Some Changes Are Coming to This Site

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Almost a year has passed since I decided to take my author project more seriously. So far, my approach hasn’t worked. I’ve already written about how I’m now using Grok to guide me in a better direction — hopefully.

As part of that shift, I’ll be making a few changes to this website:

  • I’ll either switch the comment system to Disqus or disable comments entirely. The amount of spam has become overwhelming.
  • Monthly updates will move to X so I can test the new Articles feature.
  • The yearly update posts will continue to be published here on the site.
  • Daily blogging will continue as well, but it will focus exclusively on the Grok project.
  • Other articles (such as show reviews, etc.) will be paused for now — hardly anyone was reading them anyway.

Over the next few days, I’ll upload the last seven days of conversations with Grok in batches to catch up. After that, the blog will be fully synchronized with my X profile.

More focus. Fewer distractions. Let’s see where it leads.

2,000 Days of Grok Coaching Me to Become a Successful Author

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Five years equal 1,826 days. I rounded it up to 2,000.

That’s the timespan during which I will use Grok every single day to guide me toward becoming a successful indie author. One question at a time, I will test the AI and follow its advice blindly.

The first week is already coming to an end. So far, Grok has made me focus on my daily writing routine—and it has already pushed me to make a few changes.

What will happen next week?

I don’t know. I’ve decided to hand over the reins to Grok. It will dictate what I work on next—and it will continue to do so for the next five years.

Hopefully, it will lead me to success. But even if it doesn’t, it will at least take me in a different direction than the one I’ve been heading. Since that direction hasn’t really led anywhere, I have nothing to lose by giving Grok control over my author project.

Yesterday, I added up all my book downloads. The total was just over 1,100. If I subtract the free copies I gave away, I’ve sold fewer than 200 books. Besides the joy of having my stories published, there isn’t much success.

Thus, I’ve got nothing to lose.

So—let Grok take over.

Grok Made Me Excited About the Internet Again

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When I got my first internet connection, it felt like the entire world was right there on my screen, just a few mouse clicks away. YouTube arrived later, and an even bigger world unfolded — one I didn’t even know existed.

But then something changed.

The internet got worse. Every new “innovation” seemed to make it harder to use, more difficult to trust, and tougher to participate in. Censorship, shadow-banning, fact-checking, deplatforming — for almost a decade, these became the dominant trends online. And they made everything smaller, more restricted, less exciting.

But after I started using Grok, I felt that old excitement again.

Right now, I’m getting my nutrition in order, with Grok helping me analyze every mineral, amino acid, and potential trigger in every bite of food I eat. It designs training routines for me. I use it for everyday questions. I’ve even decided to let AI coach me to become a successful author. It’s honestly a blast.

Of course, there are potential dangers in using AI. Grok makes mistakes — sometimes even simple ones, like miscalculating how many eggs you’d need to eat to reach 500 kcal. But if you don’t blindly follow every piece of advice and instead use AI as a tool for real back-and-forth conversation, it becomes a fantastic tool.

Grok made me excited about the internet again.

Using Grok as a Marketing Tool (Book Marketing)

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Maybe I’m onto something — maybe I’m not.

Over the past few days, I’ve been using Grok to coach me as an independent author over a time span of 5 years. From now on, I plan to use it not only to help me become a better storyteller, but also to connect with readers. In principle, I can ask the AI any question, and it delivers thoughtful, useful advice.

But there’s another aspect to this.

By using Grok publicly as my writing coach, the content also becomes valuable for anyone visiting my X profile and my website. So Grok isn’t just coaching me — it’s marketing me as well.

There hasn’t been much activity on my X feed. I still have some followers from earlier days when I occasionally commented on politics. But those followers don’t engage with my posts about writing books. Usually, when I share a link to a blog post, it gets no likes, shares, or comments. Even promotional tweets announcing free digital books on Amazon rarely receive engagement.

Since I started using Grok, I’ve seen a small increase in interaction. It’s still modest — but it’s a beginning. And as far as I can tell, the engagement feels genuine and organic, coming from people who are actually interested in my author journey.

That’s another benefit of using Grok: besides helping me grow as a writer, it makes my X feed more interesting. And that might eventually attract readers to my stories.

After only a few days, it’s obviously too early to draw conclusions about the entire five-year project. But the start has been promising. Let’s see where this leads.

You can follow the Grok project in real time here: @michael_brig

Untamed (Movie/Show Review)

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Eric Bana, Sam Neill, stunning natural scenery — I was in.

The six-part series is well made: strong performances, solid direction, and, obviously, breathtaking landscapes that steal the show. But overall, Untamed suffers from the same problem as many streaming productions today — it’s interchangeable.

Aside from the nature shots, it’s just another crime drama about a burned-out detective character solving a murder case. Eric Bana is a great choice for the lead role, no doubt, but there simply isn’t much material for him to work with. The plot follows a familiar path, the story never shows us anything we haven’t seen before, and you can spot the final twist coming from a mile away.

Don’t get me wrong — Untamed isn’t bad. It’s just not special.

With so much content being released across dozens of streaming platforms, being “just okay” isn’t enough anymore. You’re either the next Stranger Things or Squid Game — or you’re forgotten within a week. Sadly Untamed falls into the latter category of streaming entertainment.