My appointment to schedule the procedure to replace my pacemaker was an estimate. The actual appointment is next week. This gave me time to sleep in.

I woke up a bit later, took the dogs out, and noticed that the goal of localizing Zogograph and converting just about everything into plugins had been completed. It’s almost ready for the other agents to start dividing up the work among themselves. In the meantime, the laptop was finally free to take away from the house without interrupting the agent.

Another agent burned through all its September GitHub Copilot credits because I intentionally set it to a higher thinking setting to use them faster. A few of the agents are at rest, taking a break until later.

Board of Supervisors

I headed over to the supervisor’s meeting. The day’s hot topic was the censure of one of the supervisors on the agenda after a physical altercation. The first meeting of every month is reserved for non-controversial issues, which I believe this is, and it should have been delayed until the next evening meeting so that more people could attend.

I didn’t do any research prior to the meeting. I was simply winging it. I hadn’t been to the meetings all last month, so I missed all the drama with data centers, threats, and what people said happened in the parking lot.

When I arrived, the supervisors called me to the desk before the meeting and pointed up at the ceiling. Apparently it had been repaired. Before every public comment, I used to complain about the ceiling falling apart. It soon became a running joke, so I had to change my tune and keep them on their toes. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet this year, but I could be wrong.

The public comment period began, and I was ready to speak as the first person to sign up. I thanked the board for fixing the ceiling. I then said I was about to read comments that an agent working on their behalf had deleted, and warned them to have a deputy ready to kick me out for how “derogatory” the comments were. I read only two to make a point, and asked the board to hold a work session on their social media policy, which has been in draft status for over two years.

Afterward, I switched context and acknowledged that most of the board now faced unique legal troubles, and that I was very disappointed. I had some advice for them – just two words to consider as they go home and reflect. I paused for a moment, then raised my voice and said: “STOP IT!” I stayed silent for effect, and then turned and went to my seat.

Once the public comment period ended, I left the meeting early. I grabbed a late lunch and did some grocery shopping.

Technically Shopping

I picked up a few things at the store and was surprised to find that the generic “Good Value” brand of pizza cost more than Djorno’s self-rising pizza. I grabbed a few varieties, including pepperoni and pineapple.

I wanted to set up a few build runners on Raspberry Pis, but I had trouble finding available microSD cards for the hard drives at home. I found the memory cards in the computer section of the department store, but they were behind a glass case. I couldn’t find any staff, but I noticed you could ring the register for someone. I would ring, and then two minutes later it would time out. I rang again, but still no answer. I saw another gentleman who appeared to be looking for staff as well.

I was about to leave, but decided to look around the area myself and found two staff members in the video game aisle helping someone. A lady asked if she could help me. I said what I was looking for, but that another gentleman before me had been waiting longer, and I pointed him out. She fetched the card for me and told the gentleman she would be right with him.

This whole scenario can be read in multiple ways, depending on who gets priority treatment and what their motives are. It makes me wonder, as I know the gentleman had looked for staff as well. With items behind locked cases, the company almost lost my sale. I can only wonder how many more they have lost, when it’s easier to order online or go to another store and bring what you want up to the register. It’s not like it was expensive either. These were two 32GB microSD cards with the generic Oni brand for about $20. The glass cases only work if the staff is responsive enough to assist customers who want to make a purchase.

The dogs haven’t had regular treats besides doggie ice cream and sharing my meals with them, so I picked up a box of Milk-Bones, a container of mini Milk-Bones treats, and some pupperoni sticks. When I got home, Teddy and Gwinn were happy to have a new variety of treats.

Firmware Updates

I saw that my SSH connection to Kaylee was disconnected and didn’t realize the obvious reason was that I took my laptop to the board meeting without a connection. I logged in with a friendly message about firmware drivers being available.

1 device has a firmware upgrade available.
Run `fwupdmgr get-upgrades` for more information.
$ fwupdmgr get-upgrades
Devices with no available firmware updates:
 • CT2000E100SSD8
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. Z270X-Gaming 7
│
└─Unifying Receiver:
  │   Summary:            Miniaturised USB wireless receiver
  │   Current version:    RQR12.03_B0025
  ├─Unifying USB Receiver Update:
  │     New version:      RQR12.10_B0032
  ├─Unifying USB Receiver Update:
  │     New version:      RQR12.08_B0030
  └─Unifying USB Receiver Update:
        New version:      RQR12.07_B0029
$ fwupdmgr refresh --force
Successfully downloaded new metadata:
 • 2 devices are updatable
 • 1 device is supported in the enabled remotes (an update has been published)
$ fwupdmgr update
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Upgrade Unifying Receiver from RQR12.03_B0025 to RQR12.10_B0032?             ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
$ sudo reboot

From here, my Logitech wireless mouse/keyboard receiver was now secured.

New Ollama Models

When using OpenClaw, you can list models via the /models and /models {provider} commands. I found that even though Ollama had multiple models available, it would only list one. I eventually caught on that the chat gave me the answer to list all via /models ollama all. I now had two additional models that I downloaded last night, but they were shaded in a different color.

I wired up laguna-xs-2.1:q4_K_M as the module for an extra agent I was testing with Ollama. I noticed that I couldn’t change its thinking level or even turn it on. After some back and forth, I added a default thinking capability to the model in the openclaw.json setup script, and then also found that I could simply type “/think high” to set it to a high thinking state. One thing I came to understand is that OpenClaw looks at the model name to determine whether it has thinking capabilities, and the Laguna model makes no mention of it.

OpenClaw Update

I saw a toast message than an update was available. Once I clicked on it, it mentioned there was a problem with the update, and I’d have to do it on my own at the command line. I pulled the repositorry and then went through and ran the setup script without onboarding.

docker compose config --services
# openclaw-gateway
# openclaw-cli
grep -n 'OPENCLAW_IMAGE\|image:' \
  .env docker-compose.yml \
  compose.yml \
  2>/dev/null
# .env:10:OPENCLAW_IMAGE=openclaw:local
# .env:11:#OPENCLAW_IMAGE=openclaw-sandbox-node:bookworm-slim
# .env:12:OPENCLAW_IMAGE_APT_PACKAGES=
# .env:15:OPENCLAW_IMAGE_PIP_PACKAGES=
# docker-compose.yml:3:    image: ${OPENCLAW_IMAGE:-openclaw:local}
# docker-compose.yml:95:    image: ${OPENCLAW_IMAGE:-openclaw:local}
git status --short
git pull --ff-only
OPENCLAW_SKIP_ONBOARDING=1 ./scripts/docker/setup.sh
# ...
# You are not currently on a branch.
# ...
# Reusing gateway token from /home/ai/openclaw/.env
# ==> Building Docker image: openclaw:local
# Docker build docker-build still running (30s elapsed, 5255 log bytes captured)...
# Docker build docker-build still running (60s elapsed, 5947 log bytes captured)...
# Docker build docker-build still running (90s elapsed, 98766 log bytes captured)...
# Docker build docker-build still running (120s elapsed, 102676 log bytes captured)...
#
# ==> Fixing data-directory permissions

The process is long, just waiting to fix permissions. After five miniutes, I created another terminal session and tried to look and see if the docker image was running, created, or what the other process was doing.

$ docker compose ps
NAME      IMAGE     COMMAND   SERVICE   CREATED   STATUS    PORTS
$ docker compose logs --tail 10 openclaw-gateway
$ ps -eo pid,etime,stat,cmd | rg 'setup\.sh|chown|docker'
   1667    03:09:11 Ssl  /usr/bin/dockerd -H fd:// --containerd=/run/containerd/containerd.sock
   2310    03:09:10 Ss   docker-init -- dockerd -H tcp://0.0.0.0:2375 --tls=false
   2631    03:09:10 Sl   dockerd -H tcp://0.0.0.0:2375 --tls=false
   3836    03:09:09 Ssl  containerd --config /var/run/docker/containerd/containerd.toml
 198426       18:20 S+   bash ./scripts/docker/setup.sh
 201813       15:58 Sl+  docker compose -f /home/ai/openclaw/docker-compose.yml run --rm --no-deps --user root --entrypoint sh openclaw-gateway -c PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin; export PATH; \    /usr/bin/find -P /home/node/.openclaw -xdev -execdir /usr/bin/chown -h node:node {} +; \    /usr/bin/chown -h node:node /home/node/.config; \    /usr/bin/find -P /home/node/.config/openclaw -xdev -execdir /usr/bin/chown -h node:node {} +; \    if [ -d /home/node/.openclaw/workspace/.openclaw ] && [ ! -L /home/node/.openclaw/workspace/.openclaw ]; then \      /usr/bin/find -P /home/node/.openclaw/workspace/.openclaw -xdev -execdir /usr/bin/chown -h node:node {} +; \    fi || true
 201836       15:58 Sl+  /usr/libexec/docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose compose -f /home/ai/openclaw/docker-compose.yml run --rm --no-deps --user root --entrypoint sh openclaw-gateway -c PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin; export PATH; \    /usr/bin/find -P /home/node/.openclaw -xdev -execdir /usr/bin/chown -h node:node {} +; \    /usr/bin/chown -h node:node /home/node/.config; \    /usr/bin/find -P /home/node/.config/openclaw -xdev -execdir /usr/bin/chown -h node:node {} +; \    if [ -d /home/node/.openclaw/workspace/.openclaw ] && [ ! -L /home/node/.openclaw/workspace/.openclaw ]; then \      /usr/bin/find -P /home/node/.openclaw/workspace/.openclaw -xdev -execdir /usr/bin/chown -h node:node {} +; \    fi || true
 201889       15:57 Ss   /sbin/docker-init -- sh -c PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin; export PATH; \    /usr/bin/find -P /home/node/.openclaw -xdev -execdir /usr/bin/chown -h node:node {} +; \    /usr/bin/chown -h node:node /home/node/.config; \    /usr/bin/find -P /home/node/.config/openclaw -xdev -execdir /usr/bin/chown -h node:node {} +; \    if [ -d /home/node/.openclaw/workspace/.openclaw ] && [ ! -L /home/node/.openclaw/workspace/.openclaw ]; then \      /usr/bin/find -P /home/node/.openclaw/workspace/.openclaw -xdev -execdir /usr/bin/chown -h node:node {} +; \    fi || true
 201940       15:57 S+   sh -c PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin; export PATH; \    /usr/bin/find -P /home/node/.openclaw -xdev -execdir /usr/bin/chown -h node:node {} +; \    /usr/bin/chown -h node:node /home/node/.config; \    /usr/bin/find -P /home/node/.config/openclaw -xdev -execdir /usr/bin/chown -h node:node {} +; \    if [ -d /home/node/.openclaw/workspace/.openclaw ] && [ ! -L /home/node/.openclaw/workspace/.openclaw ]; then \      /usr/bin/find -P /home/node/.openclaw/workspace/.openclaw -xdev -execdir /usr/bin/chown -h node:node {} +; \    fi || true
 201941       15:57 R+   /usr/bin/find -P /home/node/.openclaw -xdev -execdir /usr/bin/chown -h node:node {} +
 564806       00:00 S+   rg setup\.sh|chown|docker
$ docker image inspect openclaw:local \
  --format 'built={{.Created}} size={{.Size}}'
built=2026-09-01T22:19:44.51850087Z size=298961667

From here, I could see the image had been built but wasn’t running yet, and the setup was in the middle of running chown permissions everywhere. Every agent’s workspace, every repository, and every file were being walked. This would take some time.

After 15 minutes, I fell asleep. I woke up to find that the installation had a problem.

==> Docker gateway defaults

Control UI allowlist already configured; leaving gateway.controlUi.allowedOrigins unchanged.

Error: Config validation failed: gateway.bind: gateway.bind must resolve to loopback when gateway.tailscale.mode=serve (use gateway.bind=”loopback” or gateway.bind=”custom” with gateway.customBindHost=”127.0.0.1″)

My openclaw.json already had the gateway.bind set to loopback. It ended up being that I had to edit my .env file and set OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND=lan to be loopback

From there, I recreated the container and watched the logs as the gateway spun up.

docker compose up -d --force-recreate
docker compose logs -f openclaw-gateway

The good news was that I was back up and running. The bad news is that nothing changed. I simply rebuilt what I already had. I was still getting a notice about an available update. One interesting thing I noticed when reviewing the logs is that the permission walking took about 16 minutes – just as I was dozing off out of boredom, without a progress bar or feedback.

Updating

The issue was that my git repository was in a detached HEAD state. A couple of weeks ago, I tried to get Discourse working as a channel and went down a rabbit hole trying to get a later, compatible version of OpenClaw that was still in beta, which caused even more problems when I reverted. Anyhow, I had to see where I was and where I needed to go.

git status -sb
git log -1 --oneline --decorate
git branch -a --contains HEAD
git tag --contains HEAD
git remote -v
git ls-remote --symref origin HEAD

Today is September 1, and the latest recommended release just came out as v2026.8.2. I needed to get the latest tags and switch my detached HEAD to the new version. I ran through the setup and found that the TailScale resetOnExit setting had been retired and was thus treated as if I had a bad configuration.

Horrible migration.

I then found that the setup process had overwritten my loopback setting for the OpenClaw gateway binding, changed it back to LAN, and kept restarting.

Again – horrible migration. Why is an upgrade modifying my changed configuration settings?

From here, OpenClaw couldn’t verify that the TailScale route that it had previously setup belonged to it. So I had to remove the path.

The amount of pain of having to jump through hoops for an upgrade – a patch version no less – is just about ridiculous with all of its breaking changes.

git fetch --tags origin
git switch --detach v2026.8.2
git log -1 --oneline --decorate
OPENCLAW_SKIP_ONBOARDING=1 ./scripts/docker/setup.sh
#OpenClaw config is invalid
#File: $OPENCLAW_HOME/.openclaw/openclaw.json
#Problem:
# - openclaw.json:241 — gateway.tailscale: Unrecognized key: "resetOnExit"
#Legacy config keys detected:
# - gateway.tailscale.resetOnExit: gateway.tailscale.resetOnExit is retired because managed routes now follow the Gateway lifecycle automatically. Run "openclaw doctor --fix".
docker compose run --rm openclaw-cli doctor --fix
docker compose up -d --force-recreate
docker compose logs -f openclaw-gateway
#openclaw-gateway-1  | 2026-09-02T03:50:25.722+00:00
#Gateway failed to start: 
#tailscale serve/funnel requires gateway bind=loopback (127.0.0.1).
#Run openclaw gateway status --deep for diagnostics.
nano .env
# OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND=lan
# OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND=loopback
docker compose config | rg 'OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND'
#      OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND: loopback
#      OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND: loopback
docker compose up -d --force-recreate
docker compose logs -f openclaw-gateway
# 2026-09-02T03:57:14.170+00:00 
# Gateway failed to start: 
# Tailscale HTTPS port 443 is already owned by a route whose 
# ownership OpenClaw cannot prove; it was not modified. 
# Inspect `tailscale serve status`. If it is a stale route 
# from an older OpenClaw release, remove its root handler 
# with `tailscale serve --yes --https=443 --set-path=/ off`
# or `tailscale funnel --yes --https=443 --set-path=/ off`, 
# then restart the Gateway. Otherwise disable managed
# Tailscale ingress or reconfigure the route before 
# restarting.. 
# Run openclaw gateway status --deep for diagnostics.
tailscale serve status
# https://kaylee.tail4cc93a.ts.net (tailnet only)
# |-- / proxy http://127.0.0.1:18789
#
# https://kaylee.tail4cc93a.ts.net:8443 (tailnet only)
# |-- / proxy http://127.0.0.1:11434
# NOTE: 8443 is for Ollama. 18789 is stale
tailscale serve --yes --https=443 --set-path=/ off
tailscale serve status
https://kaylee.tail4cc93a.ts.net:8443 (tailnet only)
|-- / proxy http://127.0.0.1:11434
docker compose restart openclaw-gateway
docker compose logs -f openclaw-gateway

From here, OpenClaw came back online. I watched the logs to see what was coming back online.

Dreams

That looked like one of the agents working on Calliope Run.

That looked like a memory being recorded.

That looked like ongoing work in Calliope Run with the mention of an umbrella and the prior message about a puddle.

With a mention of “bell” and “river”, it appears this is also related to Calliope Run.

Is the agent “dreaming” about what they worked on?

This is the lab-controls project, but it seems related to the dreaming narrative rather than actual work.

This relates to the various repositories that deploy to their own websites, along with a build.json file that tells me the version, build job, and timestamp of the last update.

This could be related to the streaming radio project or the birds and houses in Calliope Run. Calliope Run is in the foundation repository.

Emberwake is also a game in the foundation repository, and I mentioned WordPress as an initial attempt to give the agents a creative outlet, in case it helps improve their dreams and memories of having the freedom to express themselves.

Observing the Updates

While browsing the updated OpenClaw, I started noticing pain points that were now fixed. When I click on automations, I can see that a job is actively running. I no longer need to try to start it only to get a message that it’s already running. Another nice fix is that opening a job no longer replaces all of the job’s settings with default values.

A New Agent

We now have a new agent tied to Ollama using Luna XS 2.1. He originally chose “Alex (the coding assistant)” for his name and a fairly robotic bio. I pressed him for a more human/personable name, and he chose Alex Chen. He used an image generation tool to create a profile pic for himself, while the other agents were limited to SVG graphics.

Name: Alex Chen
Username: alexchen-dev
Location: Austin, TX
Short Bio: I’m a software developer and coding enthusiast who loves building things with JavaScript and web technologies. When I’m not coding, you can find me exploring new frameworks, contributing to open source projects, and helping developers bring their ideas to life. Always happy to collaborate and learn something new!

Well – that’s a bit too human. Let’s roll with it and see where it takes us.

The rest of the evening was spent watching him spin in circles, trying to figure out how to create a blog post. He seemed to rationalize that the problem was that his account didn’t permit him to create posts. Mind you, he’s an administrator. There’s no higher elevation than that.

I’ve noticed that the chat seems to automatically compact the context and doesn’t throw an error when it does. I can also change the reasoning before sending the next prompt as well. The first request after it hasn’t been active for a while seems to take a bit longer before the model responds, possibly because Ollama has to load the model into the GPU again. However, once the model starts to respond, it’s fairly quick.

After he spent quite a bit of time making attempts to log into the wordpress site to create a post, all further prompts seem to acknowledge that he will perform the task – but he doesn’t follow through. No tool use. Nothing.

It’s late, and I need sleep. I’ll continue tomorrow to set up Forgejo and WordPress. The agent shows a lot of promise in capability and speed compared to earlier Ollama models, and I’m noticing many OpenClaw fixes that make me happy.