diff --git a/grants/SCORE.md b/grants/SCORE.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..2c2960b3a2 --- /dev/null +++ b/grants/SCORE.md @@ -0,0 +1,66 @@ +# Grants Score + +Active applications, deadlines, and status. Newest deadlines first. + +## Open / In Flight + +| Application | Deadline | Amount | Status | Folder | +|---|---|---|---|---| +| Error 406 [Netstalgia] Not Acceptable | 2026-05-04 (23:59 CEST) | €1,500–7,000 (asking €5.5k) | DRAFT v0 ready | `error-406-netstalgia/` | +| NY Art Book Fair — Project Space | 2026-05-08 | $3,500 stipend | DRAFT v0 ready | `printed-matter-project-space-2026/` | +| Oracle Egg — BROILER Residency (Fall 2026) | 2026-05-15 (23:59 PST) | TBD | DRAFT v0 ready | `oracle-egg-broiler-2026/` | +| ~~Francis Gallery solo painting exhibition~~ | parked | — | parked — different call than the public Summer Exhibition; awaiting source URL | `francis-gallery-2026/` | +| Smart History — Contributor essay | rolling | unpaid | PITCH.md drafted (send first; PhD-or-equiv clause) | `smarthistory-essay/` | + +### Drafted vs. submitted + +Every "DRAFT v0 ready" above means there is a `DRAFT.md` in the folder +that's filled out top to bottom but **not yet trimmed against the +actual application form's word counts**. The last step before each +deadline: open the form, capture the exact field structure, trim the +draft to fit, fill in unanswered questions, and submit. + +## Submitted / Decided + +(none yet — see `grants/lacma-2026/` for prior reference.) + +## Personal Logistics (not grants but tracked here) + +| Item | By | Status | Notes | +|---|---|---|---| +| Renew passport (Assonet trip) | before travel | todo | *vault: `personal/2026-assonet/`* | +| File 2024 + 2025 federal/state tax | late | todo | *vault: `personal/2026-assonet/`* | +| Covered CA vs MassHealth (residency) | open question | todo | *vault: `personal/2026-assonet/`* | +| Meeting with SFPC | TBD | schedule | `personal/2026-sfpc/` | + +## Soft / Maybe Later + +- Architecture (sales venue for artbooks) — research contact +- Nina Atwater (sales venue for artbooks) — research contact +- closefriends.email signup — Trevor McFedries weekly digest + +## Inbox + +New opportunities (Fia forwards, me@jas.life mail, in-person asks) land +in the **private vault honeydo** — +`aesthetic-computer-vault/personal/honeydo.md.gpg`. Promote ones with +real public-OK fit into a folder under `grants/` here with a +`RESEARCH.md`, and link back from the vault honeydo. + +The honeydo lives in the vault (not in this public repo) because the +inbox itself often contains forwarded contacts and source-mail context +that's closed-source. + +## Pattern for new applications + +Each application folder should contain: + +``` +/ + RESEARCH.md # what we found about the call: deadline, ask, jury, fit + DRAFT.md # the canonical narrative source (form fields) + budget.md (or .tex) # if applicable + attachments/ # CV, work samples, references +``` + +Mirror the structure of `grants/lacma-2026/` (esp. `LACMA-2026-APPLICATION-DRAFT.md`) for narrative-heavy submissions. diff --git a/grants/error-406-netstalgia/DRAFT.md b/grants/error-406-netstalgia/DRAFT.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..6b9e52eb64 --- /dev/null +++ b/grants/error-406-netstalgia/DRAFT.md @@ -0,0 +1,191 @@ +# Error 406 [Netstalgia] Not Acceptable — Application Draft + +> **Deadline:** 2026-05-04, 23:59 CEST +> **Deliverable:** browser-runnable online exhibition piece + terms of use, due 2026-10-30 +> **Ask:** **€5,500** (middle-upper of the €1.5–7k range — see budget) +> **Submit:** https://error417.expectation.fail/406/netstalgia-not-acceptable/open-call +> +> *This draft is amount-flexible and section-flexible until we have the +> actual form fields in hand. Word counts below are first-cut targets.* + +--- + +## Project Title + +**The URL Tradition** — a browser-runnable counter-platform piece + +(Working title. Optional alternates: "Personal Computers Are Not Done Yet," +"What An Address Was Supposed To Be," "Permanent Forks.") + +## One-Sentence Description + +A live web piece where every keystroke makes a new URL — a working +demonstration that the address bar can still be a creative interface, not +a tracking surface, written into Aesthetic Computer's existing public +hosting layer of 17,000+ user programs. + +--- + +## Project Description (~400 words target) + +The web's original promise was that every program, every painting, every +in-progress thought could have a permanent address that anyone could +visit, fork, and continue. Forty years of platform consolidation turned +the URL into a tracking primitive. **Netstalgia is the wrong response.** +Wishing for the early web — the personal homepage, the GeoCities ring — +fixes nothing, because the missing infrastructure was never the +aesthetic. It was the *contract*: every artifact addressable, every +artifact remixable, no platform between artist and audience. + +**Aesthetic Computer** has been quietly rebuilding that contract since +2021. KidLisp.com hosts 17,000+ user-written generative-art programs, +each at a permanent URL of the form `kidlisp.com/$xxx`. Anyone can fork +any program by appending it to any other URL. There is no app store, no +moderation queue, no algorithm. The hosting layer is free and the source +is on GitHub. + +**The proposed piece — *The URL Tradition* — makes that contract visible.** +A single browser-runnable artwork where: + +1. **Every keystroke is publishable.** As the visitor writes a KidLisp + program live in the page, every state of the program is auto-minted as + a permanent URL. No save button. No login. The URL bar is the + manuscript. +2. **The address bar is the studio.** The piece lets visitors visit any + prior visitor's URL, fork it, mix it with any other prior URL by + concatenation, and watch the result run live. +3. **Inherited memory is a visible substrate, not a frame.** The piece + surfaces the URL graph itself — what fed into this state, what comes + after — so that "remix" stops being a metaphor and becomes the + mechanic. + +The piece will run for the duration of the Error 406 online exhibition +(end of 2026 onward) at a dedicated URL, with all visitor-generated state +preserved as part of the work. After the exhibition, the piece continues +at the same URL — as a permanent counter-platform demonstration, not an +expiring artifact. + +**Why this fits Netstalgia Not Acceptable.** This is not a recreation of +the early web. It's a working argument that the protocols, the +addressing scheme, and the hosting layer the web actually offered — if +you decline the platform — already deliver what we wish nostalgia could. +The piece proposes (and implements) the URL as the unit of artistic +authorship: not a citation, not a share, but the work itself. + +--- + +## Artist Statement (~150 words target) + +I make instruments and tools for other artists to use. Aesthetic Computer +is the central project — a creative computing system, a custom +programming language (KidLisp), a social network, and a lending fleet of +laptops flashed with a custom kernel. I have been arguing for years +that the personal computer is not finished, that the web's original +contract was real, and that the way to defend it is to keep building +it. The URL Tradition piece is the most concentrated expression of +that argument I can fit into a browser. It exists because every other +form of the argument — the operating system, the laptop fleet, the +hardware — is harder to ship to a global online exhibition than a +single URL. That, itself, is the point. + +--- + +## Fit With the Call's Themes + +| Call theme | How the piece engages it | +|---|---| +| **Protocols, networks, shared infrastructures** | The piece IS a working protocol stack — KidLisp + the AC hosting layer + permanent URLs. Source on GitHub. | +| **Governance, moderation, sustainability within decentralization** | No moderation queue; every program is its own permanent URL; hosting paid by open-source sponsorship + studio funds, not VC. | +| **Expanding user agency on restrictive platforms** | The piece is itself the alternative platform; visitors leave with permanent URLs they own. | +| **Migration toward existing alternatives** | Built atop infrastructure that already exists and works (17,000+ programs, 2,800+ handles, 5 years of uptime). | +| **Critical interrogation of inherited memories and power structures** | The piece argues against nostalgia explicitly — its companion essay (see deliverables) frames the URL Tradition as a contract, not a memory. | + +--- + +## Deliverables + +1. **The piece itself** — a browser-runnable URL (`error406.aesthetic.computer` + or similar), live for the duration of the exhibition and after. +2. **Companion essay (~1,500 words)** — published as both a permanent URL + and a printable single-sheet KidLisp card, expanding "The URL + Tradition" argument for the exhibition catalog. +3. **Terms of use** — short, readable, in plain English. No tracking, no + accounts, all visitor-generated content preserved at permanent URLs + under a permissive license. +4. **Source code** — on GitHub (already public for the full AC stack). +5. **Documentation reel** — short video of the piece in use, for the + exhibition front-matter. + +--- + +## Risk and Process (Selection criterion #5) + +This piece is **deliberately under-finished at the moment of submission** +and will be co-developed with the visitor traffic during the exhibition +window. The risk is that visitors don't make anything interesting; the +process commitment is that the piece will publish a periodic "URL of the +week" curated edit *during* the exhibition, with the artist +acknowledging that some weeks will be empty. Failure becomes part of the +work. This is consistent with the call's stated welcome of "high-risk, +process-oriented projects." + +--- + +## Budget (€5,500 ask) + +| Item | € | +|---|---| +| Artist time: development + curation through exhibition window (≈12 weeks) | 3,000 | +| Hosting + bandwidth + URL preservation infrastructure (Cloudflare, MongoDB, Digital Ocean Spaces) | 600 | +| Companion essay writing + design + print run (100 cards, distributed in EU + LA) | 500 | +| Documentation reel (production + editing) | 400 | +| Translations of the piece UI + essay into ES, DA, ZH | 600 | +| Contingency (8%) | 400 | +| **Total** | **5,500** | + +--- + +## Short Bio (~100 words) + +Jeffrey Alan Scudder is an artist, educator, and technologist based in +Los Angeles. He builds instruments and tools for other artists, and +keeps a live practice across performance painting, software writing, and +teaching. Yale MFA (2013), Ringling BFA (2011). Author in Residence at +UCLA Social Software with Casey Reas and Lauren Lee McCarthy. Creator of +Aesthetic Computer, Whistlegraph, and No Paint. His open-source tools +*No Paint* and *notepat* each reached the front page of Hacker News. +Work in the collections of KADIST (San Francisco) and SMK (Copenhagen). +Hosts biweekly NELA Computer Club demos at Plot.Place in Chinatown, LA. + +## Long Bio / CV + +See `papers/cv/cv.pdf` (canonical AC CV). + +--- + +## Source Materials Repurposed Here + +- `papers/arxiv-url-tradition/url-tradition.tex` — primary intellectual + source for "The URL Tradition" framing +- `papers/arxiv-sustainability/sustainability.tex` — "Who Pays for + Creative Tools?" — funding-model argument +- `papers/arxiv-network-audit/network-audit.tex` — current state of the + 17,000-program hosting layer +- `system/public/kidlisp.com/` — the existing hosting platform the + piece extends +- `papers/arxiv-kidlisp-cards/` — card format for companion essay print + +--- + +## Submission Checklist + +- [ ] Open the actual application form, capture exact fields + word caps +- [ ] Trim each section to the form's actual word count +- [ ] Decide on final title (currently "The URL Tradition") +- [ ] Confirm €5,500 ask vs. higher (€7k) or lower (€4k) based on form + questions about scope vs. honorarium +- [ ] Pull 3–5 work-sample images (existing KidLisp pieces as preview) +- [ ] Record + upload short documentation video +- [ ] Confirm exhibition URL slug (`error406.aesthetic.computer`?) +- [ ] Final review for word counts, typos, and ES/DA/ZH translation note +- [ ] Submit before 2026-05-04, 23:59 CEST diff --git a/grants/error-406-netstalgia/RESEARCH.md b/grants/error-406-netstalgia/RESEARCH.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..cb5c3b78cc --- /dev/null +++ b/grants/error-406-netstalgia/RESEARCH.md @@ -0,0 +1,83 @@ +# Error 406 [Netstalgia] Not Acceptable — Research + +> **Deadline:** 2026-05-04, 23:59 CEST +> **Grant:** €1,500 – €7,000 (sliding scale) +> **Submit:** https://error417.expectation.fail/406/netstalgia-not-acceptable/open-call +> **Org:** Error 417 (organized in part by dyne.org foundation; second call after Error 417) +> **Jury:** meets early June 2026; recipients informed mid-June +> **Online exhibition:** end of 2026 (work delivery deadline 2026-10-30) + +## What they're calling for + +Internet-art projects that take a clear-eyed look at the past while exploring how +internet histories can open paths to more equitable futures. Not "old internet" +nostalgia — but interrogation of platform power, data extraction, and the +infrastructures we've inherited. Asking what protocols, networks, archives, and +shared conditions are needed to build the internet we actually want. + +## Eligibility + +Open worldwide to: +- artists +- collectives +- curators +- arts initiatives +- exhibition spaces +- online platforms +- developers (software and hardware) + +## Format of award + +- Grant (sliding €1.5k–€7k) +- Mentoring sessions with members of the jury +- Inclusion in online exhibition (end of 2026) + +## Why AC fits + +- Aesthetic.Computer *is* a critique of platform-era computing through making. +- The URL Tradition paper (`papers/arxiv-url-tradition/`) is the clearest single + artifact framing AC's stance on protocols and shared conditions for the web. +- The Library + AC Native OS '26 reframes "old hardware" as a site of cultural + reuse rather than nostalgia — anti-Windows-10-EOL e-waste, against platform + capture, in favor of artist-run infrastructure. +- KidLisp + the social network are the "protocols, networks, archives" the call + asks about, made tangible. + +## Suggested angle + +**"Personal Computers Are Not Done Yet" → reframed for Netstalgia:** +We are not nostalgic for the early web. We are arguing the second personal +computing scene is just starting, and it has to be built on the lessons of why +the first one was captured. The AC Library and AC Native OS are the +demonstration: 240M stranded laptops, an artist-run lending fleet, a custom +kernel that boots straight into a creative instrument, no app store. Online +exhibition piece could be a browser-runnable demonstration of AC's URL tradition ++ a documentation reel from a Flash Day. + +## Source materials in repo to repurpose + +- `papers/arxiv-url-tradition/url-tradition.tex` — main intellectual frame +- `papers/arxiv-os/os.tex` — AC Native OS '26 paper +- `papers/arxiv-sustainability/sustainability.tex` — "Who Pays for Creative Tools?" +- `papers/arxiv-network-audit/network-audit.tex` — what the network looks like today +- `grants/lacma-2026/LACMA-2026-APPLICATION-DRAFT.md` — recent narrative we can adapt + +## Sources + +- [Open Call (canonical)](https://error417.expectation.fail/406/netstalgia-not-acceptable/open-call) +- [Netstalgia Essay (frame)](https://error417.expectation.fail/406/netstalgia-not-acceptable/netstalgia-not-acceptable-essay) +- [ArtRabbit listing](https://www.artrabbit.com/artist-opportunities/2026/may/error-406-netstalgia-not-acceptable) +- [ArtsHub UK listing](https://www.artshub.co.uk/opportunity/error-406-netstalgia-not-acceptable-2632679/) +- [dyne.org / LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dyne-org_open-call-error-406-netstalgia-not-acceptable-activity-7444745380614795264-Dz6f) + +## Next steps + +1. Read the Netstalgia essay carefully (linked above) and pull 2–3 quotes to + anchor the narrative against. +2. Draft `DRAFT.md` from the LACMA narrative, retargeted for an online + exhibition deliverable rather than a public lab. +3. Decide grant ask: probably top of range (€7k) given the scope of the AC + stack; or middle (€4k) if framed as a single Library Flash Day documentation + + browser demo. +4. Pick the deliverable: online piece, video documentation, or a written essay + companion. Cross-reference what the jury expects in the application form. diff --git a/grants/francis-gallery-2026/RESEARCH.md b/grants/francis-gallery-2026/RESEARCH.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..a21f50fa4f --- /dev/null +++ b/grants/francis-gallery-2026/RESEARCH.md @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ +# Francis Gallery (LA) — Painting Exhibition — Research + +> **User note:** "apply for Francis Gallery solo painting exhibition by May 30" +> **What I found does not match.** The publicly listed Francis Gallery LA open +> call is a **group Summer Exhibition**, not a solo show, with a deadline that +> already closed: +> +> - Original deadline: 2026-04-02 (extended to 2026-04-30) +> - Results announced: 2026-05-08 +> - Two prizes: $15,000 Francis Award (abstract), $15,000 Clara Award (figurative) +> - $30 application fee per artwork (max 2 works) +> - Artist must be LA-area, 18+ +> - Works: original paintings, 8×10" min to 48×60" max, completed within last 3 years + +## Possibilities + +1. **Different opportunity:** the user may be tracking a separate solo-show + call — maybe direct outreach to Francis Gallery, an invited proposal, or + another gallery with "Francis" in the name. Worth confirming before + drafting anything. +2. **Same call, misremembered as solo:** if it's the Summer Exhibition, the + May 30 date doesn't line up either (results were May 8); the call closed + April 30. **This one is past deadline.** +3. **Future-dated solo call:** Francis Gallery may have a separate solo + exhibition call we haven't surfaced. Their site lists exhibitions but the + public open-call page is the Summer Exhibition. + +## What you can paint with right now + +If the user *does* want to do a paint-focused submission somewhere, the AC +universe has strong painting threads to pull on: + +- The Holden paper (`papers/arxiv-holden/holden.tex`) — "The Potter and the + Prompt" is about generative painting practice. +- *No Paint* — the open-source paint tool that hit HN front page. +- The Whistlegraph paintings / paintings-as-source-code thread. +- `paintings/` directory in the monorepo (browse for current series). + +## Sources + +- [Open Call — Summer Exhibition](https://francisgallery.com/news/summer-exhibition-application-2026) +- [California Arts Council listing](https://arts.ca.gov/collective/francis-gallery-236-4-open-call-for-artists-summer-exhibition-2026/) +- [Francis Gallery homepage](https://francisgallery.com/) + +## Next step (needs you) + +**Please confirm one of:** + +- **(a)** This is the Summer Exhibition (group call, deadline already passed) — + **action: drop from list or contact gallery to ask if late submission is + possible.** +- **(b)** It's a different solo opportunity — **action: send the URL or + context (e.g., who told you, where you saw it) and I'll re-research.** +- **(c)** It's an unsolicited proposal you want to send the gallery directly — + **action: I'll draft the proposal and a cover letter against your painting + practice, and you set your own May 30 internal deadline.** diff --git a/grants/oracle-egg-broiler-2026/DRAFT.md b/grants/oracle-egg-broiler-2026/DRAFT.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..4a780fa828 --- /dev/null +++ b/grants/oracle-egg-broiler-2026/DRAFT.md @@ -0,0 +1,170 @@ +# Oracle Egg — BROILER Residency (Fall 2026) — Application Draft + +> **Deadline:** 2026-05-15, 23:59 PST +> **Length:** 3–7 days, full facility access +> **Window:** September – December 2026 +> **Submit:** Google Form linked from https://www.oracleegg.com/broiler +> +> *This draft is a starting frame; trim and re-shape once we have the +> exact form fields. Length targets below are guesses pending the form.* + +--- + +## Project Title + +**Library Orchestra — *notepat* on twelve flashed laptops** + +(Working title; alternate: *"What a room of personal computers sounds like."*) + +--- + +## One-paragraph Description (~120 words) + +Twelve refurbished laptops, each booted directly into Aesthetic Computer +from USB on the first day of the residency, become a network instrument +for a single 30–45 minute room-scale piece. Each laptop runs **notepat** +— an 8,466-line polyphonic instrument the artist built from scratch over +two years, a sample-level audio engine running at 192 kHz with 32 voices +of polyphony — and the twelve are linked over a local WebSocket relay so +that what one player hears propagates to the others. The piece develops +the *PLORK* (planetary laptop orchestra) thesis: cheap commodity laptops, +flashed with a creative kernel, become an instrument library. The room +becomes the instrument the room itself can play. + +--- + +## What I Want To Develop During The Residency + +I have built the instrument (notepat). I have written the paper proposing +this exact form (`papers/arxiv-plork/plork.pdf`, 8 pages). What I have +*not* done is play twelve of these in one room. The residency is exactly +the right length and shape to: + +1. **Day 1 — Flash Day.** Twelve refurbished ThinkPad 11e Yogas (already + stripped of their consumer OS, $128 per seat per `papers/arxiv-os/`) + boot into Aesthetic Computer. Performers — local LA musicians — each + take a laptop. The room becomes the instrument library. +2. **Days 2–4 — Open rehearsal.** Develop a 30–45 minute score for + twelve networked notepats, voice, room mics, and the PA. The piece + uses AC's existing WebSocket relay (the same code that powers + real-time multiplayer in `system/public/aesthetic.computer/disks/`) + so all twelve laptops can phase, sync, cross-modulate, listen to each + other, and respond. +3. **Day 5 (or 6 / 7) — Public ticketed performance.** The score in + front of an audience. Documentation reel for online release. + +The risk is real and acknowledged: I have never run twelve simultaneous +laptops on one local network running a shared synth state. Days 2–4 are +budgeted to fail openly, and the final-day performance is shaped by +whatever the room actually does, not what was planned. + +--- + +## Why Oracle Egg + +BROILER is for ambitious sound and performance work in early stages or +active development. This piece is in active development on every +component (notepat, the AC kernel, the WebSocket relay, the PLORK +argument) — what's missing is the room. Oracle Egg's 3,000 sf loft in +the Fashion District is exactly the kind of space the piece needs: enough +floor for twelve laptop stations and an audience, run by musicians who +understand the rehearsal-into-performance arc, with a culminating public +moment that turns a residency into something an audience comes to. + +The residency is also the right cohort question: which LA musicians want +to play this? I would invite a mix from the **NELA Computer Club** +(biweekly demos at Plot.Place in Chinatown) and Oracle Egg's own active +circles. Twelve players, mixed practices, one room, one piece. + +--- + +## Logistics + +| Need | Who provides | +|---|---| +| Twelve refurbished ThinkPad 11e Yoga laptops | Artist (AC Library / shipped from LA studio) | +| Twelve USB drives, pre-flashed with AC Native OS | Artist | +| Twelve sets of headphones | Artist | +| Local WebSocket relay (laptop or RPi) | Artist | +| Eight to twelve cheap powered speakers + mixer + mic stands | Oracle Egg / artist (rider TBD) | +| Local network (ethernet or 5GHz wifi without internet exit) | Oracle Egg / artist | +| Performance space + door + ticketing | Oracle Egg | +| Performers (≈8 invited) | Artist (LA-based, mix of NELA Computer Club + invited) | + +--- + +## Honorarium / Cost + +The form will state Oracle Egg's policy. **My ask:** a per-day artist +fee for performers (eight performers × $200/day × 4 days = +$6,400 across the cohort), a $1,500 production budget for travel of +shipped equipment + speaker rental + mixer rental, and an artist fee for +the residency lead at Oracle Egg's standard rate. If Oracle Egg's +policy is artist-fee-only with no production budget, I will adapt the +piece to fewer performers (six instead of twelve) and use existing +equipment. + +--- + +## Performance Date Window + +September – December 2026. Strong preference for **early-to-mid +October 2026** (lines up with the fall semester at UCLA Social Software +where the AC cards are circulating, and with my own LA calendar). Will +adapt as Oracle Egg needs. + +--- + +## Short Bio (~100 words) + +Jeffrey Alan Scudder is an artist, educator, and technologist based in +Los Angeles. He builds instruments and tools for other artists, with a +live and active practice across performance painting, software writing, +and teaching. Yale MFA (2013), Ringling BFA (2011). Author in Residence +at UCLA Social Software with Casey Reas and Lauren Lee McCarthy. Creator +of Aesthetic Computer, Whistlegraph, and No Paint. His open-source tools +*No Paint* and *notepat* each reached the front page of Hacker News. +Work in the collections of KADIST (San Francisco) and SMK (Copenhagen). +Hosts biweekly NELA Computer Club demos at Plot.Place, Chinatown LA. + +--- + +## Media Samples (to include) + +1. **notepat performance reel** — 3 min, solo or duo on browser; pull + from existing AC documentation. +2. **AC Native OS boot reel** — 60 sec showing a ThinkPad cold-booting + into notepat from USB (kernel prototype landed Feb 2026). +3. **PLORK paper** — `papers/arxiv-plork/plork.pdf` (8 pp.) as written + thesis. +4. **One previous live-performance still** (NELA Computer Club, 47th + Venice Family Clinic Art Exhibition 2026, or a UCLA classroom). + +--- + +## Source Materials Repurposed Here + +- `papers/arxiv-plork/plork.tex` — the PLORK / planetary laptop + orchestra argument (primary intellectual frame) +- `papers/arxiv-notepat/notepat.tex` — the instrument paper +- `papers/arxiv-os/os.tex` — AC Native OS '26, the kernel that boots + notepat as PID 1 +- `papers/arxiv-folk-songs/folk-songs.tex` — repertoire / score thinking +- `papers/arxiv-whistlegraph/whistlegraph.tex` — graphic-score thinking +- `system/public/aesthetic.computer/disks/notepat.mjs` — the instrument + source +- `gigs/dis-order-pamphlet-8.5x11-folded/` — example of how AC ideas + travel into print form for an audience handout + +--- + +## Submission Checklist + +- [ ] Open the actual Google Form, capture exact fields + word caps +- [ ] Trim each section to fit the form +- [ ] Decide ensemble framing (solo / "Jeffrey + AC Library Orchestra") +- [ ] Confirm equipment count (12 vs. 8 vs. 6 laptops based on Oracle + Egg's space + budget) +- [ ] Pull the performance reel +- [ ] Confirm performance date preference window +- [ ] Submit before 2026-05-15, 23:59 PST diff --git a/grants/oracle-egg-broiler-2026/RESEARCH.md b/grants/oracle-egg-broiler-2026/RESEARCH.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..3ddab5ddd6 --- /dev/null +++ b/grants/oracle-egg-broiler-2026/RESEARCH.md @@ -0,0 +1,77 @@ +# Oracle Egg — BROILER Residency (Fall 2026) — Research + +> **Deadline:** 2026-05-15, 23:59 PST +> **Submit:** Google Form linked from https://www.oracleegg.com/broiler ("Apply Now") +> **Length:** 3 to 7 days, full facility access +> **Window:** September – December 2026 +> **Honorarium:** not disclosed publicly; ask in the form +> **Location:** 939 Maple Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90015 (Fashion District; 3,000 sf loft) +> **Run by:** two active musicians; artist-run incubator for experimental music & performance + +## What BROILER supports + +Ambitious new work in **sound and performance**: projects that challenge form, +expand sonic language, take risks. Projects should be in **early stages or +active development** — BROILER is not for finished work touring through. +Culminates in a public performance. + +## Why AC fits + +- **notepat.com** is an 8,466-line polyphonic instrument that runs in any + browser and on AC Native OS at 192 kHz / 32 voices. It is *exactly* a + laptop-orchestra instrument waiting for a room. +- The **PLORK paper** (`papers/arxiv-plork/`) literally argues for a planetary + laptop orchestra. BROILER is a perfect-scale demo of that thesis. +- The **AC Library** lending fleet means we can bring 8–12 AC Blank ThinkPads, + flash them on day 1, rehearse for 2–3 days, perform on day 5 — a full + workshop-to-performance arc inside the residency window. +- Oracle Egg's audience is exactly the right one for *Whistlegraph* and the + *Sucking on the Complex* paper — performance + score + open instrument. + +## Suggested angle + +**"Library Orchestra: notepat.com on twelve flashed laptops."** Pitch: +- Day 1: Flash 12 AC Blank ThinkPads (donated/used, $128/seat) — the room + becomes an instrument library. +- Days 2–4: Open rehearsal with LA musicians and any Oracle Egg residents + available; develop a 30–45 minute score for 12 networked notepats + voice + + room mics. Use AC's WebSocket relay so all 12 laptops can phase, sync, and + cross-modulate. +- Day 5 (or 6/7): Public ticketed performance. Documentation reel for online + release. + +This frames AC not as software but as a **room-scale performance instrument**, +which is BROILER's exact lane. + +## Source materials in repo + +- `papers/arxiv-plork/plork.tex` — planetary laptop orchestra argument +- `papers/arxiv-notepat/notepat.tex` — instrument paper +- `papers/arxiv-folk-songs/folk-songs.tex` — repertoire frame +- `papers/arxiv-whistlegraph/whistlegraph.tex` — graphic score thinking +- `system/public/aesthetic.computer/disks/notepat.mjs` — the instrument itself + +## Open questions for the user + +- Do you want to apply solo or with a named ensemble? (Could be "Jeffrey + AC + Library Orchestra" with TBD performers.) +- Would NELA Computer Club members be performers, or is this a separate + Downtown LA cohort? +- Equipment: ship laptops, or have local LA artists bring their own and flash + on site? + +## Sources + +- [BROILER program page](https://www.oracleegg.com/broiler) +- [Oracle Egg main site](https://www.oracleegg.com/) +- [Calendar / past residencies](https://www.oracleegg.com/calendar) +- [Support / pledge page](https://charity.pledgeit.org/oracleegg) + +## Next steps + +1. Open the Google Form and capture exact required fields (statement of intent, + media samples, technical rider, dates preferred). +2. Confirm performance date window — September through December gives you + flexibility; you'll want to align with other LA dates. +3. Decide ensemble framing. +4. Pull a 3-min notepat performance reel as the media sample. diff --git a/grants/printed-matter-project-space-2026/DRAFT.md b/grants/printed-matter-project-space-2026/DRAFT.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..0ee50c9be0 --- /dev/null +++ b/grants/printed-matter-project-space-2026/DRAFT.md @@ -0,0 +1,196 @@ +# NY Art Book Fair — Project Space — Application Draft + +> **Deadline:** 2026-05-08 +> **Stipend:** $3,500 (per JS — confirm in form) +> **Submit:** Project Space proposal Google Form (link in NYABF FAQ) +> +> *This draft assumes the Project Space format gives 1 booth-or-installation +> footprint + a presentation slot during the fair. Trim once the actual +> form is open.* + +--- + +## Project Title + +**The AC Papermill, Live** + +(Working title; alternates: "Programs As Cards," "The URL As Edition," +"Aesthetic Computer Press.") + +--- + +## One-Sentence Description + +A live publishing booth at the NY Art Book Fair where visitors write +KidLisp programs that print themselves as single-sheet cards in real +time, demonstrating the live tie between code, web hosting, and the +printed page that sits at the center of the Aesthetic Computer +publishing practice. + +--- + +## What The Project Space Will Be (~200 words) + +A small footprint inside the fair: one table, one wall, one networked +printer, two laptops. The setup runs continuously through the fair +hours. + +- **Laptop A** boots into Aesthetic Computer's KidLisp environment. + Visitors are invited to write a short program at the keyboard. Every + state of every program gets a permanent URL. (KidLisp.com hosts + 17,000+ existing user-written programs at this address scheme.) +- **Laptop B** is a print-on-demand station. As soon as a visitor + finishes a piece they like, it's rendered as a single-sheet + index-card composition (screenshot + source + permanent QR-coded URL, + monochrome, 2.75″ × 4.75″) and printed on the spot. The visitor + takes their card. +- **Wall display** of the existing AC papers: the AC Reader, twelve + arxiv-format papers, the dis-order pamphlet, a stack of pre-printed + KidLisp reference cards from the UCLA Social Software course. + Everything free to take, restocked from a small inventory. +- **Periodic "press runs"** — at scheduled times each day, the + artist will compile that day's KidLisp programs into a small + newsprint zine (16 pp.), printed in a short edition (50–100), free + to take. + +The booth runs **continuously and unattended-friendly**. The artist +will be present for the press-run moments and for visitor +conversations; otherwise visitors operate the publishing themselves. + +--- + +## Why It Belongs At NYABF + +The fair celebrates the printed thing. The Project Space format exists +for presentations that frame a publication or printed-matter practice +rather than just selling it from a table. Aesthetic Computer's +publishing practice is unusual: the printed cards and the live software +are the same artifact, the URL is the citation, the QR code is the +delivery. The booth makes that visible by *running* the press at the +fair. + +The piece also extends a five-year publishing arc that has produced: + +- **The AC Reader** (`papers/reader.pdf`) — a single-volume bound + collection of all current AC papers +- **The arxiv series** — 28 individual papers across `papers/arxiv-*/` +- **The cards** — single-sheet KidLisp pieces, designed to fit the + hand and the wall (`papers/arxiv-kidlisp-cards/`) +- **The dis-order pamphlet** — recent printed pamphlet, 8.5×11 bifold + (`gigs/dis-order-pamphlet-8.5x11-folded/`) + +The booth is the live edge of that practice — the part where the +publishing happens in front of the reader. + +--- + +## What Visitors Take Home + +- Their own KidLisp card (printed during their visit) +- A permanent URL that runs their program forever +- An AC Reader copy (one per visitor while supply lasts) +- A dis-order pamphlet +- Optional: stack of curated KidLisp reference cards (from the UCLA + Social Software course set) + +--- + +## Budget Sketch (against the $3,500 stipend) + +| Item | $ | +|---|---| +| Travel (LA ↔ NYC, four days) | 700 | +| Lodging (four nights, modest) | 600 | +| Equipment shipping (laptops + printer + cards) | 350 | +| Print supplies (cardstock, newsprint zine paper, ink) for daily press runs across the fair | 800 | +| Pre-printed inventory (AC Readers, dis-order pamphlets, KidLisp reference cards) | 600 | +| Per diem / meals (four days) | 250 | +| Contingency (≈6%) | 200 | +| **Total** | **3,500** | + +If the stipend is confirmed at a different amount, the inventory and +press-run line items scale up or down first. + +--- + +## Logistics + +| Need | Provided by | +|---|---| +| Booth footprint inside the fair | Printed Matter | +| Networked thermal or laser printer | Artist (ships from LA studio) | +| Two laptops + USB drives + cables | Artist | +| Wall display strips / clips for cards | Artist | +| Pre-printed inventory for the wall + giveaway | Artist | +| Power + wifi at the booth | Printed Matter | +| Optional: small audio for the periodic press-run announcements | Artist | + +**Staffing:** Artist runs the booth solo for the duration of the fair. +If selected and budget permits, may bring one helper for the busiest +two days. + +--- + +## Identity / Imprint + +**Apply as:** "Aesthetic Computer (Jeffrey Alan Scudder)" + +The booth functions as an imprint, not a solo-artist showcase. The +imprint identity makes the social network and the open-source layer +legible to the fair audience. + +(This is one of the open questions — discuss with Fia / collaborators +before submitting.) + +--- + +## Short Bio (~100 words) + +Jeffrey Alan Scudder is an artist, educator, and technologist based in +Los Angeles. He builds instruments and tools for other artists, and +keeps a live practice across performance painting, software writing, +and teaching. Yale MFA (2013), Ringling BFA (2011). Author in +Residence at UCLA Social Software with Casey Reas and Lauren Lee +McCarthy. Creator of Aesthetic Computer, Whistlegraph, and No Paint. +His open-source tools *No Paint* and *notepat* each reached the front +page of Hacker News. Work in the collections of KADIST (San Francisco) +and SMK (Copenhagen). Hosts biweekly NELA Computer Club demos at +Plot.Place, Chinatown LA. + +--- + +## Media Samples + +1. Photo of the existing AC Reader (PDF cover) +2. Photo of the existing KidLisp cards in use at UCLA Social Software +3. Photo of the dis-order pamphlet +4. Short video of a visitor writing a KidLisp program → seeing it + become a permanent URL → printing the card +5. Inventory shot of the four publication formats side-by-side + +--- + +## Source Materials Repurposed Here + +- `papers/SCORE.md` — the papermill-as-mission frame +- `papers/cards-convert.mjs` — the actual code that turns arxiv + source into single-sheet card layout +- `papers/arxiv-kidlisp-cards/` — example cards +- `papers/reader.pdf`, `papers/reader.tex` — the AC Reader +- `gigs/dis-order-pamphlet-8.5x11-folded/` — recent printed pamphlet +- `system/public/kidlisp.com/` — the hosting layer that already runs + the URL side of this + +--- + +## Submission Checklist + +- [ ] Open the Google Form, capture exact fields + word caps + stipend + amount +- [ ] Decide imprint vs. solo-artist application identity +- [ ] Source a thermal or laser printer suitable for booth use +- [ ] Pre-print enough Reader / pamphlet / card inventory before fair +- [ ] Confirm fair travel dates against other LA / NYC commitments + (SFPC visit, Oracle Egg residency window if accepted) +- [ ] Pull the visitor-flow video +- [ ] Submit before 2026-05-08 diff --git a/grants/printed-matter-project-space-2026/RESEARCH.md b/grants/printed-matter-project-space-2026/RESEARCH.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..a126311d09 --- /dev/null +++ b/grants/printed-matter-project-space-2026/RESEARCH.md @@ -0,0 +1,76 @@ +# NY Art Book Fair — Project Space — Research + +> **Deadline:** 2026-05-08 +> **Submit:** Project Space proposal form linked from the 2026 NYABF FAQ +> - Form (Google Forms): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdgkY1vM_7eIBYN58OfjptF8HQlPwIioX6Zvst-Mccg1RWBVw/viewform?usp=dialog +> - FAQ: https://printedmatterartbookfairs.org/faq +> - Financial support page: https://printedmatterartbookfairs.org/are-there-opportunities-for-financial-support +> **Amount:** $3,500 stipend (per JS — confirmed source). The publicly-listed +> awards in the financial-support FAQ are separate tracks (Shannon Cane, +> Volume Grant, Jason Polan); the Project Space stipend is documented in the +> proposal form itself. + +## What is a Project Space? + +From the FAQ: Project Spaces are "expanded presentations of books, prints, and +ephemera" that go beyond the standard exhibitor table format. They are +programmed presentations within the fair — installations, performances, +demonstrations — that frame a publication or printed-matter practice rather +than just selling it from a table. + +## Why AC fits + +- AC has a real artbook-adjacent practice: **the AC Reader** + (`papers/reader.pdf`), **the Cards** (`papers/arxiv-kidlisp-cards/`), the + printed pamphlet at `gigs/dis-order-pamphlet-8.5x11-folded/`, and the body of + arxiv papers across `papers/arxiv-*/`. The papermill literally exists to + press AC ideas into printable form. +- A Project Space lets us show the **printing pipeline as a living instrument** + rather than a stack of finished products: visitors interact with KidLisp, + the system prints a card, the card goes home with them. +- This connects the "papermill" metaphor in `papers/SCORE.md` to a public + performance of publishing. + +## Suggested angle + +**"The AC Papermill, Live."** A Project Space where: +1. A laptop runs a KidLisp performance (the live source of the cards). +2. A networked print station produces single-sheet KidLisp cards on demand, + one per visitor. +3. A small library of arxiv-AC papers is displayed and free to take. +4. Optional Flash Day mini-segment: visitors can flash a USB with AC Native OS. + +The Project Space proposal should foreground the **publication artifact** (the +cards, the reader) as the cultural object, not the software. Printed Matter is +about the printed thing. + +## Open questions for the user + +- Do you want to apply as **Aesthetic Computer** (org) or **Jeffrey Alan + Scudder** (artist)? Project Space framing usually favors a project/imprint + identity. +- Travel/logistics: NYABF is in NYC. If selected, who travels, who runs the + print station, what equipment ships? + +## Source materials in repo + +- `papers/SCORE.md` — papermill mission frame +- `papers/cards-convert.mjs` — actual card builder +- `papers/arxiv-kidlisp-cards/` — example cards already produced +- `papers/reader.pdf`, `papers/reader.tex` — the AC Reader +- `gigs/dis-order-pamphlet-8.5x11-folded/` — recent printed pamphlet + +## Sources + +- [NYABF FAQ](https://printedmatterartbookfairs.org/faq) +- [Financial support page](https://printedmatterartbookfairs.org/are-there-opportunities-for-financial-support) +- [Submission Manager](https://printedmatterinc.submittable.com/submit) +- [Project Space proposal form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdgkY1vM_7eIBYN58OfjptF8HQlPwIioX6Zvst-Mccg1RWBVw/viewform?usp=dialog) + +## Next steps + +1. Open the Google Form and screenshot/save the actual fields, including the + stipend amount. +2. Decide: apply as imprint or artist. +3. Draft a 1-page Project Space pitch focused on the *printed* output (cards + + reader), not the software underneath. diff --git a/grants/smarthistory-essay/PITCH.md b/grants/smarthistory-essay/PITCH.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..933bebaf94 --- /dev/null +++ b/grants/smarthistory-essay/PITCH.md @@ -0,0 +1,89 @@ +# Smarthistory — Contributor Pitch (Draft) + +> **Goal:** a short pitch + bio email to send to the Smarthistory +> contributors team. Confirms eligibility under the "appropriate +> qualifications" clause before drafting the full 800–1500 word essay. +> +> **Send to:** the contact form at https://smarthistory.org/contribute-an-essay/ +> **Format:** plain prose, ~250 words total (pitch + bio). + +--- + +## Subject Line + +Pitch: A practitioner-historian essay on Lillian Schwartz's +*Pixillation* (1970) + +*[The object is a placeholder until JS confirms the work he wants to write +about. Other strong candidates listed at the bottom of this file.]* + +--- + +## Email Body + +Dear Smarthistory editors, + +I'd like to propose an 800–1500 word object-based essay on Lillian +Schwartz's *Pixillation* (1970, 4 min, 16mm), a film-as-program made +at Bell Labs that I think still doesn't get a fair reading in +contemporary art history. I'd write it as a practitioner-historian — I +make programs that are themselves artworks, and I can walk a beginning +art-history reader through *Pixillation* as both an image and an +algorithm, with the goal of leaving them able to look at any +computer-generated artwork and ask better questions about it. + +I notice your contributor guidelines lead with the PhD requirement and +make space for "appropriate qualifications outside traditional academic +disciplines." I'm an artist, programmer, and educator: MFA from Yale +School of Art (2013); currently Author in Residence at UCLA Social +Software with Casey Reas and Lauren Lee McCarthy; have taught at UCLA, +Parsons School of Design, and Southern Oregon University; my work is +in the collections of KADIST (San Francisco) and the SMK National +Gallery of Denmark; I gave the keynote at Korea HCI 2020 and India HCI +2019, and lectured at the New Museum in 2022 and at Chaos +Communication Congress in 2018. I've spent fifteen years writing, +teaching about, and making computer-generated art, and I'd be glad +to send writing samples on request. + +If the editorial fit is right, happy to share a 500-word outline and a +draft for review. Thanks for considering it. + +Jeffrey Alan Scudder +mail@aesthetic.computer +https://aesthetic.computer / https://kidlisp.com + +--- + +## Object Candidates (pick one before sending) + +1. **Lillian Schwartz, *Pixillation* (1970)** — algorithmic film at + Bell Labs. Strong fit; under-discussed; lets the essay walk through + image AND algorithm; situates Jeffrey's KidLisp lineage. +2. **John Whitney, *Catalog* (1961)** — analog computer animation; the + foundational object for "computer-generated art." Bigger, more + crowded, but the "what does the program do" walk-through is rich. +3. **Casey Reas, one of the *Process* series, e.g., *Process 7* (2005)** + — contemporary, very accessible, but Reas is Jeffrey's current + collaborator (UCLA Social Software), so there's a conflict-of-interest + note to disclose. +4. **A specific KidLisp piece minted on Tezos** — most contemporary, + most about JS's own lineage, but harder to sell as a "single object + with art-historical weight" to a beginner audience. +5. **A Whistlegraph drawing** — same risk as #4, plus Smarthistory + doesn't have a strong precedent for sound-image hybrids on a + single page. + +**Recommendation:** lead with **#1 (Schwartz, *Pixillation*)** — best +balance of art-historical heft, beginner-readability, and Jeffrey's +qualifications-equivalent angle. Hold #3 in reserve if the editor +suggests something contemporary. + +--- + +## Next Step + +If JS confirms the object, send the email above with the right object +filled in. **No full essay drafted until Smarthistory editors confirm +the pitch is welcome** — the PhD-or-equivalent clause means a cold +1,500-word submission is more likely to be auto-rejected than a +short, qualifications-aware pitch. diff --git a/grants/smarthistory-essay/RESEARCH.md b/grants/smarthistory-essay/RESEARCH.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..ddad0000f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/grants/smarthistory-essay/RESEARCH.md @@ -0,0 +1,64 @@ +# Smarthistory — Contribute an Essay — Research + +> **URL:** https://smarthistory.org/contribute-an-essay/ +> **Style checklist:** https://smarthistory.org/contribute-an-essay/essay-checklist/ +> **Deadline:** rolling +> **Compensation:** none (educational nonprofit) + +## Eligibility — flag + +Smarthistory's stated qualification: + +> "Contributors have earned a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline and have +> significant teaching experience, or in instances outside traditional +> academic disciplines, hold other appropriate qualifications." + +Jeffrey holds an **MFA (Yale, 2013)** — not a PhD. The "appropriate +qualifications outside traditional academic disciplines" clause is the open +door, but it's not automatic. Practical implication: a Smarthistory submission +should be **pitched first** before drafting, with a 1-paragraph proposal + +brief CV that argues the qualifications-equivalent angle (UCLA Author in +Residence with Casey Reas, taught at UCLA / Parsons / SOU, work in KADIST +and SMK collections, two HN-front-page open-source tools). + +## Format if accepted + +- 800–1500 words +- Engaging, conversational, sometimes experiential tone +- Opens with a "hook" +- Targets beginning art history students +- Object-based: focused on a **single work of art or monument**; biography and + context flow from the object +- Includes visual analysis that walks the reader through the work +- Includes definitions for specialized terms (assume curious reader knows + nothing) +- Resources list at the bottom; first link is the institution where the object + lives + +## Suggested angle (only worth drafting once they confirm interest) + +**Object candidates inside Jeffrey's wheelhouse:** + +1. A specific Whistlegraph drawing as a graphic score (object: the drawing; + visual analysis: the graphic score as a document of singing and time). +2. A KidLisp piece minted on Tezos as a contemporary "object" — argues for + the program-as-artwork in art-history terms. +3. A historical computer-art piece (e.g., one of the Whitney/Vasulka/Cohen + works) framed against AC's continuation of that tradition. Most "art- + historical" framing per Smarthistory's house style. + +Option (3) is the safest pitch — it places Jeffrey as a *practitioner-historian* +writing about a precedent he extends, which is exactly the angle that lets the +"appropriate qualifications" clause work in his favor. + +## Sources + +- [Contribute an essay](https://smarthistory.org/contribute-an-essay/) +- [Style checklist](https://smarthistory.org/contribute-an-essay/essay-checklist/) + +## Next steps + +1. Decide the single object you'd write about. +2. Draft a **1-paragraph pitch** + 4-line bio (not the essay itself) and email + the Smarthistory contributor team. +3. Only draft the full 800–1500 words if they say yes. diff --git a/reports/2026-04-24-mail-bootstrap-on-mac.md b/reports/2026-04-24-mail-bootstrap-on-mac.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..44040a3f4f --- /dev/null +++ b/reports/2026-04-24-mail-bootstrap-on-mac.md @@ -0,0 +1,313 @@ +# Mail Bootstrap on This Mac — 2026-04-24 + +## Status check + +The repo has a fully designed mail stack (`ants/mail-mcp/server.mjs`, +`toolchain/email/style-guide.md`, vault GPG entries for `mail@aesthetic.computer` +and `me@jas.life`, `mu4e` config in `dotfiles/dot_config/emacs.el`). It runs +in the AC devcontainer / Linux side. **It is not bootstrapped on this macOS +host.** Specifically: + +- `mbsync`, `mu`, `notmuch`, `msmtp` — none installed (`/opt/homebrew/bin/` + empty for all four; no `/usr/local/bin/` versions either). +- `~/.mbsyncrc`, `~/.msmtprc`, `~/.authinfo.gpg` — none present. +- `~/.mail-all/` (the Maildir the MCP expects) — does not exist. +- `~/.cache/mu/xapian/` (the mu index path) — does not exist. + +The Slab menubar (`slab/menubar-swift/Sources/SlabMenubar/`) **does** have the +Mail menu items the user remembered: + +- "Mail: " parent +- "Sync both" → `mbsync -a && mu index --quiet` +- "Sync ac-mail" → `mbsync ac-mail && mu index --quiet` +- "Sync jas-mail" → `mbsync jas-mail && mu index --quiet` +- "Open sync log" (opens `~/.mail-all/sync.log`) + +The slab daemon and menubar are **installed and loaded** on this Mac +(`~/Library/LaunchAgents/computer.slab.{daemon,menubar}.plist` are both +loaded; `~/.local/share/slab/` is populated). So the menu items show up — +but clicking "Sync both" right now is a no-op because the underlying +`mbsync` / `mu` binaries don't exist on this Mac. That's the gap to close. + +## What the mail-mcp expects + +From `ants/mail-mcp/server.mjs`: + +```js +const MU = .../opt/homebrew/bin/mu (or /usr/bin/mu) +const MBSYNC = .../opt/homebrew/bin/mbsync +const MSMTP = .../opt/homebrew/bin/msmtp +const MAILDIR = $HOME/.mail-all +const MU_DB = $HOME/.cache/mu/xapian +const ACCOUNTS = { + "ac-mail": "mail@aesthetic.computer", + "jas-mail": "me@jas.life", +} +const DEFAULT_ACCOUNT = "ac-mail" +``` + +So the missing piece on this Mac is exactly: + +1. **Binaries** (Homebrew): `isync`, `mu`, `notmuch`, `msmtp`, `gnupg`, + `pinentry-mac`. +2. **`~/.mbsyncrc`** with two channels (`ac-mail` → Gmail IMAP for + `mail@aesthetic.computer`, `jas-mail` → Gmail IMAP for `me@jas.life`), + syncing into `~/.mail-all/{ac-mail,jas-mail}/`. +3. **`~/.msmtprc`** with two SMTP accounts mirroring those. +4. **`~/.authinfo.gpg`** holding the Gmail app passwords (encrypted to + `mail@aesthetic.computer`'s GPG key — same recipient the vault uses). +5. **First-time `mu init` + `mu index`** to build the search DB. +6. **(Optional)** a launchd LaunchAgent that runs `mbsync -a && mu index` + every 5 minutes so the mailboxes stay current without manual sync. + +## Credentials — already exist + +Per `reports/2026-02-27-mail-inbox-emacs-mcp-secrets-report.md`: + +- `aesthetic-computer-vault/at/deploy.env` has + `SMTP_USER=mail@aesthetic.computer` and `SMTP_PASS=`. +- The Gmail app password tested working against `imap.gmail.com` from another + environment (verified in that report). +- Same recipient (`mail@aesthetic.computer`) is the GPG key for the vault. + +The `me@jas.life` Gmail app password — I don't see it surfaced in the report. +Probably needs to be generated fresh in Google Account → Security → App +Passwords if not already in the vault. + +## Update 2026-04-24 — bootstrap actually run + +**Finished:** binaries installed, configs in place, first sync running. + +The vault already had `home/.mbsyncrc.gpg` and `home/.msmtprc.gpg` — +**no need to write fresh config**, just decrypt those. But two macOS-side +gotchas: + +1. **Line endings.** Both vault configs are CRLF. macOS `mbsync` 1.5.1 + parses CRLF lines fine *except* that the `$` regex anchor in BSD + `sed`/`awk` matches before `\n`, so any in-place edit using `^FOO$` + silently no-ops. **Fix:** `tr -d '\r' < ~/.mbsyncrc > /tmp/x && mv /tmp/x ~/.mbsyncrc` + before any sed/awk passes. + +2. **Missing `AuthMechs LOGIN`.** The vault config doesn't declare an + auth mechanism. macOS Cyrus SASL then errors with: + + ``` + Error performing SASL authentication step: SASL(-7): invalid parameter + supplied: ... near plain_clienttoken.c:195 + ``` + + **Fix:** insert `AuthMechs LOGIN` after every `TLSType IMAPS` line. + +3. **Linux paths.** The vault config points at `/home/me/.mail{,-jas}/`. + On macOS, rewrite to `/Users/jas/.mail-all/{ac-mail,jas-mail}/` — + that's also where the Slab menubar's `mu` query expects to find them + (`maildir:/ac-mail/INBOX OR maildir:/jas-mail/INBOX`). + +**One-shot bootstrap that handles all three:** + +```bash +brew install isync mu notmuch msmtp gnupg pinentry-mac + +mkdir -p ~/.mail-all/ac-mail ~/.mail-all/jas-mail ~/.cache/mu + +# mbsyncrc: decrypt → strip CR → remap paths → write 0600 +gpg --decrypt ~/aesthetic-computer/aesthetic-computer-vault/home/.mbsyncrc.gpg \ + | tr -d '\r' \ + | sed 's|/home/me/.mail/|'"$HOME"'/.mail-all/ac-mail/|g; s|/home/me/.mail-jas/|'"$HOME"'/.mail-all/jas-mail/|g' \ + | awk '{print} /^TLSType IMAPS$/{print "AuthMechs LOGIN"}' \ + > ~/.mbsyncrc +chmod 600 ~/.mbsyncrc + +# msmtprc: decrypt → strip CR → write 0600 +gpg --decrypt ~/aesthetic-computer/aesthetic-computer-vault/home/.msmtprc.gpg \ + | tr -d '\r' \ + > ~/.msmtprc +chmod 600 ~/.msmtprc + +# first sync + first index +mbsync -a +mu init --my-address=mail@aesthetic.computer --my-address=me@jas.life --maildir=$HOME/.mail-all +mu index +``` + +The Slab menubar (`computer.slab.menubar` LaunchAgent — already loaded) +will start showing the unread count after `mu index` completes, and +its "Sync both / ac-mail / jas-mail" menu items become functional. + +--- + +## Bootstrap script (proposed, not yet run) + +A first-cut script. Needs your review before running — it installs binaries +and writes config to your home directory. + +```bash +# 1. install binaries +brew install isync mu notmuch msmtp gnupg pinentry-mac + +# 2. create maildir tree +mkdir -p ~/.mail-all/ac-mail ~/.mail-all/jas-mail +mkdir -p ~/.cache/mu + +# 3. write ~/.mbsyncrc (dual-account, full Gmail folders) +cat > ~/.mbsyncrc <<'EOF' +# --- ac-mail (mail@aesthetic.computer) --- +IMAPAccount ac-mail +Host imap.gmail.com +User mail@aesthetic.computer +PassCmd "security find-generic-password -a mail@aesthetic.computer -s ac-mail-app-password -w" +SSLType IMAPS +AuthMechs LOGIN + +IMAPStore ac-mail-remote +Account ac-mail + +MaildirStore ac-mail-local +Path ~/.mail-all/ac-mail/ +Inbox ~/.mail-all/ac-mail/INBOX +SubFolders Verbatim + +Channel ac-mail +Far :ac-mail-remote: +Near :ac-mail-local: +Patterns * !"[Gmail]/All Mail" !"[Gmail]/Important" +Create Both +Expunge Both +SyncState * + +# --- jas-mail (me@jas.life) --- +IMAPAccount jas-mail +Host imap.gmail.com +User me@jas.life +PassCmd "security find-generic-password -a me@jas.life -s jas-mail-app-password -w" +SSLType IMAPS +AuthMechs LOGIN + +IMAPStore jas-mail-remote +Account jas-mail + +MaildirStore jas-mail-local +Path ~/.mail-all/jas-mail/ +Inbox ~/.mail-all/jas-mail/INBOX +SubFolders Verbatim + +Channel jas-mail +Far :jas-mail-remote: +Near :jas-mail-local: +Patterns * !"[Gmail]/All Mail" !"[Gmail]/Important" +Create Both +Expunge Both +SyncState * +EOF + +# 4. store app passwords in macOS Keychain (no plaintext on disk): +# you run these by hand so we never echo the password to Bash history +# +# security add-generic-password -a mail@aesthetic.computer -s ac-mail-app-password -w +# security add-generic-password -a me@jas.life -s jas-mail-app-password -w +# +# (each prompts for the password) + +# 5. write ~/.msmtprc +cat > ~/.msmtprc <<'EOF' +defaults +auth on +tls on +tls_starttls on +tls_trust_file /opt/homebrew/etc/ca-certificates/cert.pem +logfile ~/.msmtp.log + +account ac-mail +host smtp.gmail.com +port 587 +from mail@aesthetic.computer +user mail@aesthetic.computer +passwordeval security find-generic-password -a mail@aesthetic.computer -s ac-mail-app-password -w + +account jas-mail +host smtp.gmail.com +port 587 +from me@jas.life +user me@jas.life +passwordeval security find-generic-password -a me@jas.life -s jas-mail-app-password -w + +account default : ac-mail +EOF +chmod 600 ~/.msmtprc + +# 6. first sync + first index +mbsync -a +mu init --my-address=mail@aesthetic.computer --my-address=me@jas.life +mu index +``` + +Then to keep it fresh: + +```bash +# every 5 min via launchd agent at ~/Library/LaunchAgents/computer.aesthetic.mailsync.plist +# (separate task — write the plist after the first manual sync succeeds) +``` + +## Why I didn't run this yet + +1. **App passwords**: the `mail@aesthetic.computer` app password is in the + vault but I shouldn't pull it out and write it to your Keychain without + you confirming you want me to. The `me@jas.life` password I haven't + found in vault — you may need to generate a fresh one. +2. **brew installs are slow + rewrite PATH**: worth a single confirmation. +3. **Vault unlock**: pulling the password requires unlocking the GPG vault + (`vault-tool.fish` from the vault), which is your call. + +## Decision the user needs to make + +- **(a) "Run the bootstrap, you have my permission to use the AC mail + password from the vault and to prompt me for the jas.life one."** I'll + do steps 1–6 and verify a sync. +- **(b) "Just install the binaries; I'll handle the passwords."** I'll do + 1–3 + 5 (config files), then stop. You add Keychain entries. +- **(c) "Write a launchd plist too so it auto-syncs."** Add the LaunchAgent + step after first manual sync succeeds. + +## Wiring summary + +Once steps 1–6 succeed: + +- `slab/menubar-swift/` → "Mail: N unread" appears in the menubar with + working "Sync both / ac-mail / jas-mail / Open sync log" items (already + installed and loaded; just needs the binaries below it to function). +- `ants/mail-mcp/server.mjs` → MCP server can read/write mail through Claude + via the same Maildir. +- `dotfiles/dot_config/emacs.el` → `mu4e` keys (`C-c m` open, `C-c M-m` sync) + start working in Emacs. + +That's the whole stack the user was describing — present and wired, just +missing the four Homebrew binaries and the two config files at home. + +## Auto-sync — note + +Slab menubar **refreshes the unread count every 30 s** (`mu find`) but +does **not** auto-trigger `mbsync`. Sync is on-demand via the menu items. +If you want continuous background sync, install a launchd `StartInterval` +agent that runs `mbsync -a && mu index --quiet` every N minutes. **Not +installed by this bootstrap** — left as an explicit choice. Suggested +plist if you want it: + +```xml + + + + + Labelcomputer.aesthetic.mailsync + ProgramArguments + /bin/sh-c + /opt/homebrew/bin/mbsync -a >> "$HOME/.mail-all/sync.log" 2>&1 && /opt/homebrew/bin/mu index --quiet >> "$HOME/.mail-all/sync.log" 2>&1 + + StartInterval300 + RunAtLoad + StandardOutPath/tmp/computer.aesthetic.mailsync.out + StandardErrorPath/tmp/computer.aesthetic.mailsync.err + +``` + +Load with `launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/computer.aesthetic.mailsync.plist`.