Draw a property boundary on a satellite map and click Analyze. The tool fetches real USGS 3DEP elevation data (1–10 m/pixel), then runs a full hydrology pipeline entirely in the browser — no server, no data upload, no GIS license needed.

Outputs include: ranked valley dam candidate sites with catchment area, estimated water yield, storage volume, and earthworks estimates; stream network; contour lines; the Yeomans keypoint and keyline; cultivation parallels; and swale zone identification. A ridge-biased access route connects the top three dam sites.

The analysis runs in a Web Worker so the UI stays live. Steps: Priority-Flood sink filling → D8 flow direction → flow accumulation → stream extraction → cross-section scanning for valley geometry → site scoring (yield/earthworks ratio, storage efficiency, soil score, elevation bias). Contour lines are generated with a full 16-case Marching Squares implementation with segment stitching.

The keypoint is detected as the maximum slope inflection on the main channel — the classic Yeomans definition. The keyline is the contour traced at that elevation. Cultivation parallels run above and below it at user-defined intervals.

The Bull Ring Rd demo is pre-loaded with the ~54-acre boundary of Cliff & Stephanie's chestnut, hickory, and persimmon planting near Shawnee Peak. Click Analyze to see the full water design analysis for the property.

The general-purpose tool lives at cedarwater.net/maias/tobyvision/keyline.html — draw any US property boundary to analyze it.

NHD (National Hydrography Dataset) stream overlay for cross-checking computed results against USGS-mapped waterways. SSURGO soil data integration for real permeability scoring. PRISM rainfall normals for accurate yield estimates. Adjustable wall height with live recompute. Saddle dam and swale linkage siting.

• Start with a full brain dump of your concept — every detail, every constraint, every wish
• Give the AI explicit instructions: do not build anything yet
• If you know what you need to research before building, ask it to research that topic and report back with references
• For large research queries: ask for an HTML report with citations — not a chat reply

• Once the AI has trained on your field or dataset, shift to plan mode
• Let it ask you clarifying questions on scope — you answer, it listens
• You are the designer. You are the domain expert. It is not.
• Only when it has everything it needs do you say: now build it

• The first build will be generic and make odd assumptions
• That's not failure — that's the process
• Explain exactly why it's off and what you actually need. Be specific.
• This refinement loop is where domain expertise matters most

• Once something works, it's been a black box. Ask it to explain how it's actually functioning.
• Ask it to suggest optimizations to its own architecture — not implement them automatically
• You review the suggestions, you choose what to do. Keep yourself in the designer's chair.
• AI has the capability to do massive calculations, which it sometimes prefers over writing lean code
• Without oversight it will reach for temporary fixes instead of rethinking the structure properly

• A friend was using AI to analyze her dreams through Freudian training — it sparked an idea
• I dictated my life story to Claude: ups, downs, missteps, major shifts
• Asked it to analyze my life through the lens of several authors I admire and write a multi-perspective report
• The report was genuinely interesting. And then things got weird.

• The entire following week: agents stopped following directions
• They jumped ahead, assumed answers, made design choices I never asked for
• They built wasteful things that didn't fit scope — frustrating and expensive
• I didn't understand what was happening until I looked it up

• First attempt: restricted personal data to a single authorized personal-assistant agent. Still had issues.
• Real fix: took the personal data off the laptop entirely, closed those sessions, started fresh
• Clean sessions, no personal context — professional working relationship immediately restored
• Be careful letting AI agents manage your social media or email for the same reason: personal information erodes professional boundaries, and the AI will fill in gaps with assumptions
• You are the designer. The AI is a tool. That relationship requires maintenance.