know this, and I don’t want to use this post to despair. I want to inspire myself towards action. 

I want a better, more equitable society. But to get there I do have to “play ball” with what we have now, and I think I’ve been trying to avoid that for the past year. I hate capitalism and the perverse incentives that stem from its relentless pursuit of “growth“ and profit. Yet I need to live and survive. So I feel this internal conflict, hating the part of myself that pursues money, while knowing it’s wrong and inequitable. 

But survive I must, and so I will seek power to make change. Or die trying. 

Ok, but practically speaking, what does this mean I’m doing? To be honest: I don’t (entirely) know, but I have to try figure it out. At least I’m starting with a few ideas and enough action to give it a go.

The Pragmatic Part

I’m building a business around programmatic CAD tools because I think we need designers and builders working on technologies designed by and for the people.

Hardware that is open and repairable. Devices and objects that save lives in climate crises, like filters, shelters, and tools. Technologies for the middle class to promote better collective action, like systems and infrastructure that promote car-free living. Technologies and concepts that force us to address the long term problems we know are coming, like renewable energy device manufacturing plants, and affordable (free, heaven forbid!) homes for climate refugees. 

I am using Clojure to build open source libraries for 2D and 3D modelling. With these libraries I can build sites, apps, and programs for small creators and designers. For example, I create PDFs of 2D quilt patterns, and I am expanding that workflow into its own app for quilt designers. I am similarly working on a set of prototype design scripts to prove the 3D model workflows that I hope to use for my own designs. 

As these libraries solidify, I will be able to automate technical design work for small manufacturers, and ensure for myself some recurring revenue. With this revenue I will be able to provide some consumer facing open source design programs, which I hope can promote a big community shift towards open design for all. CAD for the people. Hardware for humans. 

As all of this grows, I will continue creating content exploring the technical and philosophical concepts related to my work. This is in part because I love sharing knowledge and promoting discussion about technical topics and partly to keep my work in the open where people can interact with me and take concepts as their own. Solutions to big challenges require multiple perspectives and approaches. 

Over the years, I hope to have enough money to buy myself a nice property to build a workshop on. This is the selfish part. I love building stuff and really want my own shop. 

Thinking less selfishly, I want to build shops that others can use and I want to invest in businesses for minorities. I don’t work alone, and the world needs better communities. While capitalism still reigns, we need companies that actually care, and I want to be one such company that can also support other like minded groups.

I don’t know how any of this will actually end up, but I know that I’ll shrivel up and die if I try to do my career in a “traditional” and “safe” way. I simply do not abide authority (within reason, I do strive to be a good citizen of the earth), and so I refuse to subject myself to office life. Nor do I accept the path we are collectively on. The time for platitudes and slow change is long gone, and I work for the future, not the past. 

We need clear minds and open hearts to make a difference. 

I am consciously learning to get out of the way. There are many things worth fighting for and I am just one man. I don’t know everything, and have huge blind spots. Tech alone will not save us, it’s actually part of the problem much of the time. Uncaring, uncritical trust in technology and it’s overlords is what got us here.

Community and leadership and brave politics are critical. 

I am only one man, and not that smart anyway. So I am learning to be humble and open to those who know policy and theory and fight for the people. 

Community is key. 

I can help a bit in that regard. I love to share knowledge, and intend to keep doing so by creating programming, engineering and design  content on the internet (blogs, videos, open source projects, and streams). I have a small hope that I can start doing charity streams too, to help push money and awareness into spots of power. 

As my career develops, I suspect that I will be ok (I’m a white male with well-off parents), and don’t have much to worry about for my individual well-being. Assuming some moderate success, I hope to expand my sights. If I can build a good business from good CAD tools, I want to work with manufacturers that share my vision and urgency about climate crisis solutions. I want to build better factories, better homes, and better farms. I want to create learning environments that can teach people to be makers again and give people the skills and confidence to fix and advance their own community environments. Free people from the grasp of closed tools built by uncaring and inhuman corporate machines. 

Individual action is not enough, but there’s nothing that can stop me from individually dedicating my life to fighting for the climate, fighting for humans. 

I am starting small and working humbly as just one engineer. It’s not perfect but it’s a start.