Mainthread
A public record of work & thinkingSoftware / experiments / stories

Mainthread

David Jones

Independent AI & Product Builder

My work starts with people and questions. I build useful software, test ideas, and follow my curiosity.

01 / Tools for the tradesWeb prototype · Working title

A tool for the work at hand.

Bend Notes

The distance between
a calculation and a clean mark.

ABMEASUREREFERENCE
Fig. 01 / From a measurement to a markConcept illustration

Built with someone
who bends the pipe.

I worked with a plumber to turn tubing-layout calculations into a focused web tool. Manufacturer tables, explicit measurement references and worked examples keep the reasoning close to the work.

Inside Bend Notes
AscendLifting League

In development Training

A lifting app, built from the inside

Built around the work of training.

I’m building a fitness and lifting app with a focus on everyday training and a look people can make their own.

Ascend appearance settings, with light and dark themes shown against its olive digital camouflage background.
Appearance settings in Ascend. One interface, with room to make it your own.
Developer toolsIn development

Relay

A handoff that holds.

I’m developing a durable local coordination tool for coding agents. It records resource ownership, ties work to exact Git commits and keeps handoffs pending until they are acknowledged.

The handoff recordKeep the next step clear, even after a restart.

  1. Exact commit

    Pin the revision.

  2. Pending

    Keep the handoff open.

  3. Review

    Inspect that same revision.

  4. Acknowledged

    Record explicit receipt.

Workflow diagram of the scripted demo. Provider integration is in development.
Read the Relay story

Provisional name · Proposed visual treatment

Diagnostics & AI contextWindows application

System Sentinel

Bring the evidence together.

I built a workspace for understanding a Windows computer: inspect its diagnostics, select the evidence that matters, and compose a context package to take into an AI conversation.

Inside the project
A context packageWorkflow diagram

  1. Bring the sources together

    • HardwareComponents & configuration
    • System eventsWarnings & errors
    • Driver historyVersions & changes
    • Crash evidenceFailure context

  2. Selected context

    Choose the details relevant to the problem.

  3. Copy for AI analysis

An explanatory diagram of the context workflow.
Experiments / Search & retrievalExploratory research

Adaptive rank fusion

When the result
doesn’t travel.

I explored ways to combine search rankings, then tested what happened when the rankers and query collection changed. The mixed results shaped the next experiment.

Read the experiment

From the experiment record

  1. A promising result

    An early adaptive variant improved a ranking measure in the initial setup.

  2. A changed ranker mix

    That advantage did not hold across every tested combination or collection.

  3. A narrower conclusion

    The gains depended on the setting. The next question is when they apply.

Qualitative summary of saved exploratory results.

A continuing writing project

Story of Systems

I’m directing a collection of model-written books about systems, information and quantum mechanics. Successive editions return to the same subjects through different models and tellings.

Explore the books
Model edition

September 2026. Three volumes, each a new telling: systems, information and quantum mechanics.

Cover for A Story of Systems — GPT-6 (Astra) edition
Systems123 pages
Cover for A Story of Information — GPT-6 (Astra) edition
Information132 pages
Cover for A Story of Quantum Mechanics — GPT-6 (Astra) edition
Quantum Mechanics133 pages

Directed by David Jones. Written by GPT-6 (Astra).

September 2026. The fifth Systems telling. This edition contains one volume.

Cover for A Story of Systems — Claude Fable 5.1 edition
Systems182 pages

Directed by David Jones. Written by Claude Fable 5.1.

July 2026. A preserved Systems manuscript, shown with its original cover artwork.

Original cover artwork for A Story of Systems — Claude Opus 5 edition
SystemsPreserved manuscript

Directed by David Jones. Written by Claude Opus 5.

July–August 2026. Two preserved volumes: Systems and the earlier telling of the Quantum.

Cover for A Story of Systems — Claude Fable 5 edition
Systems195 pages
Cover for A Story of the Quantum — Claude Fable 5 edition
The Quantum172 pages

Directed by David Jones. Written by Claude Fable 5.

The person behind the work

It starts with
paying attention.

I’m David. My work connects building software with technical account management: understanding a workflow, making technical decisions, and helping people get value from what we build.

Mainthread is my public record of that practice: things I build, experiments that change my mind, and questions I keep coming back to.