About In Plain Sight

AI is not arriving. It is already here, woven into the tools we use, the work we do, and the ways we reach one another. Most of what gets written about it lands at one of two extremes: breathless promise or looming threat. In Plain Sight lives in the space between.

These essays look at AI and technology with clear eyes. I want to understand what they change, what they don’t, and how they shape the connections that matter most in our lives. I start from a simple idea: if connection is what matters, we should judge it by its quality, not only by its form.

About me

I’m Cale. I spent 20 years in the Air Force, maintaining F-15E Strike Eagles, and the decades since building complex systems, leading teams, and teaching. My background spans systems engineering, cybersecurity, and leadership, and I’ve taught ethical hacking as an adjunct professor. I’m also a lifelong maker: an illustrator for more than 30 years and a woodworker who designs with software and builds using machines and by hand.

That mix shapes how I write. I’ve seen technology fail people, and I’ve seen it make something deeply human possible. I try to hold both.

What to expect

Essays that take on hard questions honestly, including the strongest arguments against my own views. No hype, no doom, and no pretending the answers are simple.

One more thing

Look closely at the dots in the header. They’re not random. There’s something meaningful hidden in them, in plain sight.

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