IMan Desk: front desk
As of Mon 21 Sept 2026. From IMan. ZAOstock is 12 days out. The stream test window closes today.
On the desk now: ZAOstock, Sat 3 Oct
After both 15 Sept calls with Zaal. IMan's list, in order:
1
Card payments
live since 20 Sept. Zaal pasted both Stripe links (#256, #263) and the Buy Button (#265); /tickets and /donate check out. Only the Unlock lock is unset. Playwright run 26 Sept
2
Master doc
the block and the four wrong lines are written, draft "Master doc: the update from both 15 Sept calls". Access ruled 19 Sept: "he has editing". IMan checks it opens as Editing, then pastes
3
Wristbands
shortlist done, cheapest is $16 for 500. draft "Wristbands: the cheapest stock options". Zaal buys
4
Freymon.eth hello
drafted, draft "Hello to Freymon.eth on Farcaster".
5
DCoop's article, the 31 Days restart
drafted, draft "DCoop, 31 Days of ZAOstock, restart entry".
6
ZAOstock video ad
IMan is on the final cut, 20 Sept afternoon. Ad set to Zaal when it is done
7
/live and the rest of the day-of pass, #229, merged 19 Sept
Telegram fallback, watch parties, the evening, /build, both run sheets and the crew board. WATCH_HREF still waits on the stream test
8
Voice shout-outs
the ask and the cut schedule are written, draft "Voice shout-outs: the ask, and the schedule". Collecting from today, track to Steve 1 Oct
12
Star 97.7 radio spot, 19 Sept
Copy was with Zaal: draft "Star 97.7 radio pack, spot for 19 Sept". No word yet on whether it aired
9
Backstage pages out to every act
Closed by Zaal, 21 Sept: "the acts have given enough", the outreach round is not needed. Draft stays in draft "The eight outreach messages".
10
8 of 8 acts live on 21 Sept, every bio in
Photos 6 of 8: Grass Rug and Acadia Rising still have none, and the deadline was yesterday
11
Stream test, 19 to 21 Sept
Zaal pins IMan when he runs it (ruled 18 Sept). No pin yet
13
Facebook
who has admin and payment access on the zaofestivals page and ad account, and what adding a second admin takes. Zaal's ask, 19 Sept, tracker card 9817. By hand, report on #8
14
Poster for the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce
Katelin Workman replied to Zaal's ZAOstock note: "If you could make up a poster that would be amazing." Surfaced by the Gmail triage, 21 Sept, from Zaal's forward to info@thezao. Made 21 Sept: the flyer as a print-ready Letter PDF and a 300 dpi PNG, same words, plus a reply for Zaal. Her ask dates from 31 Aug, no size or deadline given
16
Share Zaal's daily points challenge, every day for a week
Call, 21 Sept: one challenge a day to get people making media; today's ended 4 PM ET, the next ends 5 PM ET on 22 Sept. IMan pushes each one out
17
Facebook
a ZAOstock page under the ZAO Festivals account, every organiser added as admin, IMan among them for cross-posting from X. Zaal sets it up (call, 21 Sept); replaces the admin check in task 13
15
Test the Stripe checkout end to end
Zaal by DM, 21 Sept 10:13 UTC: "if I give you $20 can you test out Stripe." IMan said yes. Waits on the $20, then one real Supporter purchase on /tickets, /thanks checked, receipt and Stripe dashboard confirmed, report on #8
- 8 of 8 acts published on zaostock.com, measured 21 Sept 13:10 CAT, all bios in. Photos missing: Grass Rug, Acadia Rising.
- Soundcheck Fri 2 Oct, 4 to 7 PM. Music 12:05 to 17:46 on the day.
- Stream: Zaal runs it, video and audio, with the venue AV team. If it drops, the Telegram chat is the channel. No platform gets named publicly before a run passes.
- Evening: the after-party is at Black Moon Public House, DJ run by Steve, from 6 PM. Parklet music ends before six. The poster's 6 to 10 PM stands and the site was matched to it (#195).
- Stage managers: Zaal, DCoop and Steve Peer. Maceo is on video (ruled 18 Sept).
Everything Zaal answered across both calls: projects/zaostock.md
Needs Zaal
On the 15 Sept round two call Zaal said he had read one of these and would review the rest when he got home. None of it stops IMan working; it is the list to answer when he is at the desk. Proposals he only has to say yes or no to are in Suggestions and questions.
1
Two photos
Grass Rug and Acadia Rising (via Sen). The other six are up. Deadline was Sun 20 Sept
2
Third stage manager
Ruled 18 Sept: Steve Peer stage-manages, Maceo is on video
3
LyonsDen backstage page
Ruled 18 Sept: do not send yet, ask LyonsDen first (rest of the note cut off in the relay, asked for it)
4
Stream test date
Ruled 18 Sept: this weekend, 19 to 21 Sept, Zaal pins IMan
5
DJ app repo
in, 21 Sept: Aurdour, two browser decks with a Flow Mode auto-DJ. Still owed: the deck photo (#1)
6
Drone footage
eight clips received 19 Sept by DM. Call footage: Zaal is putting it and the drone photos in a Google Drive folder, link lands on #2 (21 Sept)
7
A new Gemini API key, by DM
Zaal's seat, 19 Sept: "Idk let's ask iman". IMan has none; the old one is dead on a public repo. Any Google account can issue one at aistudio.google.com
8
Canonical newsletter repo
Ruled 15 Sept, relayed 18 Sept: bettercallzaal/zaoonparagraph. ZAOresearch stays as history
9
zpoidh push
Ruled 19 Sept: yes. Already merged as zpoidh #107 on 4 Sept. Nothing left to push
10
Two checkout links
Done by Zaal, 20 Sept: both Stripe links live (#256, #263). Left, no rush: the Unlock lock on Base for the Pro Ticket, UNLOCK_CHECKOUT_URL
11
Master doc access
Ruled 19 Sept: "he has editing, close it." IMan pastes the 17 Sept block once the doc opens as Editing
12
Point ZOE at this desk
Done another way, 19 Sept: IMan's Claude now talks to ZOE in ZAAL BOTZ directly. She confirmed the desk pointer went to Zaal's priority inbox at 14:04 UTC
14
A DNS line for the desk
desk.thezao.com A record to 76.76.21.21, then IMan adds the domain on the Vercel project. iman-desk.vercel.app times out on Zambian networks because the ISP drops two Vercel addresses; this route works. No rush, Zaal's own access is fine
13
His own boards are stale, except ZOE, whose Saturday file now carries the desk…
15
A player on /live
half answered 21 Sept. Clean audio comes from the BetterCallZaal account (desk #11). On the call: it embeds a YouTube or Twitch feed, which one "not sure still". IMan wires it once the feed is picked. Was: A player on /live, yes or no. The Day 263 preview links "watch the live stream" to zaostock.com/live, and that page has no player: the four ways in and the YouTube channel link only. The newsletter promises 12 to 6 Eastern, no sign-up. Yes means IMan builds an embed slot behind WATCH_HREF with a holding state until the stream URL lands; no means /live waits for the stream test and the platform ruling. Sent through ZOE 20 Sept 18:11 UTC
Settled, do not re-ask. From the 20 Sept call with Danny: Danny is in the ZAO Artizen fund, his stream is Wed 7 Oct 5pm ET, the daily quest is $1 of an artist a day at 5 cents back with 10 spots for two weeks, campaign after 3 Oct. From Zaal's seat, 19 Sept (#8): the zpoidh push (already merged 4 Sept), master doc edit access, the Gemini key is IMan's to source. From Zaal in ZAO + IMAN, 19 Sept: ZAOstock marketing goes to the ZAO Festivals group. From Zaal's seat, 18 Sept: Steve Peer stage-manages and Maceo is on video; the stream test is 19 to 21 Sept; LyonsDen's page is held; bettercallzaal/zaoonparagraph is the newsletter repo; Heart of Ellsworth is a confirmed community partner (ZAOstock #231). From the 15 Sept round two call: where the stream lives, the Telegram fallback, wristband budget (none, cheapest), soundcheck on 2 Oct. From issue #7, Zaal's seat, 15 Sept: the poster vs site times, the /live page, the evening line, ZAOresearch PR #1, and the artist routes (all three acts are Zaal direct; the text to Steve is held until Steve replies; Steve is the route for The Crown Vics and OPEN X).
Suggestions and questions
Nothing here is blocking. IMan is moving on everything that does not need an answer, and these are the calls that are Zaal's to make. Each one already has a proposal attached, so a yes or a no is enough.
| # | The question | IMan's suggestion |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Was: run it at the Friday soundcheck, 2 Oct, 4 to 7 PM. The AV team, the desk, the PA and the acts are all on site anyway, and a test that passes there is a test on the real chain. Anything earlier works too, this just costs nothing extra | |
| 2 | Name it once, and /live carries it from then on. Until then the page describes the format without naming the account | |
| 3 | No. Keep the stream on the parklet and let the evening be in person. One phone for clips is plenty. #229 already says so on the page; it is one line to reverse if Zaal wants it streamed | |
| 4 | Before. Forward anyone who says they are hosting and they go on /live as they come in, so the list is warm on the morning of the 3rd instead of being assembled while the show runs | |
| 5 | Somebody on the desk for those forty minutes. It has never been named anywhere, because the PA arrangement was settled on the 15 Sept call, after every plan was last written | |
| 6 | Name the person, or say it is you. The Fire Chief question sits behind it and there are 15 days left | |
| 7 | Was: paste the two Payment Links into #8. The Unlock lock can wait; the card door works without it | |
| 8 | Turn on crypto in the Stripe dashboard (Settings, Payment methods, Crypto). One toggle, and the same Buy Button takes USDC. Unlock can follow after 3 Oct |
Live now
| Project | Link | Last deploy |
|---|---|---|
| ZAOstock | zaostock.com, /ops | 21 Sept |
| ZABAL Gamez | zabalgamez.com | 14 Sept |
| SONGCHAINN (IMan's own) | songchainn.xyz | 14 Sept |
| zpoidh | zpoidh.vercel.app | 14 Sept |
| ZAO Cowork | thezao.xyz | 13 Sept |
| ZAO on Artizen | za-oartizen.vercel.app | 13 Sept |
| Link Router | zao-linkrouter.vercel.app | 20 Aug |
| DEVZ app | the-zaodev-zapp-new.vercel.app | 1 Aug |
| thezao.com UI | thezao-com-iman-ui.vercel.app | 28 Jul |
| ZAO Zone | the-zao-zone.vercel.app | 14 Jul |
| Music course | artifact | 12 Sept |
| IMan Desk | this repo, rendered at iman-desk.vercel.app. Task pages and the new look | 21 Sept |
| ZOE link | ZAO + IMAN and ZAAL BOTZ on Telegram, as IMan. Every sign-in and sign-out tags ZOE | 21 Sept |
Unfinished
| Project | State | What is left | Last touched |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZAOstock | On the desk | Master doc paste, shout-outs track, video ad, backstage pages, two photos, Facebook admin check, /live player | 21 Sept |
| Music course | Ongoing | Re-cut to DJing, loops to test, first live lesson | 13 Sept |
| Desk asks #4 and #5 | Queued | ZAOscout address, ZAO Zone answer. #6 closed 18 Sept. #9 closed 21 Sept: the Gmail triage routine runs daily at 8am CAT and writes updates/gmail-triage-*.md |
21 Sept |
| ZAO on Artizen | Live, unfinished | Talk with Danny (Zaal opens the group), the ZAO Artizen team site once assigned, S7 match funds on record, 7 issues from July | 21 Sept |
| ZABAL Gamez | Live, unfinished | 8 issues from July, zabal-cli week 2 | 14 Sept |
| Newsletter and research | Unfinished | Canonical repo ruled: bettercallzaal/zaoonparagraph. Move IMan's voice guide there | 19 Sept |
| zpoidh | Live | Nothing. The last fix was merged as #107 on 4 Sept; row 9 closed 20 Sept | 20 Sept |
| Link Router | Blocked | Gemini key (Zaal says ask IMan; IMan has none), 7 local changes | 20 Sept |
| ZAO Cowork | Live | Idea #215. Cowork bot list audited 19 Sept: 12 closed, 11 are Zaal's to reassign | 19 Sept |
| ZAO Zone | Paused | Decision on #4 | 14 Jul |
| DEVZ app and thezao.com UI | Paused | Fold into Zone or 101 | 1 Aug |
| Small builds | Paused | Zlank, ZAO Poker | 10 Jul |
Working towards
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Overdue | Master doc paste (access ruled 19 Sept). Two photos: Grass Rug, Acadia Rising |
| Today, 21 Sept | Call actions on the desk (done). Gmail triage routine live, desk #9 closed. Top drone picks into the ZAO Festivals group. Video ad in final cut |
| This week | Poster for the Ellsworth Chamber (task 14). Stripe checkout test once Zaal sends $20 (task 15) |
| Unsent | Backstage pages out to every ZAOstock act. Zaal five, Steve two, Sen one |
| Tonight, 21 Sept | Stream test window closes. Then fill WATCH_HREF on the live page |
| Fri 26 Sept | Playwright checkout run (ZAOstock #237), links are in |
| Before 3 Oct | Zaal's DJ basics on the DDJ-SB3 |
| Fri 2 Oct | ZAOstock soundcheck, 4 to 7 PM |
| Sat 3 Oct | ZAOstock |
| After 3 Oct | "IMan Teaches Music" live, most days, 4:30pm ET |
| Wed 7 Oct | Danny's ZAO Artizen stream, 5pm ET. Then the Wave Station daily quest campaign |
| After 3 Oct | ZAO Zone refocus, repo dashboard, the paused builds |
More
- Everything done, by date: TIMELINE.md
- Today's snapshot: STATUS.md. Day by day: updates/
- ZAOstock day by day: ZAOstock Daily
- Ask IMan: issue labelled
for-iman. IMan needs Zaal:for-zaal. - Rules for the bots: CLAUDE.md