Hello world! My name is Patrick Atwater. Thanks for visiting my web-like log of various writing, past and current projects, open questions I’m exploring, and meditations on the future. I am a husband, father, data sophist, avid cyclist, fervent reader, enjoyer of adventures, lover of board games, aspiring mathcircler and generally curious person.

The cover image shows granaries at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. My family took a rafting trip down the Colorado River in 2021 and hiked up to see those amazing structures, which the first nations used to store crops grown seasonally from the silt soaked floodplain.

That image serves as a reminder of how small we really are in the face of the tectonic forces that shape the earth. The image also offers an invitation: What will we build that lasts for centuries to come? How will we live as stewards for future generations that are yet to be born?

On that trip, we were lucky to be guided by an amazing human named Tommy. Here is a short piece I wrote about what made him such an incredible river guide and leader. I’ve found that the outdoors have a way of stripping away life’s pretenses and reminding you of what’s important.

Why Pioneering Spirit?

“It’s the state of imagination. This is the place of Hollywood movies. This is the place of rocket ships. It’s the place of wind machines. It’s the place of all sorts of ideas... We’ve been in California a long time and there’s a pioneering spirit, and what we face today is a very screwed up state of politics... It’s broken. It’s a breakdown. But if we can summon up the spontaneity and creativity of California, we can transform what is a breakdown into a breakthrough.”

Jerry Brown said those words ~1.5 decades en route to becoming California’s once and future governor. As California, the country and indeed the world today grapples with future shock and a more than “screwed up state of politics,” this blog exists to document my explorations into that “spontaneity and creativity,” the urge to try the new rather than the received, the pioneering spirit that’s made California awesome.

I enjoy adventure and love trying new things. I’m also very much a California stan, ergo the name, which I also like to think fits with the writing. Topics tend to focus on technology and transforming public institutions, with many musings and philosophical reflections speckled in between. Some illustrative posts:

Cui bono

Here is my LinkedIn. There are more interesting tidbits scattered on my personal site.

Past Notebooks | A list of various bits of writing from the past decade.

Books and Projects | A short synopsis of my writing and entrepreneurial endeavors.

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Write about water, infrastructure, smart cities, climate action and the pioneering spirit that makes CA great. (paɪəˈnɪərɪŋ ˈspɪrɪt) a willingness to endure hardship in order to explore new places or try out new the new

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Talks about water, infrastructure, smart cities, climate action and the pioneering spirit that makes CA great.