Thrifting is part of the job. Using my FluxTracker, I can sweep thousands of items at a thrift shop like ReSource. Of the hundreds of thousands of items at thrift stores I’ve searched through, I’ve only found two things that didn’t belong in this universe: a red-and-blue striped bow tie and a travel-sized shampoo bottle….
Author: christopher
100,000 Miles in an EV: What I’ve Learned Driving 24,000 a Year
When I bought my 2021 Tesla Model Y Long Range, I wasn’t trying to save the planet. I like the environmental angle, but really, I wanted to stop going to gas stations. I drive around 24,000 miles a year, and I have solar at home, so it felt practical. I wanted something with real range…
American Brandon: Vermont’s Lost 1950s Experiment Gone Wrong – A VEU Story
My apologies for not having Vol. 3 of the Vermont Extended Universe completed over the summer. Between work and vacation, I didn’t have time to give the VEU the level of focus I wanted. I wrote down dozens of ideas inspired by traveling around the state, and I’ve finally begun to put them on paper. …
Beyond the Seven Days Spotlight: The Vermont Extended Universe Expands This July
After the Seven Days Spotlight, the Vermont Extended Universe Gears Up for Volume 3 of the VEU. “Shelburne author Chris Rodgers pairs mysterious short stories with AI‑generated imagery to create curious and fun historical fiction.” — Seven Days (Books, April 23 2025) (Seven Days) I am grateful to Seven Days and writer Ken Picard for profiling the first two volumes of the VEU. I’ve…
5 Surprisingly Smart Ways to Use AI and 1 That Doesn’t Work Yet
5 Ways to Utilize AI That Aren’t So Obvious and 1 That is Not AI Ready. 1. Email Verification While you may be allergic to spam and have a sixth sense for sketchy emails, not everyone else does, especially seniors. If unsure, copy and paste the email into ChatGPT and ask it to verify….
The Vermont Extended Universe Volume 2: New Speculative Fiction Stories Set in a Parallel Vermont
The Vermont Extended Universe, Vol. 2 If you’ve ever driven a back road in Vermont and felt like you were passing through a place untouched by time, with rock walls that look older than the Roman Empire, this book is for you. Even if you’ve never visited Vermont but live in an alternate reality, you…
Introducing “A Little Too Dark”: Welcome to Middletown Middle School
I’m incredibly excited to announce that my anthology collection, “A Little Too Dark,” is now available on Amazon. I wrote most of these stories five years ago in the early days of Covid and I can’t wait for you all to step into the haunted halls of Middletown Middle School. The Story Behind the Stories…
Embracing AI in Education: A Tool to Unlock Understanding
Much has been said about the use of AI in school. Too much. Is it a challenge for admins and teachers? For sure. Good writers get picked up as AI all the time. If you want to avoid accusations then dumb down your work why don’t you. Some schools “ban” it while using AI…
The Order of Five: A Pop Culture Knowledge Game
The Trap of Being Almost Right We think we know when things happened. We’re sure Netflix was always there, that Taylor Swift must have released Red before 1989, that Iron Man came out right after Batman Begins. But we’re wrong. Often. And that’s where it gets interesting. The Order of Five isn’t just another trivia…
Emoji Fusion: A Game of Creativity and Connections
When it comes to coding, Claude can do the heavy lifting. I’ve taken countless courses and tested apps to learn coding but it never clicks. I can rework code or write HTML but that’s my limit. Plenty of ideas but no way to put them into existence. Claude comes around and changes everything. Now those…