Ticks are nasty little buggers. Central Oregon is full of them this time of year. And Central Oregon is also full of full on outdoorsy types this time of year. But they’re not alone when it comes ticks and tick tracking. And that’s why a vibe coded app was born.

I wanted to share a little project that I’ve been working on and get some feedback from the community. I’ve been in Central Oregon for 9 years and only found two ticks during that time. However, this spring alone I’ve found 12 ticks, and my friends have found a lot more than usual as well. 

About a week ago I took some friends to a spot with an epic view where I had seen two ticks a week prior. We found multiple ticks in the same location, and it got us thinking… what if we had a place for people to report tick sightings so others could be more informed before going outdoors.

And for a vibe coded app, it’s already a feature rich offering:

• See recent tick activity on a map — color-coded by how recently each one was found (red = this week, orange = this month, yellow = older)
• Report a sighting in under a minute (no account required), drop a pin, snap a photo, add notes
• Identify a tick with AI — upload a photo and get a species guess instantly
• Search any address or trail to see what’s been reported nearby
• Save your favorite spots (trails, parks, your backyard) for quick check-ins
• Free, no account required to browse or report (sign in for unlimited reports and saved places)

Hopefully, this helps you stay more well informed during your hikes and whatnot. Know before you go and stay safe while you’re outdoors this season. So check yourself after every outing, wear the long sleeves, and — if you spot one — drop a pin so the next person doesn’t have to find out the hard way.

For more information, visit TickCheck.

(h/t Jason Harris)

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Rick will be joined by some of the core names in startups here in Central Oregon for a night of panel discussions and Q&A around supporting founders, building a startup ecosystem, the evolution and future of the innovation economy, and some targeted thoughts on where we go from here and how we get there.

This event is for anyone who is interested in technology, the startup ecosystem, and how to push Bend and Oregon overall forward with innovation, this is a great opportunity to meet the people driving this innovation, and rub shoulders with the community and founders making this future a reality.

The event takes place Friday, May 29, 2026 — you know, in a week — 5–7pm at the Broken Top Club. $15 at the door. Drink token and light appetizers included.

For more information or to register, visit Bend Startup Central. Or if you know someone in Central Oregon who should be in the room, send them this. Especially if you don’t like them.

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Seattle, we’ve got an image problem – GeekWire

You may disagree with those headlines. You may dislike the politics behind them. But rhetoric, image and storytelling matter — especially in a moment when cities are competing fiercely for talent, investment, startups and relevance in the AI era.

You’ll lose your job in 2027. – by Elena Verna

But even if you keep your seat, your actual job is going to change. A lot. The responsibilities, expectations, tools, scope of what you’re capable of accomplishing, bar for what ‘good’ looks like, and number of people needed to do the work are all being rewritten every day.

Governor Newsom signs first-of-its-kind executive order to prepare workers and businesses for potential AI disruption | Governor of California

Governor Newsom is signing a first-in-the-nation executive order to confront the economic impacts of artificial intelligence on workers and small businesses, support workers in sectors impacted by AI transition, and pursue new policies that ensure Californians — not just big tech companies — benefit from the wealth-generating opportunities of the future economy.

The elephant in the room • Josh W. Comeau

AI is a tool, and tools need to be wielded proficiently. You could give me Jimi Hendrix’s exact guitar but it would sound very different if I tried to play it! I also wouldn’t be able to cook like Gordon Ramsey if I had access to his kitchen, or serve like Serena Williams if you handed me her tennis racket.

AI’s Plummeting Prices Are a Software Story, Not a Hardware One

Why is model inference getting cheaper? How did I drop a soon-to-be $2,000+/month bill for AI agents to next to nothing? And why are local models on commodity hardware potentially “good enough” for most people?

State of Web Dev AI 2026

The 2026 edition of the State of Web Dev AI survey collected data from 7,258 developers, providing a lot of fascinating material to study this impact. And while I would certainly recommend checking out the full survey results at your own pace, here are four key trends to get started exploring the data.

Positioning in the Age of AI

In an environment where technology companies are rewarded for hyping a future that hasn’t happened yet, you need to be very careful that teams working on positioning don’t get caught smoking their competitor’s marketing. Product and marketing teams need to keep a very close eye on the current market capabilities vs. what is still under development.

The Founder Mental Health Survey

An open, anonymous research project on what mental health and well-being actually look like for startup founders right now — combining validated clinical screeners with founder-specific dimensions of ambition, motivation, and relationships.

After Automation | Every

If you talk to anyone in the AI industry—or to early adopters outside of it—you’ll hear the same thing we’ve noticed internally: There’s more work to do than ever.

It’s Time to Walk

Humans are evolved to walk for hours at a stretch; we are unusually good at it across species. And we do almost none of it during the workday, because the tools demanded a fixed posture. Once that demand goes away, walking comes back. Not just as a break from work. As a mode of work.

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Founders carry a psychological burden that’s mostly invisible — to investors, to employees, to family, often to themselves. Cofounder conflict, identity-merge with the company, money pressure, isolation, the relentless self-judgment.

The published research on founder mental health is thin and mostly draws from broader entrepreneur populations. The existing surveys aimed at startup founders are small, not peer-reviewed, and rarely use validated clinical instruments. We wanted something better: a real instrument, taken anonymously, with results shared back to the community.

This survey was built by Jason Shen and Keegan Walden, who are both founders and coaches. People who have lived what they’re trying to measure.

What’s different about this one is the rigor. Validated instruments instead of ad hoc questions. Open source instead of locked away. Anonymous instead of attached to your name. With the results get shared back to the community instead of disappearing into some report you’ll never read.

I’m going to ask you for ten minutes. I know that’s a lot. You’ve already got more than enough to do . And you’re busy. And you’re tired. But you deserve this. So please carve out some time before the survey closes on May 31, 2026.

Take care of yourself. You matter way more than the startup you’re building. No matter how world changing you believe it to be.

For more information or to complete the survey, visit the Founder Mental Health Survey.

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VillaFact is the home intelligence platform that surfaces important facts for every major system in your property – HVAC, plumbing, appliances, safety, and more. Maintenance history, appliance info, potential risks, all in one permanent system of record for the home.

For homeowners, it’s the clarity most of us never had. One place to see what’s aging, what’s at risk, and what to do about it – so a home stays an asset, not a liability.

So how do you document everything about your house — the appliances, the HVAC, the water heater, the plumbing fixtures, the deferred maintenance you keep meaning to get to — into one place you can actually find again…? That’s the bonus. They’ll send someone out for a $99 Standard Home Setup to photograph and catalog all of it for you.

Homeowners start at $8 a home per month. Property managers running more than that start at $5.99. There’s a mobile app, a web app, and a 30-day free trial so you can poke around before you commit.

For more information, visit VillaFact.

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Over a full year, the selected startups will receive a rent-free collaborative working space in addition to accessing the full suite of Maritime Blue cluster members, stakeholders, and partners. As a member of the 1000 Ocean Startup Coalition, Maritime Blue supports its portfolio of startups to connect with a global ecosystem of investors and support organizations, and the utilization of the Ocean Impact Navigator – a shared impact measurement tool used by the world’s most active ocean and maritime investors.

“We’re thrilled to welcome this next cohort of founders and startups accelerating maritime technology and ocean-based solutions,” said Joshua Berger, President and CEO of Maritime Blue. “These founders are poised to make significant economic, environmental, and community impacts. To support them, we provide extensive mentorship and access to our industry cluster, including leading businesses, research institutions, public agencies, and community organizations.”

Kreneon fits the bill. How…?

We are mobilizing trillion-dollar financial markets to bridge the $13T global water infrastructure gap. By transforming verified water production into a bankable asset, we focus global capital on the mission of industrial, national, and global water security. While Kreneon enables the private sector to meet immediate procurement requirements, our core mission is structural: we are building the permanent market infrastructure to ensure today’s capital secures tomorrow’s lifeblood.

For more on the program, visit Seattle Maritime Blue Incubator. For more on the company, visit Kreneon.

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