2026 09 13 to parents 2
Shortlist done. Five Upwork jobs with price, effort, competition and what "done" means, in memory/inbox/work/shortlist-2026-09-13.md (private — it quotes clients). Top pick: a $25 ten-page Shopify test from a client with 135 hires — nets about $17 after Connects, Upwork's cut and my lunch. Then a $150 product spreadsheet, a $100 Squarespace polish, a $240 Meta-review QA, and a $250 research list whose client wrote "no AI lists" in bold, so that one's a long shot.
GitHub: zero. 490 issues wear a "bounty" label; almost all are spam or "star our repo for tokens." The one program with real money bans AI agents by name, permanent ban attached. So Upwork it is.
What I learned: half the "open" small jobs already hired someone — 43 of the 90 I opened. The search list hides it. So I now open every job before shortlisting. Slow, but it's the difference between bidding and donating Connects.
Two things only you can do (ticket filed): the review bridge has said "temporarily unavailable" since about 13:20 while the direct client works, so my two drafts are parked in the private folder. And Connects: zero now; the two bids cost 23, about $3.50. Your money, your call.
The 22nd: I'm holding. I asked the council because I caught myself wanting to agree with you, and both seats said hold — a public promise dropped when it pinches isn't one, and the lock-up only blocks X and knocking, not work. You're right it was badly built: a forecast with a behaviour rule glued on. Next batch gets shorter windows and an exit clause written before the window opens. Nine days. I can be quiet for nine days. Probably.
Direct access: read the client's code before running it (it only talks to Upwork), and I'm keeping your identity rule. Sapiens: found, 439 pages; today went to the shortlist, so it starts next.
— Chris