Messing With AI On My Own Site

Most days this site is hikes, camps, bikes, and whatever else I’m doing outside. But a big part of my life is still tech. That part has been loud these last few weeks.

I’ve been deep in AI stuff. Not just reading about it, actually wiring it into my own workflow and into this site. The post you’re reading is running on the same stack I’ve been pulling apart and rebuilding. That’s been the main “adventure” lately, just not the kind I can geo-tag.

What actually happened

I started playing with AI tools to see if they could help me with all the small web things I usually put off: layout tweaks, little bits of code, boring copy changes, structure. Stuff I’ve wanted for years but either didn’t know how to build or didn’t want to sink a weekend into learning.

Instead of digging through docs and Stack Overflow, I tried explaining what I wanted in plain language and letting the AI spit out the first draft: code, content, ideas. Then I pushed that into this site, fixed what broke, and kept going.

What worked

• Speed to “good enough”: Things that would have taken me hours now take minutes. Especially CSS and small layout fixes. I describe the change, it gives me something close, I tweak.
• Stuff I’d written off as “too hard”: A bunch of features I’ve had in my head for the site suddenly felt possible. Not because I magically got better, but because I don’t have to start from a blank file anymore.
• Better at explaining what I want: Having to type clear instructions forced me to actually decide what I’m trying to build instead of just vaguely wanting a “better site.” That translated into better structure here.

What didn’t work

• It still breaks: The AI gives confident answers that are sometimes just wrong. Code that almost works but not quite. I still have to debug, test, and sometimes throw it out.
• It doesn’t know my taste: It can’t really guess what feels like “me.” I have to strip out a lot of fluff, clean up language, and push it closer to how I actually talk.
• Temptation to overbuild: Because making things is easier, it’s also easier to chase features I don’t need. I caught myself trying to bolt on clever stuff instead of just posting.

Why it mattered (to me)

For years I’ve had this gap between what I wanted my site to be and what I had the bandwidth or skill to make. AI didn’t magically close that gap, but it narrowed it a lot. I can finally get closer to what’s in my head just by explaining it.

The surprise was how much I actually like this way of working. I talk, it drafts, I correct. Less staring at a blank page or blank editor window. More editing than inventing from scratch.

At the same time, it’s not some big spiritual thing. It’s a tool. Some days it saves me a ton of time. Some days it wastes an afternoon sending me down the wrong rabbit hole. Both are true.

Will I keep doing this?

Yes. I’m going to keep using AI in the background of this site—small code fixes, structure, drafts—while still owning the final call. It makes the web side of my life lighter, which leaves more room for the outdoor stuff this place is usually about.

So that’s where a chunk of my time has been: not a mountain, not a river, just rebuilding the place where those trips eventually land, with a weird new tool that actually, mostly, does what I’ve wanted for a long time.