Thought
Meet the ToyBox Brain
This week ToyBox introduced the ToyBox Brain, the AI assistant that carries the operations of my one-person practice.
It runs my morning brief, searches every meeting, tracks tasks and follow-ups, drafts in my voice, and remembers what was decided and why. The rules came first: it drafts, never sends. It never moves money. It backs up before every change. And I approve everything.
Why guardrails first? Honestly, I was just learning how to navigate new AI tools. Before anything was automated, I built out the spreadsheets to house all the information for each focus area of ToyBox I wanted support with.
I was just learning how to navigate new AI tools, and doing what felt like the right thing.
Every sign-off is a place a program can stall
Also from ToyBox this week: studying a federal program in Oakland, Pressman and Wildavsky counted 70 clearances across 30 decision points. If each step has a 95% chance of going right, the chance all 70 do is under 3%. Fewer handoffs beat faster people.
Three websites for almost nothing
I moved three websites off a paid builder and rebuilt them myself. Nobody taught me. I learned by doing it, breaking it and fixing it, so I wrote it all down in a free 11-page playbook.
Get How I Built My Site With Claude →
Space Between, one of my favorite spaces
I'm Space Between's operations and finance consultant, and it's one of my favorite spaces to be. They really value peacefulness and mindfulness, they practice every bit of what they preach, and they have an amazing community of supporters.
Window 5 is coming soon
It's been coming soon for a long time. I haven't forgotten. I'm still thinking about how I want to approach the final essay.
Taste
Jalapeños in the oil, cheese that won't let go
Game-day fried chicken, 2 for 2
Frying chicken or making a meal during a game is a very special tradition for me. And I find the Seahawks do better when I'm in the kitchen.
December 23, 2018: fried chicken in my kitchen, and the Seahawks beat the Chiefs 38 to 31. Last Sunday: fried chicken again, and the Seahawks beat the Chiefs 20 to 3. My secret is a few tablespoons of buttermilk powder in the flour and an old-fashioned paper bag toss. This time the jalapeños went right in the oil, inspired by Keith Lee's Church's Texas Chicken taste test.
Cheers to the rest of the season, and hopefully we get back on the road to the next Super Bowl. 🏈
Cajun potato soup, my slow-cooker remix
The first time I saw Ralph the Baker's Cajun potato soup on TikTok, I knew I had to make it. My remix: no butter, no flour. I mash some of the potatoes right in the pot, so it comes out chunky and creamy. It carried us through the week.
Jay Berry's Cafe, Renton
Three and a half kisses, dedicated to my son, who's always down for brunch with his mom.
Thursday's Guess the spot was Jay Berry's Cafe on Renton-Issaquah Road, one of my favorite places to grab brunch with family. This visit was my son's birthday brunch. The star of the table: hot tots with formaggi sauce, never soggy. One tip: get them in person, not on Uber Eats.
Last week's answers
Who called it
💋 Guess the spot: Jay Berry's
Shout-out to my mom, @teelynn38. She was the first to pick up on where we were, and she didn't give away the spot.
🎃 Your scariest pick
Nobody answered this one. I binged way more horror over the last week or so: Tales from the Crypt reruns and a few other favorites. Hopefully everyone got their spooky season jitters and happiness out, and we can all start November with a fresh outlook.
Presence
Part-time empty nester
It was really neat to see my son in his Halloween costume.
Having a college-age kid at home, being a part-time empty nester, if you will, has been one of the most incredible journeys of my life. It feels so good to be here for him.
This week he also had his first real studio session, with my good friend Beezie (BEEZIE 2000), the producer and artist. It was amazing to watch his process. Before we knew it, we had been up all night. By the end of it, my son had co-composed and written a new song, and he got to hear himself in a recording studio for the first time.
Yesterday, while he was out with his friends, I made macaroni and cheese, his favorite, so it was waiting as a surprise when he got home. It's one of the little things I'm really happy I get to do for him while he's taking his first midterms at the university. And you should know: my mac and cheese will be on SZND soon.
Friday night we celebrated my Aunt Katari's birthday. I had an amazing time with family. It's always a great time when we get together.
Vote by Tuesday
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. In Washington, get your ballot into a drop box by 8 p.m. or postmarked by Election Day. In August 2024, my son walked his ballot to the drop box in his first year as a voter. Find your drop box at VoteWA.gov
Coming up
- Tue11/3Election Day. Drop boxes close at 8 p.m. VoteWA.gov
- Wed11/4Out the Box, issue 1. ToyBox's new monthly letter starts Wednesday. Subscribe
- Fri11/6Coming Home with The Sophia Way, Hilton Bellevue. An evening celebrating the journeys of women to a home of their own, and the community that walks with them. Get tickets
Off the clock
The Crypt Keeper in a pair of Jordans 👟💀
Tales from the Crypt, season 2, episode 12, "Fitting Punishment," from 1990. Nothing set me up for this one.
The Jordans aren't just a costume gag. Air Jordans are part of the actual story, and the Crypt Keeper's intro is built around basketball and sneakers to set it up. As a kid I didn't catch any of that. And the episode was co-written by Don Mancini, the creator of Chucky. Knowing that now, it makes sense why this show always felt like it was on the verge of something else.
Rewatching it damn near 30 years later, I'm catching things I missed. I'm also remembering how I used to hide it so my mom wouldn't know I was watching. 🤫
Partners and asks
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See you next Monday,
Katoya