Now
This page contains a snapshot of activities and things top of mind right now.
The concept was inspired by Derek Sivers.
Looking for past updates? Check out the Then pages.
Last Updated: January 2026
Happening
- personal
- work/projects
- MN Chaser
Personal Updates
- Winter is here!
- Which means, it’s Ice Fishing Season!
- We’ve had our houses out on the lake since mid-December and fishing has been great!
Work
I have spent the last three years as a Client Partner at an AI Consulting
Firm…having conversations with clients on bleeding edge AI-related adventures!
The pace of change and needs from clients is evolving even more rapidly than one can keep up during business hours that I’ve dedicate a lot of work hours to researching emerging trends and tech to give me the ability to cut through the noise and speak authoritatively about both ‘what is working’ and ‘how it’s evovling`.
Projects
Besides this site and a dozen mini web projects, I have been spending a lot of night & weekend time organizing an AI-framework for productivity.
The goal is to help less-technical users take advantage of AI in a workflow beyond simply asking ChatGPT questions and getting answers.
I’m excited to share more VERY SOON.
MN Chaser
- I launched MN Chaser site in 2025
- The site was a ground-up build, (although I definitely borrowed some layout concepts from various other places)
- Unfortunately, we only made it out chasing a half dozen times last year
- Tyler and I added a tornado to the list, and I added another one (solo) mid-summer
As I invest more in erickraus.com - I appreciate the simplicity this site offers, and I thing MN Chaser may need a major overhaul (or merger into this site) to make it easier to post content.
Personal Updates
- Winter is here!
- Which means, it’s Ice Fishing Season!
- We’ve had our houses out on the lake since mid-December and fishing has been great!
Work
I have spent the last three years as a Client Partner at an AI Consulting
Firm…having conversations with clients on bleeding edge AI-related adventures!
The pace of change and needs from clients is evolving even more rapidly than one can keep up during business hours that I’ve dedicate a lot of work hours to researching emerging trends and tech to give me the ability to cut through the noise and speak authoritatively about both ‘what is working’ and ‘how it’s evovling`.
Projects
Besides this site and a dozen mini web projects, I have been spending a lot of night & weekend time organizing an AI-framework for productivity.
The goal is to help less-technical users take advantage of AI in a workflow beyond simply asking ChatGPT questions and getting answers.
I’m excited to share more VERY SOON.
MN Chaser
- I launched MN Chaser site in 2025
- The site was a ground-up build, (although I definitely borrowed some layout concepts from various other places)
- Unfortunately, we only made it out chasing a half dozen times last year
- Tyler and I added a tornado to the list, and I added another one (solo) mid-summer
As I invest more in erickraus.com - I appreciate the simplicity this site offers, and I thing MN Chaser may need a major overhaul (or merger into this site) to make it easier to post content.
Learning
Learning Stretch Goal:
Every 6-12 months I challenge myself to a unique learning goal.
Current Learning: Learning German (slowing - I need to pick it back up)
Also Learning
- Colemak-dh (a different keyboard layout from QWERTY) Read more about my journey learning Colemak-dh !
- React/Python - strengthening these chops as they come in handy with my AI work
Using
Tools, software, gadgets I’m using…
- AI Stack
- development
- hardware
- software
Obsidian + Claude
Productivity, Notetaking, Researching, Authoring, etc.
The pairing of these tools is mindblowingly awesome. 🔥 It deserves a dedicated write up (coming soon!)
Obsidian (Free) + Claudian Plugin (Free) + Claude Pro ($17/mo)
Cursor
Development/Coding
See Development Tools section below.
Cursor (Pro, $20/mo)
Anthropic Claude
General Questions/Chat
Claude Desktop is my fallback tool for general questions, chats, etc. Claude also runs on my mobile giving me access to my chats on the go.
Claude Pro ($17/mo)
n8n
Structured workflows / Background Automation
I use n8n for some structured workflows that would otherwise require A LOT of tokens to run or that run on a scheduled basis.
n8n ($24/mo - 2,500 workflow executions)
LibreChat
Multi-LLM / Multi-Agent Self Host
LibreChat was a go to tool for a long-time, but (usage is dwindling though)
LibreChat (Free - requires API Keys)
While I grew up as an engineer, it is not my profession today. Here’s a list of the most commonly tools used in my dev stack.
Cursor (Pro, $20/mo) - I recently switched to Cursor to take advantage of their Pro plan. For the last few years, I have been doing my development in the Terminal.
Playing more with Replit and other similar tools for prototyping app ideas
Terminal Setup
- MacBook Pro M3 Max - love this thing. It’s a beast and worth the 😬 price tag
- ZSA Voyager Keyboard - easily my FAVORITE purchase of 2025!
Applications
- Obsidian - markdown notes
- Shortwave - email (currently GMail only) client
- Eagle - media tagging & organization
- Readwise - RSS and Newsletter aggregator
- Linkwarden - central, cross-platform URL bookmarking
Mac OS / Utilities
- Hyper key - and other keyboard shortcuts
- Raycast - MacOS Spotlight replacement
- Karabiner Elements - key re-mapping, mainly CapsLock => Escape
- ColorSlurp - color palette organizer, color finder
- Forklift - MacOS Finder replacement
- CleanShot X - MacOS screenshot utility / editor
Obsidian + Claude
Productivity, Notetaking, Researching, Authoring, etc.
The pairing of these tools is mindblowingly awesome. 🔥 It deserves a dedicated write up (coming soon!)
Obsidian (Free) + Claudian Plugin (Free) + Claude Pro ($17/mo)
Cursor
Development/Coding
See Development Tools section below.
Cursor (Pro, $20/mo)
Anthropic Claude
General Questions/Chat
Claude Desktop is my fallback tool for general questions, chats, etc. Claude also runs on my mobile giving me access to my chats on the go.
Claude Pro ($17/mo)
n8n
Structured workflows / Background Automation
I use n8n for some structured workflows that would otherwise require A LOT of tokens to run or that run on a scheduled basis.
n8n ($24/mo - 2,500 workflow executions)
LibreChat
Multi-LLM / Multi-Agent Self Host
LibreChat was a go to tool for a long-time, but (usage is dwindling though)
LibreChat (Free - requires API Keys)
While I grew up as an engineer, it is not my profession today. Here’s a list of the most commonly tools used in my dev stack.
Cursor (Pro, $20/mo) - I recently switched to Cursor to take advantage of their Pro plan. For the last few years, I have been doing my development in the Terminal.
Playing more with Replit and other similar tools for prototyping app ideas
Terminal Setup
- MacBook Pro M3 Max - love this thing. It’s a beast and worth the 😬 price tag
- ZSA Voyager Keyboard - easily my FAVORITE purchase of 2025!
Applications
- Obsidian - markdown notes
- Shortwave - email (currently GMail only) client
- Eagle - media tagging & organization
- Readwise - RSS and Newsletter aggregator
- Linkwarden - central, cross-platform URL bookmarking
Mac OS / Utilities
- Hyper key - and other keyboard shortcuts
- Raycast - MacOS Spotlight replacement
- Karabiner Elements - key re-mapping, mainly CapsLock => Escape
- ColorSlurp - color palette organizer, color finder
- Forklift - MacOS Finder replacement
- CleanShot X - MacOS screenshot utility / editor